Questions for John Vuch

BleacherBum593 · 01-19-2007, 02:40 PM

If you have any questions for John on Sunday nights chat session, please list them here. I'm expecting quite a few people at the session and I'd like to keep it as orderly as possible. Nothing ruins this type of session quicker than 100 people shouting at the guest to get their question answered.

John has told me time is not a problem and he'll stay as long as needed to answer questions.

We plan on making a copy of the session for the board, so if something keeps you from joining us Sunday nite, rest assured you won't miss anything.

BB593

AARP'ER · 01-20-2007, 12:24 AM

Question I would have for Mr. Vuch would be about there AAA starting pitchers. Last couple of seasons the Cardinals have gone out and sign John Webb, Dennis Tankersley, Chris Gissell and Kevin Jarvis, all whom have experience at the AAA level. This season the only AAA starter with any experience they have sign that I have heard of up to this point is Mike Smith. Does this mean that besides Mike Smith and Hawksworth, the Cardinals are going to be looking at Lambert, Pomeranz, Pals, Parisi and Haberer as starters at Memphis and could any of these players end up in the bullpen?

vegasjim · 01-20-2007, 10:26 AM

Bleacher, I am not sure about my availability on Sunday night, so thanks for this option of getting questions asked.

1. I would like to hear a little about John's background - past roles, what he did before joining the Cardinals, how long with the Cardinals, etc.

2. Heard mentioned from the WW reports that Cardinals are going to look harder at Asia in the future, I would like to ask how a team does that, is it an academy set up like in Latin American?

3. We are a couple years into the reinvestment in Latin America, if John had to grade our success there so far, is the organization satisfied with the progress, development, and timeline of that reinvestment. Part two, could he share the top 3-5 names to keep an eye on from the VSL/DSL programs.

4. We hear so much about major league payroll dollars and it seems many fans want to judge owners/organizations by their willingness to pay big leaguers. Could John give us some round numbers in how many dollars ( I am sure several million ) in takes each years to sign prospects and run minor league development. Part two to this question is where does the Cardinals budget in dollars for the minor leagues rank in comparison to other organizations.

5. A couple of years ago, I recall a goal being stated by someone on the drafting team, for the club to get 3 big leaguers out of every draft. Has this changed or is this still the thinking every year.

Thanks again for this opportunity to ask questions.
Jim

bccran · 01-20-2007, 12:32 PM

Bleacher -

I also am intrigued about Memphis starters. At WW, they said that
all the guys who had fairly full seasons at Springfield would be in the mix, trying win a starting job at Memphis. That would include Pomeranz, Lambert,
Parisi and Pals. Lambert had a cup of coffee at Memphis at the end of the year, so I would guess he would start in Memphis. Haberer pitched 61 innings at Springfield ineffectively, after 99 innings at PB. Hawksworth piched 80 innnings at Springfield effectively, after 84 excellent innings at PB. We probably need to throw Troy Cate into the mix. He had only a few innings at Springfield in relief, but he has been lights out this winter as a starter.
He will probably spend the first month or two at Springfield, but if he keeps it up he is on a very fast track.

My guess is that Mike Smith and Randy Keisler have two of the slots already. Lambert is a pretty sure bet for a third if he has a good spring. I'm betting Hawksworth is there if not in April, shortly thereafter. Pomeranz or Pals probably will compete the fifth slot, but will be passed up by Boggs in the near future.

All that being said, I wouldn't be surprised to see several FA additions in the next few weeks - even guys with significant major league experience.

One of my questions for tomorrow night is about Narveson. With the signing of Franklin it really puts the squeeze on Narvy, especially because of of the WW comments that he should be a starter. How do we keep him since he is out of options?

karuso · 01-20-2007, 03:58 PM

I would ask him about Jon Edwards, and the opinion about his being a "lumberjack" hitter, is he more of a strikeuot probem? and about Adam Ottavino's problems with lefthanded hitters at QC last year, is he dealing with those problems, or is he needing another pitch to replace his changeup problems. By the way, there might be one who is older on this list, but I never have stated the fact that I am female, are there any others on this list?

bccran · 01-20-2007, 04:03 PM

karuso -

Good to have you here! If there aren't any (or many) other females on the board, maybe you could spread word about the board to other female fans you might know.

