INTERVIEW Fresh off their defeat at the hands of the Salem Cowtippers, Stamford Zoots GM and Manager Paul Marazita graciously accepted an invitation to sit down with Peter Gammons to discuss the World Series, the 2003 season and other related issues. A transcript of that interview follows: PG: Paul, thank you so much for sitting down with me today. There are those who doubted whether you would make time for our yearly interview after such a tough loss… but here you are. It is really very gracious of you. PM: Peter, it is always my pleasure to sit down with you. I won’t lie to you, it’s been a heck of a lot more fun after the victory parades, but as my dad always told me, “Graciousness is the ability to handle defeat, not victory.” PG: Well, let me get right to it then. What in God’s name happened? PM: I guess it was just time. I could sit here and talk about the errors (many of which came with 2 outs and kept innings alive). I could talk about implosions in the bullpen. I could talk about Craig Wilson. Gosh, I could talk about a lot of things. What it all comes down to is that we just did not get it done. You cannot make critical mistakes in the postseason. You cannot give the other team more than 3 outs in an inning. You cannot fail to show up. Call it fate. Call it a full moon. Call it whatever you want. It was not meant to happen…and I knew it after Game 1. PG: Really, after Game 1? PM: Pretty simple actually. I needed Game 1. Buehrle against Brad Penny. I had to take that game. We got up early on Chipper’s RBI single and Edmonds’ big HR but then a 2-run HR by Helton and Buehrle throws one past Segui that allows Wilson to get on and then Durham of all people – who went 223/275/385 against lefties this year – hits a 2-run triple off Buehrle. Suddenly we are down 4-3 and I KNEW we were in deep trouble. Funny thing is, Segui was only playing due to my “hunch” that he would handle Penny better than Daubach. If Edmonds is at first, who knows if that happens. Not only did Segui wind up doing nothing at the plate, but he doesn’t come up with that one and then kills me later with a huge error in the 7th. Guess I got too “smart” for my own good. PG: But Segui crushed righties this year in limited action and Daubach, after a great start, really had a rough September…who wouldn’t have done that. PM: Normally, I wouldn’t. Then again, sometime I get the urge to “tinker.” It almost always gets me in trouble. Sure did here. PG: Then the error bug bites you again in the 7th, right? PM: Yep. Sure did. 1st and 2nd, two outs and the game is tied. Segui drops another one. E3. Bases loaded and after a run scores on a walk and Kim makes ANOTHER error, the game is over 9-7. PG: But you have to like the match-up in Game 2. Clemens vs. Arrojo in a shocking turn of events. PM: Yes, that one took me aback. Clemens has had a tough year, but Arrojo? We thought Rocket could handle THAT match up. PG: Kind of ironic that Arrojo plays a role in beating you when in the inaugural season, the fact that Arrojo beat the Cowtippers sent Mike Glander into a expletive- laced tirade. PM: Darn Peter. You have one heck of a memory, but that’s water under the bridge. I didn’t even really think about that. PG: And it wound up being a pretty darn good outing by Clemens, no? PM: Yes, Roger brought it that night. 7ip, 12 k’s, only 3 runs. You tell me before the series that I would get that out of Roger in Game 2…and that Mike started Arrojo and I am thinking 2-0 lead. PG: Couple of mistakes though, right? PM: Yes. Roger pitched great, but he kept one up against Sosa which got knocked out of the park for a 2-run homer and then he couldn’t handle Ventura, inexplicably, in the 4th – game winning double. Series over. PG: Well, not before Kevin Brown gave you what you needed in Game 3. PM: Yes, there are times when you just sit in awe of a player. Kevin Brown is one of those players. As you know Peter, Kevin has been with us since Day 1. First round draft pick. Some laughed. I guess Kevin and his three rings has gotten the last laugh, huh? PG: You said it. Just a pro’s pro. PM: Could not have said it better myself Peter. After such a tough season with the injuries and other distractions, Kevin showed why he is a champion. He just erased the whole year and made it clear that there would be NO sweeping the Stamford Zoots. The stats did not do him justice. He was THAT dominant. All the naysayers. All the folks who laughed about the contract we gave him. All the so-called pundits who mocked me for saying