Ask Joe Morgan

[beerchaser]

Beerchaser, Russell Martin is the type of player who will give you 100% day in and day out. He's also from Canada I believe, so it's difficult to get him out. He's a little weak against right-handed pitchers and still hasn't developed his power stroke, so the key to pitching to him would be to have a right-hander out there on the mound. Catchers generally aren't good baserunners, but Martin is above average there, so the key to getting him out if he got a hit would be to get the ball back into the infield right away. If the outfielders do this, they could prevent a single from being a double, or a double from being a triple. If they don't do this, then a single up the middle could score a run.

Thanks Joe!! I knew I could count on you. Next question - should the Dodgers allow Ned Colletti to trade one of our young talents for another over the hill "veteran leader", or my preference, we stuff Colletti into a box (it wouldn't require a large box for him) and ship him back to San Francisco? Should we even bother poking airholes in the box? And should we ship via FedEx, UPS, DHL, or US Mail? I'm overwhelmed by all these choices!!

[Joe Morgan]

Joe;

Why don't we have baseball down here in the great state of North Carolina yet?

Koolzach1... North Carolina has been talked about as a possible place a team could relocate to, but right now they don't have a stadium to support a team. If a team moved to North Carolina right now, where would they play? They would probably have to play in a sandlot or a minor-league baseball stadium, and it wouldn't be enough to support a team.

[nuzzy62]

Joe,

Is jeff Kent a better secondbaseman than you?

Are you avoiding my question, Joe? say it ain't so, joe!

[Joe Morgan]

Joe,

Is jeff Kent a better secondbaseman than you?

Nuzzy62... Jeff Kent is a second baseman for the Los Angeles Dodgers right now. We played in two very different eras, so it is very hard to compare two players this way. Jeff Kent is a very good player, but I have never seen him play. He is a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints as well, and I am not. So that is probably the biggest difference between us. Also, I have heard that I am better-looking than him, but I cannot confirm that now.

[Joe Morgan]

Hey Joe, could you tell me what it takes to play baseball good enough that the other team has a chance at not winning, because if they won, our team might lose

RedsoxRockies... the key to playing better than the other team is scoring more runs. This boils down to having a better offense than your opponent and being capable of hitting the long ball. You also need better pitching than the opposing team as well, because otherwise they'll put up good run totals along the way too. It helps to establish a good workout regimen in the offseason for every player. Usually what I will do when playing Baseball Mogul is, every offseason, around December or January, I will print out my roster and have a little pep talk with every one of my players, where I share my concerns about what they need to work on. Usually, when Spring Training rolls around, they perform much better this way. You need a manager and a general manager to convey importance to the team. Nobody likes to feel left out.

[Joe Morgan]

Thanks Joe!! I knew I could count on you. Next question - should the Dodgers allow Ned Colletti to trade one of our young talents for another over the hill "veteran leader", or my preference, we stuff Colletti into a box (it wouldn't require a large box for him) and ship him back to San Francisco? Should we even bother poking airholes in the box? And should we ship via FedEx, UPS, DHL, or US Mail? I'm overwhelmed by all these choices!!

Beerchaser, it helps to weigh the future compared to the present. If your team has a legitimate chance at the postseason, it might be worth trading a young prospect away, as long as it is at a position you are strong at. I have not seen the Dodgers play this year, but they are a good team.

It helps to have shipping options if you are going to deport your favorite general manager to another country. Usually I go with UPS myself. My cousin's neighbor had a sun that worked at UPS and he turned out to be a well-rounded young man when he got older. One time I order a novelty item and it was shipped by FedEx and the box was smashed when it arrived. I called to complain, but nothing happened. You would probably need a large box for a person like Ned Coletti, because he's larger than normal.

[beerchaser]

It helps to have shipping options if you are going to deport your favorite general manager to another country. Usually I go with UPS myself. My cousin's neighbor had a sun that worked at UPS and he turned out to be a well-rounded young man when he got older. One time I order a novelty item and it was shipped by FedEx and the box was smashed when it arrived. I called to complain, but nothing happened. You would probably need a large box for a person like Ned Coletti, because he's larger than normal.