BTW, I think I may be the elder statesman on the board.

BleacherBum593 · 01-20-2007, 04:30 PM

There's at least one other female on the list that I know of. But, I won't "out" her.

AARP'ER · 01-21-2007, 05:33 PM

Don't know if its to late for another question or not but if not I like to know what Mr. Vuch thinks bout Rick Ankiel. I got this information from minor league baseball and baseball cube. 2002 Ankiel salary was $400,000. and he didn't play. 2003 I couldn't fine his salary but he pitched in 20 games and pitched 54.1 innings and also had 25 AB. 2004 his salary was $320,000. Pitched in 6 games and pitched 23.2 innings and had 4 AB. 2005 his salary was $400,000. Played in 85 games and had 321 AB. 2006 had a $335,000. salary and didn't play. Don't know what his salary is in 2007. How much longer and money are they going to spend on his guy? Thanks Beacher....

BleacherBum593 · 01-21-2007, 07:37 PM

Okay, I've combined Q's from the WW thread and this one, plus Q's that people have PM'ed with. About 30 in all so far. I've tried to organize all the Q's, so if your's isn't one asked right off the bat, just be patient. I'll get to all of them.

Plus, I'm sure there will be some follow Q's to his answer's. Should be a fun night.

Kodiak · 01-22-2007, 12:38 AM

Well the chat went very well and we got a lot of great contributions from everyone. Mr. Vuch was very informative and it was a pleasure having him. We should have a transcript of the chat up by sometime tommorow hopefully so that everyone that couldn't make it can get caught up. I believe that Bleacher was going to e-mail John some more questions that we didn't have time to get around to so feel free to post some more questions should you have any and we'll try and get them answered.

Thanks to Bleach, JohnF and all those at Fanhome that made this chat possible and I look forward to next weeks chat so make sure you all stop by!

NianguaToad · 01-22-2007, 06:10 PM

I concur that the conversation went well. There were a few technical glitches, but John F was in the crowd and seemed to be taking careful notes so improvements/corrections could be made prior to future events.

John Vuch was a good "star" for the debut. He fielded questions well and responded with both breadth and depth. Good job by him, and most certainly a good job by BleacherBum and the FanHome folks.

vegasjim · 01-22-2007, 08:18 PM

I missed the 1st hour, so I am looking forward to the recap to be published. In what I saw in the last hour, John Vuch was very impressive. Bleacher thanks for setting this up and securing John's participation.

Jim

Coop · 01-22-2007, 08:30 PM

It was great!
I am anxious to see the recap. Vuch was great. A lot of information to remember, especially with the Alzhiemers (sp).

Matt · 01-22-2007, 09:23 PM

I'll be making the changes as John noted, I'll try and get something more robust in place, but for now, I think I can fix the issues.

BleacherBum593 · 01-23-2007, 02:05 PM

Thanks Matt and thanks to everyone who participated Sunday nite. For the first time out, things went fairly well and we're working to get a few of the kinks out of the way by Sunday nite.

Check out the reviews from Viva El Birdos today.

I've got a few follow-up Q's for John and I'm planning on sending him an email late tonight. So if you have some additional Q's, tack them on here.

Mike

01-19-2007, 02:40 PM	#1 (permalink)
BleacherBum593 Moderator Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: St Louis (LF Bleachers) Posts: 1,903	Questions for John Vuch If you have any questions for John on Sunday nights chat session, please list them here. I'm expecting quite a few people at the session and I'd like to keep it as orderly as possible. Nothing ruins this type of session quicker than 100 people shouting at the guest to get their question answered. John has told me time is not a problem and he'll stay as long as needed to answer questions. We plan on making a copy of the session for the board, so if something keeps you from joining us Sunday nite, rest assured you won't miss anything. BB593