that he was the type of veteran who we needed to make us champions. Enough said. PG: Do you think you have a shot at this point. I mean its only 2-1. You are home. You know Buehrle can’t lose again… PM: IF I could have gotten out of Game 5, I guess it could have been a different series, but we know what happened. PG: A steamroller named John Thomson. PM: Hey, you have to hand it to Mike Glander. Starting Arrojo and Thomson in the same series. That takes some balls. PG: And a little Craig Wilson added in did not hurt. PM: Yeah, you know you look at that lineup with me having to go with Pote and the one guy I was NOT terribly worried about was Wilson. His stats were MUCH better against LHP and Lou just owns RH’s…but I guess that’s why we play the games. TWO home runs by Wilson and an otherwise decent performance from Lou – we just wanted 5 innings out of him – is ruined. PG: Thomson for 5 and then that bullpen. PM: I am not sure which surprised me more to be honest. Thomson was one thing. A fluky, all-stars-alligned type thing. But then to have to suffer through the Norm Charlton’s and Bailey’s – I don’t even know the guy’s first name to be honest…in fact I did not even realize he was on the roster until gametime – that’s a whole different thing. Again, you just take your cap off to those guys. They stepped up on the big stage. PG: Anything from the deciding Game 5 stand out. PM: Well, other than the 7-run debacle in the ninth, I guess it was the bases loaded, one out situation in the 7th. I decided to go with Brady Clark instead of Daubach for three reasons. One, the threat of a bunt would pull his corners in (if not his entire infield). Two, Clark does not strike out unlike Daubby. Three, Clark is much quicker than Daubby and I felt the threat of a DP was much less. PG: So much for that. PM: You can say that again. Clark strikes out. Walker grounds out. End of threat. End of series. PG: Any words for Mike Glander? PM: I think Mike and I covered most of it after the series. We stuck around awhile after the game and chatted. Nothing really earth shattering. I just told him that, odd as it may seem – and I do mean ODD – there was a certain symmetry to it ending at his hands. The much discussed “curse” being lifted. The Zoots’ reign ending. Kind of Zen-like – in a warped, pathetic way. [laughter] PG: Does it hurt more? PM: Nah. Not really. I mean we are very competitive with one another – and more times then not I have been fortunate enough to come out on top – but its not about WHO you lose to for me. Its that I lost. I’m not sure Mike really gets that – even after all these years. He jokes about me always saying that a year is not a success “until you bring the hardware home.” PG: Yes, that always has seemed to get him. PM: But I live those words. I really mean it. As much we joke, it is what I truly believe. I just don’t get the concept of subtlety I guess. There are so few black and white issues in the world. We live in a world of grays. One thing that IS black and white is that at the end of every season, one team is the champion and everything else is irrelevant. PG: But Paul, you have to be proud of your accomplishments this season. Another 100+ win season. Another trip to the playoffs. That stuff means something. PM: I guess Peter, but when I think of this season I won’t think about those things. I will think that someone else has my trophy. A victory parade went through ANOTHER town. That is simply not acceptable to me or this organization. PG: Does it crush you or do you come back stronger? PM: Good question. As I told Mike heading into this series, it worried me that this did not matter MORE to me this year. I truly think we lost the “edge.” That intangible that makes you want to win. I think we got spoiled by our success. And its not just the players. I am just as guilty…if not more so. In the past I made sure we got the one impact player. I WILLED this team to win. I FIRED guys who didn’t understand. Maybe I should fire myself, because I fell asleep at the wheel this year…nah…I didn’t fall asleep…I just got real drowsy and wound up in the median – that place where average teams go to watch the big boys play and commiserate about why they aren’t in the fast lane. PG: So what do you do now? PM: Same thing as every year. First, I go home, kiss the wife and baby and allow myself a moment to reflect. Then I will sit down with my wife and decide – is this something that still makes me happy? Do I have the will to turn it around or do I step