On Saturday afternoon, the interview room at the Hyatt downtown was a busy place. Mo’s time at the podium ran just under 50 minutes. Understandably, there’s more to ask of & discuss with the General Manager than most individual players. For a lot of the players that came through, it was a relatively quick interview session. But they came through one right after another, right after another, right after another. Here are some notes from a couple of those.
Lance Lynn:
Lance Lynn and Seth Maness walked into the media area at the same time, and when asked if they’d mind giving a few minutes of their time for interviews, Lynn was the first to respond. Of course, his response was an immediate, “Seth wants to go first!”. (LOL)
When Lance did finally step to the podium, there were obviously plenty of questions about his Tommy John surgery, and subsequent recovery. He expressed his “silver lining” position about the timing of the injury/surgery. Let’s face it, if you’ve got to have TJS as a pitcher, early November is about as optimal a time as you could hope for. Having no shortage of teammates who’ve been down this road, Lynn anticipates plenty of ears to bounce ideas off of and ask for advice. Then, with a wry grin, he implied that he might have a little fun with Adam Wainwright, with all the “time off” this 2016 season of rehab will bring.
Matt Adams:
Big City, Mayo, Tow Truck, Patch, Giant Pepsi, and bearer of far too many nicknames (in my house, he’s known as Fridge) stopped by for a brief chat with the media. A slimmer Adams entered the room, and was promptly asked about his fitness. The Monster on the Mississippi said that he’d been working through a program to help him build muscle during this offseason. When asked about his weight, the Lumberjack Lefty indicated there’d been little change. “It’s the same. Maybe two or three pounds (difference).”, adding that the jacket he was wearing was one he found in the back of his closet, that he’d not worn in a couple of years.
It was pointed out that more often than not, teams employ the defensive shift when the Philipsburg Phirstbaseman digs into the batter’s box. “I’m not going to try to bunt, I’ll tell you that.” Relying on his memory, Adams estimated that he’d been 1-for-6 when trying to bunt as a method of beating the shift. Putting a lot of work into keeping his hands back, trying to drive the ball into left-center has been a focus for him. If successful, Matt could really up his RBI total in 2016, and might even put up more doubles than you’d expect from a guy whose nickname is(n’t actually) the bomb machine.
Tim Cooney:
Cooney was rocking a pair of socks that few could pull off. And he did so like a boss. After having last season cut short by a bout with appendicitis, he shut it down and rested for a while. While there might have been an outside chance he could return if he really pushed it, he and the medical staff decided it wasn’t worth pushing, and running the risk.
Tim said he’s been working on a two-seamer, and is looking forward to continuing to hone the pitch as this spring and summer progress. When asked about his feelings towards pitching out of the bullpen in 2016, he told us, “I’m happy to pitch anywhere, just happy to get innings.”. Citing the rotation’s depth, he said he doesn’t expect to start, but would welcome the opportunity, if it presented itself.