01-20-2007, 12:24 AM	#2 (permalink)
AARP'ER Member Join Date: Jan 2007 Posts: 21	Question for Mr. Vuch Question I would have for Mr. Vuch would be about there AAA starting pitchers. Last couple of seasons the Cardinals have gone out and sign John Webb, Dennis Tankersley, Chris Gissell and Kevin Jarvis, all whom have experience at the AAA level. This season the only AAA starter with any experience they have sign that I have heard of up to this point is Mike Smith. Does this mean that besides Mike Smith and Hawksworth, the Cardinals are going to be looking at Lambert, Pomeranz, Pals, Parisi and Haberer as starters at Memphis and could any of these players end up in the bullpen?

01-20-2007, 10:26 AM	#3 (permalink)
vegasjim Member Join Date: Nov 2006 Posts: 221	Bleacher, I am not sure about my availability on Sunday night, so thanks for this option of getting questions asked. 1. I would like to hear a little about John's background - past roles, what he did before joining the Cardinals, how long with the Cardinals, etc. 2. Heard mentioned from the WW reports that Cardinals are going to look harder at Asia in the future, I would like to ask how a team does that, is it an academy set up like in Latin American? 3. We are a couple years into the reinvestment in Latin America, if John had to grade our success there so far, is the organization satisfied with the progress, development, and timeline of that reinvestment. Part two, could he share the top 3-5 names to keep an eye on from the VSL/DSL programs. 4. We hear so much about major league payroll dollars and it seems many fans want to judge owners/organizations by their willingness to pay big leaguers. Could John give us some round numbers in how many dollars ( I am sure several million ) in takes each years to sign prospects and run minor league development. Part two to this question is where does the Cardinals budget in dollars for the minor leagues rank in comparison to other organizations. 5. A couple of years ago, I recall a goal being stated by someone on the drafting team, for the club to get 3 big leaguers out of every draft. Has this changed or is this still the thinking every year. Thanks again for this opportunity to ask questions. Jim Last edited by vegasjim; 01-20-2007 at 10:42 AM.

01-22-2007, 09:23 PM	#14 (permalink)
Matt Administrator Join Date: Nov 2001 Posts: 174	I'll be making the changes as John noted, I'll try and get something more robust in place, but for now, I think I can fix the issues. __________________ Hi there!

01-20-2007, 12:32 PM	#4 (permalink)
bccran Member Join Date: Nov 2006 Posts: 40	Bleacher - I also am intrigued about Memphis starters. At WW, they said that all the guys who had fairly full seasons at Springfield would be in the mix, trying win a starting job at Memphis. That would include Pomeranz, Lambert, Parisi and Pals. Lambert had a cup of coffee at Memphis at the end of the year, so I would guess he would start in Memphis. Haberer pitched 61 innings at Springfield ineffectively, after 99 innings at PB. Hawksworth piched 80 innnings at Springfield effectively, after 84 excellent innings at PB. We probably need to throw Troy Cate into the mix. He had only a few innings at Springfield in relief, but he has been lights out this winter as a starter. He will probably spend the first month or two at Springfield, but if he keeps it up he is on a very fast track. My guess is that Mike Smith and Randy Keisler have two of the slots already. Lambert is a pretty sure bet for a third if he has a good spring. I'm betting Hawksworth is there if not in April, shortly thereafter. Pomeranz or Pals probably will compete the fifth slot, but will be passed up by Boggs in the near future. All that being said, I wouldn't be surprised to see several FA additions in the next few weeks - even guys with significant major league experience. One of my questions for tomorrow night is about Narveson. With the signing of Franklin it really puts the squeeze on Narvy, especially because of of the WW comments that he should be a starter. How do we keep him since he is out of options?

01-20-2007, 03:58 PM	#5 (permalink)
karuso Member Join Date: Nov 2006 Posts: 16	I would ask him about Jon Edwards, and the opinion about his being a "lumberjack" hitter, is he more of a strikeuot probem? and about Adam Ottavino's problems with lefthanded hitters at QC last year, is he dealing with those problems, or is he needing another pitch to replace his changeup problems. By the way, there might be one who is older on this list, but I never have stated the fact that I am female, are there any others on this list?

