HardballTimes.com – Interview with Carlos Gomez, who is a scout with the Arizona Diamondbacks.

“Q: When was the last time you pitched? I don’t just mean professionally, but in any context. How often do you do that nowadays?

GOMEZ: I was giving pitching lessons last year and kept myself in decent pitching shape and I would practice throwing to a net (with a radar gun and a camera of course) once or twice a week. I’d say that the last time I did that was in February of ‘07. I was routinely sitting 86-87 topping at 90 (very proud of that, by the way). A lot of it was so that I could relate to the things I was trying to teach and also because I was using myself as a guinea pig for some of my “out there” ideas. Students tend to believe you more when you can do some of the things that you try to teach them. It didn’t hurt to show students some velocity to show them what it looked like.”

MLB.com – Interview with Nationals 3B Ryan Zimmerman.

“Q: During the month of September, you did something that was something of a surprise. You decided to publicly speak out on some of the things that went wrong. You thought the gestures Elijah Dukes made at Shea Stadium were wrong and you hinted about the team needing to spend money. You are only 23 years old. What made you decide to speak up, which you had never done before?

Zimmerman: Obviously, I’m a younger guy, but I think a lot of pressure is put on me to be the face of the franchise and be the leader. You know me. I’m not an angry person or anything like that. I think what we have in D.C. could be really special — a brand new stadium, a city that loves sports. A lot of people would love to play there, but nobody is going to want to play there if we lose 80 to 100 games every year. That’s just the way it is in sports now. It gets to the point where you get your six years in and then you get to write your own ticket. You want to go to a place like L.A, Philly or New York, which spends money every year and have a chance to make the playoffs. Every free agent wants to go to those places.

I’m not upset with ownership or anything like that. I’m just trying to say, I think we have a good thing that could really be fun here. We have a good, young core group of guys. It’s not going to take that much for people to come here. Obviously, you have to pay money. It’s easy for me to say because I’m not writing the checks. But that’s the way baseball is. That’s the way any sport is. You have to bring people in. You can’t do everything from the bottom up, although I think your core group of your team should be from the bottom up. When you bring your free agents in, we can tell them how things go here and how it’s going to be. They can fit right in. But you have to have talent in this game. No question.

BaseballProspectus.com (Subscription)- David Laurila talks with former Major League Pitcher and current Pitching Coach of the Fort Wayne Wizards, Tom Bradley.

BaseballProspectus.com (Subscription)- David Laurila talks with Blue Jays Hitting Coach Gene Tenace.

It is about the money, stupid – IIATMS interviews Padres Assistant GM Paul DePodesta of “Moneyball” fame.

“IIATMS: With the increased reliance on data/statistics and the success of proponents of this approach (Epstein, Beane, yourself, etc.), many college grads are clamoring to enter the front office ranks. What advice would you give kids entering college regarding a course of study to prepare them to enter the business of baseball? For those leaving college? For those already working (not in baseball) but looking to leverage other experiences?

PD: My advice would be to look for another line of work. I say that jokingly, but with a hint of seriousness. These jobs are incredibly demanding not only for the individual but also for friends and family. It can be difficult to find any semblance of balance or perspective. As far as an area of study, I would recommend as wide an array of subjects as possible. What’s most important is an inquisitive and thirsty mind.”

RightFieldBleachers.com – RFB interviews exuberant Brewers fan Robert “The Maniac” Beaudoin.

“How long have you been going to Brewers games? And do you have a favorite game
of all time?

I’ve been going to games at County Stadium and Miller Park combined for 20 years. Although we lost that game, my most memorable moment was September 9, 1992, when my all-time favorite Brewer, Robin Yount, hit his 3,000th career base hit.”

MondesisHouse.com – MH interviews Pirates postgame host Rocco DeMaro.

“[MH]: So what’s your gut feeling: will we ever have the opportunity to attend a Pedro Alvarez Bobblehead Night at PNC Park someday, or will he end up back in the draft next year?

[RD]:Gut feeling? Gun to my head? No bobblehead. However…

I think Pedro WILL be ruled a Pirate in the near future (even if the arbiter rules that MLB broke the rules via the deadline extensions, said arbiter seems to have very little authority in terms of awarding relief in this case, hence a likely slap on MLB’s wrist and Pedro becomes a Pirate) but I also believe Pedro will be killed by an errant pitchfork thrown by an irate Bucs fan as he makes his way to PNC Park to finally sign the contract to which he has allegedly agreed to. A tragic ending.”

“MH: After a few years apart, you two were recently reunited, bringing joy to countless Pittsburghers. Were you able to instantly recapture your chemistry, or had Guy already been too corrupted by Eddy Crow?
GJ: Well, we didn’t have anything to do with that breakup. But there were times when I would call him on the phone; we’ll be watching some unbelievable sporting events, we’ll call each other. We stayed in close contact and always talked at the Steeler games and the press box at the Penguin games. I think it’s been a pretty smooth transition.”

” DD: What are the odds that the Mets sign Oliver Perez next season?

DL: Right Now, I’d say 20-1″

“QUESTION: That’s great. Really. It’s a great book. OK, can we start talking about other stuff now? Like, OK, what’s your favorite Pixifood?