aside for someone with more hunger, more fire in the belly? Every year I say yes. Last year, I think I lied to myself. That won’t happen again. PG: Step down?!? You’re kidding right? PM: No I am not Peter. I could not be more serious. My assistant GM, Billy Bone has been with me since the beginning. Took him fresh out of college. I still remember how he begged me for the chance to do ANYTHING for this team. He just wanted to be on the inside. To see how it all worked. He said he dreamed of being a GM someday. I don’t know what it was about him. I guess it was that look in his eyes. He had a fire that you just don’t see everyday. I gave him a chance. I have not been sorry. When I leave the office at 2 or 3 in the morning, it is not an uncommon sight to see Billy’s light on. He is constantly watching the waiver wire, coming to me with proposed trades, watching tape etc. He is what I think I was 10 years ago. Some day he will be running this team. Its just a matter of time. PG: Wow, that is shocking Paul. I can’t imagine you turning over control over ANYTHING to ANYONE. Some former employees have said you are an absolute – what is it they called you – oh yes, “control freak.” Your former secretary – who you fired for issuing a press release responding to a rant from the Commissioner’s office without your authorization – says she often sat at her desk doing nothing because you refused to delegate anything. Any truth to that. PM: I’ll take the 5th on that Peter. PG: You seem a little short on pitching after Buehrle. Any comment? PM: [smirking] Let’s just say we are well on our way to resolving that issue and leave it at that. PG: Breaking news??? PM: No comment. PG: Ok. What about the offense? PM: Well, the one thing that I hated about our team this year was the fact that we had holes in our lineup – once you got by the 5th spot in the order, it was REALLY downhill. I am a firm believer in keeping constant pressure on the opposing pitcher. No dead spots. Make it hard to pitch around guys. The offense I am envisioning would do exactly that. 800-1000 OPS’s across the board, 1 through 8, versus lefties AND righties. Every player with .350+ OBP’s – all the way up and down the order. PG: Is that even possible? PM: It is probable Peter. Probable. That is my job. PG: And the defense? Can you improve it this year? PM: Absolutely. We got a little lax this year with our defense. We stretched some guys defensively and they simply did not produce. I do not think it is a coincidence that the first year we did not place in the top 2 spots in defense in the Ozzie League is the first year we went home without hardware. I won’t let that happen again. PG: Two more questions. First, any comments for the remaining playoff teams this year…or any predictions? PM: I am not in the predicting game, but sure, I have a couple of comments. I just want to wish everyone the best of luck the rest of the way. One of you will eventually pry that trophy out of my hands, but, just remember, you are leasing…not buying. [laughter] PG: And Mike Glander. Any thoughts? PM: Well, not really much more than I have already said. Mike is a damn fine manager and a great friend. He managed a heck of a series. I know he talks about rebuilding, but I know he won’t. He’ll be back next year, wheelin’ and dealin’ and making it interesting. Mikey, the Zoots monkey is off your back. Enjoy it, but don’t get too used to it. We may go away, but we never leave. PG: One last question. I know it is contrary to how you think, but have you taken a moment to reflect about this wonderful run. Three championships. All-time wins leader. The list goes on and on. PM: You’re right, it is not in my nature to look back. In fact, I am convinced that it is exactly that type of thinking that has resulted in me sitting next to you in early November. I slipped up. I started to read the press clippings. The thought that, ‘hey, even if we lose, no one can take away the three trophies” snuck in there. I am ashamed to admit it, but it did happen. What I can PROMISE is that we will break camp in Florida next season ready to turn it up a notch…ready to get back to the details that made us three-time champions. I am not certain we will get there, but anyone on this team that isn’t committed to making it happen will be shown the door. Pronto. That’s the message. From the top down, this will be a different team in 2003. Bet on it. PG: I think that might be the safest bet out there folks. Thanks so much Paul. PM: Always a pleasure Peter.