Jim Duquette
Jim Duquette
James "Jim" Duquette was the general manager of the New York Mets for the 2004 season, before the team replaced him with Omar Minaya. Duquette subsequently stayed with the Mets in a front office job for a full season before moving on to the Baltimore Orioles. With the Orioles former vice president of baseball operations, where he worked under Mike Flanagan, the team's general manager...
chris closer guy maybe serious transition until
We dabbled with getting a guy who could maybe be a transition closer until Chris could take over, but we were never really all that serious because we really feel like he's our guy.
added business cliff develop ease guy guys mike player pressure york
What you don't want to do is put too much pressure on them, too much added expectations. They had enough expectations in New York. I don't know if you can ever ease a player into the New York scene. It's something that a guy like Carlos Beltran, Mike Piazza, Cliff Floyd, they can take the pressure off the two young guys so they can go about their business and develop at their own pace.
beginning dialogue guy hopeful number obviously since uniform
We've been having a dialogue since the beginning of January. We're hopeful it's going to get done. He's obviously a guy we'd like to keep in an Oriole uniform for a number of years.
agent animal block closer contract dominating feeling free guy sign unless
Our feeling was let's not block him and sign a guy to a long-term contract unless he's a dominating closer like B.J. was. There really wasn't that kind of animal on the free agent market.
agent coming desire everyday guy likes playing wants
The way it was relayed to us through his agent was that he's not a guy that likes coming off the bench. He's a guy who wants to play every day. He didn't have the desire to keep playing if it wasn't an everyday job.
believe change close diego family heart hold league los national player reasons san trips
We got hold of the player, and the player said he had a change of heart and for family reasons wanted to play in the National League because of the trips to San Diego and Los Angeles, which are close to home. I'll believe that over the other one.
advice based guaranteed health offer willing
We weren't willing to make a guaranteed five-year offer, that was based on the advice of our doctors, ... Our offer was predicated on the health concern.
ethic players potential reach whatever work
We've had players with potential before, but not with the work ethic that they have. The thing about these two is that you know that whatever their potential is, they're going to reach it.
good league major obviously player proven record situation sure talking track
Obviously we've been talking to him for a while, and thought we had a pretty good opportunity. I'm not sure about the other opportunities he was weighing vs. ours. He's a proven major league player that's had a track record and really it's a no-risk situation for the club.
conclude deal negotiate plan tender time
Because of time constraints we weren't able to conclude a deal with Scott Strickland to tender him a contract. We still plan to negotiate with him.
direction leaving moving situation turned
Obviously, I'm leaving a situation that has turned around and is moving in the right direction,
coming feeling minor normally player potential risk worthwhile
Obviously, he's coming off a down year, and normally you don't get a player who has his potential for two minor leaguers. In fact, you never do. Our feeling was it was a worthwhile risk for us to take.
base form present themselves
I think we look at him a little differently in that there's a possibility he can play a little first base and give him a little more versatility. Right now, we feel that he'll still be an outfielder. You just never know in this game. When opportunities present themselves, they don't always present themselves in the form you're expecting.
dealing experience fact length player type victim
I think we are a victim of the fact that (Simon) has only one (client). He's had only one player for the length of his career, and he doesn't have a lot of experience dealing with this type of language.