MICHAEL: On one of my many drives back from Columbus, I suddenly found myself in the mood for Combos – those pretzels with cheese filling – for the first time in 15 or 20 years. So when I stopped for gas, I bought a little bag, because I figured if I bought a BIG bag I’d eat them all on the ride home and feel sick. I ate the first one and thought, “Why the hell did they wrap a pretzel around a piece of poisonous chalk?” It was beyond awful. I had a similar, though not as brutal, experience recently with a Charleston Chew.”

“Q: Manny Acta — How do you think he’s done this year, and how does the front office feel about him?

I’m a big supporter of Manny. I think Manny has done an excellent job with this team. He stayed positive through the most difficult times. It’s hard to do. Like all of us that are young in the game, he continues to develop. You know, I told him the stories of when I was with the Pirates and we first hired Jim Leyland, and they lost 100 games and people were questioning him: Should he come back? And when he had the horses, Jim Leyland won. And I believe that when Manny Acta gets the horses, Manny Acta will win. … I support Manny Acta and the job he’s done.”

UmpBump.com – UmpBump talks with Paul Hagen of the Philly Daily News.

“Umpbump: Fair enough. We’ll agree to disagree. One last question: do you read blogs? And if so, which ones?

PH: As for blogs, I frankly don’t make a point of finding them. If I run across one or somebody brings one to my attention, of course I’ll read it.”

GasLampBall.com – GasLampBall serves up an MP3 interview of Kevin Towers.

XXSportsRadio.com – XXSR interviews Sandy Alderson on many different topics including the Padres and the farm system.

Extra Baggs - Andrew Baggarly interviews Giants Single-A affiliate Augusta’s pitching coach Russ Grimsely to talk about the amazing season put in by prospect Madison Bumgarner: 15-3, 1.47 ERA, 21 BB, 164 K’s.

“Q: Can you break down what he throws and what he’s working on?
A: He’s worked on a slider. He had a curveball in the spring but it was erratic. It seemed more like a knuckle curve to me and he wasn’t consistent with it. The slider has gotten better. He’s around the plate with it. It’s got a sharper break and more tilt.

But the biggest thing is the changeup. He’ll need that for the higher levels and he understands that. Down here, he’s just throwing the ball by guys. The closer to home plate they get, the more he reaches back and goes after them. For 19, he’s a very mature, smart kid. He knows he’s got some things he’s got to work on to make himself a more complete pitcher, not just a thrower.”

BaseballProspectus.com (subscription) – David Laurila interviews Padres reliever Cla Meredith.

“DL: What are you doing to fine-tune your delivery? I assume you’re working a lot with your pitching coach, Darren Balsey?

CM: Somewhat. Balsley is a great pitching coach, and I love him to death, but a lot of times, unless something really sticks out, it’s in your own court. He has a lot of confidence in what I’m doing out there, which is huge—you can’t ask for much more than that. He’s always telling you, “You’re okay, you’re okay.” But obviously a lot of the things I do, especially from having more of an unorthodox delivery and arm angle, I’ve had to figure out on my own. There’s nothing wrong with that, and Balsey is always there to help me out when it’s needed. He’ll point out some things that he sees that may not be normal.”

Boston.com – Nick Cafardo interviews Tigers coach Jim Leyland.

“What’s the future look like?

JL: “We have a lot of good pieces on this team. We’re not a perfect team or else we wouldn’t be in the spot in the standings we are now, but we do have a lot to work with going forward. We’re going to have to figure some things out. It was just one of those years where things just didn’t go right, but that’s happened to a lot of teams. It happened to the White Sox and they rebounded from it and have done very well. So we can rebound from this, too.”"

GaslampBall.com – Sandy Alderson discusses Padres and Olympics baseball on the XEPRS 1090AM.

Whygavs.com – Rocco DeMaro of WPGB radio is interviewed to discuss Pirates baseball.

“WHYGAVS: How tough is it doing a stats-based show on the Pirates’ flagship station? Obviously a lot of people don’t want anything to do with that, especially in a general audience.

RD: Well, if I didn’t discuss the statistical side of things, I wouldn’t be doing my job. Baseball, more than any other sport, is driven by numbers…both in a predictive sense and a reactive sense. That SO MANY media outlets bypass true performance analysis for easier to digest generalities (and, usually, misconceptions) has always been a frustration for me. It’s all about homework, really. It’s about being willing to put the work in to truly understand how the game works.”

Baseball Digest Daily – Eric SanInocencio will be interviewing Nationals’ Aaron Crow today at 12:30. The podcast begins at noon and goes through 1.

Live from Mickey Mantle’s – LfMM interviews Erik Hahmann, Tommy Rancel and Paul Testa of MVN and also Aziz and Dave Nekoukar of NJ.com

RightFieldBleachers.com – RFB interviews Charlie from Bucs Dugout for insight into the Pirates world.

“ RFB: After impressive 2007 campaigns both Ian Snell and Tom Gorzelanny have struggled this season, is there any chance they rebound next season? Which is more likely to find his form?

Charlie: I’d say Snell has a better shot, just because his struggles this year don’t seem to have anything to do with his health. He looked filthy Tuesday night against the Cardinals. “