01-20-2007, 04:03 PM	#6 (permalink)
bccran Member Join Date: Nov 2006 Posts: 40	karuso - Good to have you here! If there aren't any (or many) other females on the board, maybe you could spread word about the board to other female fans you might know. BTW, I think I may be the elder statesman on the board.

01-20-2007, 04:30 PM	#7 (permalink)
BleacherBum593 Moderator Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: St Louis (LF Bleachers) Posts: 1,903	There's at least one other female on the list that I know of. But, I won't "out" her.

01-21-2007, 05:33 PM	#8 (permalink)
AARP'ER Member Join Date: Jan 2007 Posts: 21	Don't know if its to late for another question or not but if not I like to know what Mr. Vuch thinks bout Rick Ankiel. I got this information from minor league baseball and baseball cube. 2002 Ankiel salary was $400,000. and he didn't play. 2003 I couldn't fine his salary but he pitched in 20 games and pitched 54.1 innings and also had 25 AB. 2004 his salary was $320,000. Pitched in 6 games and pitched 23.2 innings and had 4 AB. 2005 his salary was $400,000. Played in 85 games and had 321 AB. 2006 had a $335,000. salary and didn't play. Don't know what his salary is in 2007. How much longer and money are they going to spend on his guy? Thanks Beacher....

01-21-2007, 07:37 PM	#9 (permalink)
BleacherBum593 Moderator Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: St Louis (LF Bleachers) Posts: 1,903	Okay, I've combined Q's from the WW thread and this one, plus Q's that people have PM'ed with. About 30 in all so far. I've tried to organize all the Q's, so if your's isn't one asked right off the bat, just be patient. I'll get to all of them. Plus, I'm sure there will be some follow Q's to his answer's. Should be a fun night.

01-22-2007, 12:38 AM	#10 (permalink)
Kodiak Veteran Member Join Date: Nov 2006 Posts: 746	Well the chat went very well and we got a lot of great contributions from everyone. Mr. Vuch was very informative and it was a pleasure having him. We should have a transcript of the chat up by sometime tommorow hopefully so that everyone that couldn't make it can get caught up. I believe that Bleacher was going to e-mail John some more questions that we didn't have time to get around to so feel free to post some more questions should you have any and we'll try and get them answered. Thanks to Bleach, JohnF and all those at Fanhome that made this chat possible and I look forward to next weeks chat so make sure you all stop by!

01-22-2007, 06:10 PM	#11 (permalink)
NianguaToad Member Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Wardsville, MO Posts: 31	I concur that the conversation went well. There were a few technical glitches, but John F was in the crowd and seemed to be taking careful notes so improvements/corrections could be made prior to future events. John Vuch was a good "star" for the debut. He fielded questions well and responded with both breadth and depth. Good job by him, and most certainly a good job by BleacherBum and the FanHome folks.

01-22-2007, 08:18 PM	#12 (permalink)
vegasjim Member Join Date: Nov 2006 Posts: 221	I missed the 1st hour, so I am looking forward to the recap to be published. In what I saw in the last hour, John Vuch was very impressive. Bleacher thanks for setting this up and securing John's participation. Jim

01-22-2007, 08:30 PM	#13 (permalink)
Coop Senior Member Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Memphis Posts: 4,136	It was great! I am anxious to see the recap. Vuch was great. A lot of information to remember, especially with the Alzhiemers (sp).

01-23-2007, 02:05 PM	#15 (permalink)
BleacherBum593 Moderator Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: St Louis (LF Bleachers) Posts: 1,903	Thanks Matt and thanks to everyone who participated Sunday nite. For the first time out, things went fairly well and we're working to get a few of the kinks out of the way by Sunday nite. Check out the reviews from Viva El Birdos today. I've got a few follow-up Q's for John and I'm planning on sending him an email late tonight. So if you have some additional Q's, tack them on here. Mike