Interview with Greg Newgard,
Silicon Valley CyberSox

BIGGEST DADDY: Thanks for sitting down with us, Greg.  You have been a strong, contributing member of this league since 2002. First off, tell us a little bit about yourself.   How long have you been married, where did you grow up, what college did you attend (if you did), and where do you see yourself in 10 years from now?

GREG NEWGARD: Well, I just celebrated my fourth wedding anniversary with my wife Amanda and we've been together for eight years total. We're also expecting a little one in June which might conflict with BDBL Weekend VI. I'm already thinking about laying the groundwork for Philly, but it's not easy with a pregnant wife or a newborn. As far as college goes, I attended Sam Houston State University, earning two degrees but most notably got to PA an NCAA Volleyball playoff game. Ten years from now? I see myself
having a big family, a nice house and three BDBL championship trophies hanging in my den.

BD: Can you give us an exciting description of your job as a Biostatistical Programmer?

GN: I've been doing this for over 6 years now and to this day, I still haven't found anyone that can make it sound exciting. I work for a pharmaceutical company specializing in oncology (cancer) treatment. When they do their trials to test if their drug works, the data is collected and stored in a database. I write programs in a software package called SAS to summarize and analyze that data to tell if the drug really works or not. It's not that exciting, but in my first job, I helped get an artifical heart value approved by the FDA, so eventually this kind of work leads to helping someone lead a better life, which is very gratifing.

BD: Who was your favorite player growing up? Who did you try to emulate in Little League?

GN: Hands down, Jose Cruz. My dad would take me to an Astros game almost every birthday and I loved it when the PA announced would announced Jose Cruuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuz. Plus I loved his stance. I never played Little League (I'm ashamed for it) but I used to have a dead-on Eric Davis impression from the left side back when he had the gobstopper sized chaw and swung from his... rear?

BD: Explain the emotional rollar coaster ride of the Astros 2004 season.

GN: I still haven't recovered from it fully. The offseason talk about Clemens really ingited the city. The adding Pettite made it look like sheer genius from a PR standpoint, but they staggered out the gate. The Beltran trade rivaled the Randy Johnson trade or even the Scottie Pippen trade for the Rockets, but it still didn't click. People were looking at everyone else to see who had the answer or who could flip the switch. But when it did, it seemed like a caged tiger was let loose. The last six weeks was a fun time to be a fan. Might have been the biggest and defining moment of the franchise. Beating Atlanta in a NLDS Game 5 and getting to a Game 7 of the NLCS was just icing on the cake.

BD: Which baseball stadiums have you visited and which is your favorite?

GN: Well, I've been to the Astrodome and Minute Maid more times than I can count. I've also been to Arlington, once at the old park and twice at The Ballpark. Then throw in Safeco, Pac Bell, the Oakland Coliseum and now Jacobs Field. Honestly, Pac Bell was the most interesting just from the whole scenic viewpoint of it all. You just can beat that. Cleveland was pretty nice too, but I'll always have a soft spot for that old exploding scoreboard in the Dome.

BD: What website do you visit most often? What are your favorite non-baseball websites?

GN: The BDBL Forum, of course. Other than that one, probably just ESPN.com. AS far as non-baseball goes, I've really gotten into the web series Red vs. Blue. These guys have taken the Halo game (and now Halo 2) and recorded movies in the game and then dub the voices over. It's very dorkish, but hey, that's who I am.

BD: Who would you rather punch? Paris Hilton or Scott Peterson?

GN: Easy, Paris. Scott will get his justice one way or the other. Paris just keeps hanging around.

BD: Apprentice or CSI?

GN: CSI. Got to love those quick camera zooms when they follow the bullet hole the gun into the body and out into something else. I'm not big into reality TV, unless it's Big Brother because that always sucks me in for some reason.

BD: Coke or Pepsi?   Coors or Chardonnay?

GN: Coke and neither. I don't really like wine of any kind except champagne, but I can't stand Coors. Give me any other beer any day.

BD: What are your top five favorite albums?

GN: 1. Gordon by Barenaked Ladies. Got hooked on it in college, by a Canadian of course.
2. Fore! by Huey Lewis and the News.
3. Honkytonkville by George Strait. This man still has his fastball.  He's like Nolan Ryan when it comes to country music.
4. The Charlie Brown Christmas Soundtrack. I could listen to that any day.
5. Cracked Rear View by Hootie and the Blowfish. The ultimate college album for me.

BD: What kind of players are you looking to pick up in the draft?

GN: For the first time in three years, I have a team that doesn't need a whole lot of help. Two years of trading does that for you. I've got a few holes and then it'll just be depth and youth. Anything I'm missing, I'll deal for, trading frenzy be damned!

BD: At this point, what do you think your opening day lineup will look like?

GN: 1. CF Brady Clark
2. 2B Orlando Hudson
3. LF Carlos Lee
4. TBD - Rhymes with Adrian Smeltrey
5. TBD - Rhymes with Bladamir Guerrero
6. 1B Ben Broussard
7. SS Adam Everett
8. C Charles Johnson
9. P Ryan Drese or Carlos Silva, unless something else falls in my lap

BD: Any trade rumors you could share with us, concerning your team?

GN: There is really nothing going on. I've made a few moves to shore up the
bullpen, but nothing major. Just spare parts for spare parts at this
point. I could trade some of these pitching prospects for help, but I'll
probably wait for the season for that. I've got a few rosters spots and
a ton of money and don't want to screw with any auction plans right
now.

BD: Will your team name switch back to the Houston Heatwave?

GN: I've always liked that name, but probably not. This organization has had four names in six years. I'll probably keep the CyberSox name for now. The location may change later, but I'm trying to build some consistency.

BD: How does your team stack up against your Griffin Division opponents?

GN: The best it's ever been. That's probably because Jeff has already thrown in the towel. Bear Country has been quiet so far in the offseason, but looks very thin. As of right now, I think it's a wide open race between us and Sylmar. John's got better starting pitching, a decent bullpen with FRod and Smoltz, and a fairly solid lineup that doesn't have any real platoon weaknesses so far. Not many superstars over there, but a
very solid club.

BD: Thanks, Greg, and good luck in 2005!

GN: Thank you.