SS= Stu Scott
JG= J. Guzman
SS= Welcome to the show Jermaine, how are you doing today?
JG= I'm doing pretty good actually, thanks for asking.
SS= Let's get down to business. How do you feel about Santo Domingo's season performance and their postseason exit?
JG= Well, in the regular season I think we did really well. At the beginning we were in the race with Montreal and every game was very important. With Montreal's depth of talent, we just couldn't hang tough with them the whole season. We ended up 69-24 and 12 games out of first place. When we clinched the playoff spot and we knew we were going to face Montreal, we started preparing. We got a game plan, and we tried to execute it. We had some time to rest between the regular season and the start of the playoff series so I think that all of the players were just mentally preparing for the series. We came into the series knowing that we could win the Western Hemisphere pennant, but we came up just a little bit short. We lost the series three games to one and all of our players were devestated. We knew we could have beaten them, and I know that our team is going to be that much more determined to beat them next year.
SS= Talk about how Santo Domingo's team has been changed during this off-season so far.
JG= We just made a huge trade sending Ryan Reynolds to Montreal for Alex Zito. I think Chocobops thought we could use Zito in the middle of our lineup to drive some runs in. With Levesque, Kobbs, and Demayo costing multi-millions, we knew we couldn't keep Reynolds who costed quite a bit of money. Since we lost Jason Rhiner in a trade, we had a hole in the middle of our lineup and I think that Zito can fill that spot. In that Rhiner trade, we got Fat Sal who is an above average catcher who has a very cheap salary for his ability. With Fat Sal coming, we have three capable catchers in Guiney, Schultz, and Fat Sal. Gerald, being the team player that he is, has agreed to move positions to first base to fill Rhiner's hole on defense. After Gerald's sub-par fielding efforts compared to his capabilities, he knew the switch could help the team. I'm pretty sure we still have some space with our payroll and we can hopefully get some free agents that can help our team.
SS= You hit eighth in the batting order last year hitting .323 with 6 homers and 67 RBI's, but I've heard rumors that you will be moved up in the order this coming season. I've heard second from some sources, and I've heard fifth or sixth. Where will you be hitting?
JG= As of right now, I really don't know foresure. All I can say is that I will hit in the order wherever the team needs me the most. I'm sure Choco will make a good decision and we will just have to let that one play out.
SS= Do you have a preference for which spot you hit in?
JG= It really doesn't matter to me, Stuart. If Choco decides second, I'll work hard at getting on base and making things happen with my speed. If Choco wants me to hit in the middle of the order, I'll make sure that i'll be driving in runs. I've developed a little more power so far this off-season and I know that I'll get better. Whatever Choco decides, I'll adjust my game to fit that criteria. Last year I hit eighth and I had to provide a spark in the back end of the order, and maybe this year I'll have to provide a spark at the top of the order, who knows. I'm pretty excited to get this season going and I'm sure we'll find out what the lineup is going to look like shortly.
SS= Sorry, but we're short on time. I hope to see you again before the season starts so you can update me on the team news.
JG= Sure thing Stuart, I'll be back before you know it.
