Jason's interview with WAAF: Hill-Man Morning show

May 16, 2007 - Excerpts from Jason's in-studio interview with Greg Hill:

 

On watching Wakefield pitch and Mirabelli catch:


"For about the first three or four innings, depends on how the game is going, you know, I enjoy it 'cause my mind gets to rest and I get to enjoy a game. But then starting after that third inning, after the top of the fourth, I start getting ready, see how the game's going - like yesterday, had to make sure I was ready to go in and pinch-hit or just be available and sometimes those days...it's a little harder to crank it up...to get ready in a normal fashion."



On Doug Mirabelli (after a caller questions Doug's at-bats):


"Doug's the best at what he does. He's the best at being a teammate, he's the best at being a coach out there. Doug's swinging the bat extremely well. We wouldn't have won a lot of games already with Doug in the line-up. The way he has been swinging the bat, he probably should have played a little more than he was."



On catching for Tim Wakefield:


"I had my first Major League start with Wake...that wasn't fun." (laughs)



On how long he thinks Tim Wakefield will be pitching:


"I don't know, another 10-15 years!" (laughs)



On the existance of the "Gyro ball":


"It exists. It is a physical phenomenon. But I guess to really understand it, there is a Japanese scientist you have to consult."



On the difficulty of talking to Daisuke Matsuzaka on the mound:


"His English is getting better and better. He understands a lot - whether he can speak it back, that's a different story. But he understands a lot of what's going on and we have some key phrases and key words in Japanese that I forget really quickly. It's just simple things. If we start to get really in depth then we need a little help."



On fans heckling him:


"Probably the only time I hear it is when [I'm] warming up in the bullpen. The most irritating thing is, 'Oh, you're doing great - you're hitting .300, I need a little more home runs, you are on my fantasy team, let's go' ".


"It's fun going to New York City, playing the Yankees and getting booed. If you're getting booed in places like that, you are doing something right!"



On what he thinks of Alex Rodriguez:


"I tend not to worry about what's going on with Alex anymore. So, we'll just leave it at that."



On why he won't sign/autograph the "fight picture":


"It was like the day after: I'm just signing some autographs and I go to sign the picture and my daughter, who, I don't know, was 4 or 5 at the time, says, 'Hey Daddy, look, it's you fighting again!' (laughs)...'maybe I shouldn't sign it'. So, that's kinda where it came from."



On Roger Clemens, "Do you think he seriously thought about coming here?"


"I don't know how he couldn't think seriously about coming here with what we have started and what he could... in turn, how he could fit in. And most importantly, where he came from. I mean he was a Sock from the beginning. It brings it to a point where, I don't know him well, I don't know him hardly at all, but I am sure it ends up being a tough decision for him and probably makes a difference of where and how he is going in to the Hall [of Fame]."



On Barry Bonds and what he thinks the Fenway reaction will be when he comes to town and up to bat:



"If he's one home run away - I think everybody's interest is going to be pretty high. I don't care who or what the fans are, if you are baseball fans in general, it's going to be pretty high to see him tie it or go ahead. It's going to be pretty interesting."



On the possibility of intentionally walking Barry Bonds:


"It depends on the situation: If we're at a point in the game where we need to win the game? of course!"



On John Lester:


"He's moving right along. He's out there everyday working his tail off, actually. Whether it's doing all his work in the weight room with the trainers, the medical staff...and he just has an amazing spirit about him - when he's around, he's always got a big smile. He looks so healthy, it's just a matter of time to get him out there, get himself on the mound and get a few innings under his belt and then hopefully we'll be able to utilize him."



On how his affiliation with Children's Hospital Boston came to be:


"One of my first years here, we went over and visited Children's Hospital. It just so happens, that one of the rooms we went in to was a girl who was basically in a full body cast and we said, 'Hey', she said, 'Hey'...well, she asked us to come visit, went back, she asked us to come visit again, we went back and we started to develop a relationship. Her name was Jennifer Lynn Kennedy and we ended up becoming friends. We always made sure we visited and did stuff. We had lunch with the family.

Well, she ended up passing away within two years of that and I ended up being the last person she spoke to on the phone before she passed away and it just, for me...the Children's Hospital, lots of times, gets overlooked because of the Jimmy Fund and the other hospital right there. They're the same kids and so it just gave us the opportunity to reach out to them."



*Thank you to Mark, from the site's MySpace page, for sending me the audio link to the interview!