Good advice again Joe. From what I've heard about San Francisco and the people that live there, it probably does qualify as another country. Hmmm, that would probably cost more on shipping though.

[Joe Morgan]

Beerchaser, it would cost more on shipping if you were going to send him to Europe somewhere. They have baseball teams in Europe and Asia, so you might look into arranging a trade into just sending your general manager away. It is similar to what the Devil Rays did with Lou Piniella when they traded Randy Winn to the Seattle Mariners to acquire him.

[CatKnight]

Joe, I hate the Wang...er..Yankees. I smile every time I see them lose, and laugh when they're humiliated. I think I'd be perfectly happy if the Indians won only one game all year, so long as the Yanks won zero. Seeing someone wearing a Yankee cap here in Cleveland makes me snarl and want something really ugly to happen to them, like a tax audit.

Are these feelings natural? The instinctive (though often sublimated) sense most people have about evil, egomanical tyrants throughout history? Or is this the beginning of a deeper psychosis?

[Jellio]

Your Morgan impersonation is almost spot on, but its lacking the random stories of his own past greatness that he likes to throw in situations, where they dont really fit.

[HoustonGM]

Your Morgan impersonation is almost spot on, but its lacking the random stories of his own past greatness that he likes to throw in situations, where they dont really fit.

And Dave Concepcion for the HOF! Actually, it's more like...

"Being that I am the chairperson for the HOF committee, I can't give my opinions on players being in the Hall of Fame. But Davey Concpecion was a really good player and should be in the Hall of Fame."

[JeepGuy63]

Joe,

Did you ever recieve royalty checks from Reebok after they produced the Air Pumps on their shoes? It is the same principal as your left arm pump when you were batting.

[Passed Ball]

Joe,

Bobby Valentine has suggested that the Japanese champion should play the World Series winner at the end of the season in a true World Series and the Japanese players association also wanted this to happen. Why are Major League teams scared to play the Japanese teams? Might Japan's victory at the inaugural World Baseball Classic have something to do with it?

[Joe Morgan]

Joe, I hate the Wang...er..Yankees. I smile every time I see them lose, and laugh when they're humiliated. I think I'd be perfectly happy if the Indians won only one game all year, so long as the Yanks won zero. Seeing someone wearing a Yankee cap here in Cleveland makes me snarl and want something really ugly to happen to them, like a tax audit.

Are these feelings natural? The instinctive (though often sublimated) sense most people have about evil, egomanical tyrants throughout history? Or is this the beginning of a deeper psychosis?

CatKnight, the Yankees are a team that people either love or they hate. There are a lot of Yankees fans in other cities and sometimes they outnumber the home team's fans. I haven't seen them play, but they are a good team that a lot of people like. If I see somebody from the broadcast booth wearing something that I don't like, I could just draw an inappropriate image on the monitor and it would make me feel better. Jon is notorious for this sort of thing. He will draw male genitalia on a fan's head on the monitor and we'll share a laugh over it.

Going back to your feelings, I am not a psychologist and have never read a book on them, but it sounds like you need a way to express those feelings. A lot of players play baseball for that reason. You have to give 100% and lay it all out on the field. Maybe you could organize a community softball event, or something from the forums here. I'm sure that HoustonGM and ohms_law would love to play on your team. When you're out on the field, just do your best and in the end your team will come out on top.

[Joe Morgan]

Joe,

Did you ever recieve royalty checks from Reebok after they produced the Air Pumps on their shoes? It is the same principal as your left arm pump when you were batting.

JeepGuy, I have not received royalty checks from Reebok recently. They make some good shoes, although I have not seem them or worn them yet. Once you get older and your body starts to slow down, you want to have a shoe that fits and is easy to put on, so sometimes I will wear velcro shoes in the broadcast booth.