I'm hoping that posting this particular interview with Bobby Crosby brings our boy a little positive AN mojo for his X-Ray.
As I mentioned, I didn't really get a one-on-one interview with Bobby, although I successfully scared the TV cameras away. When I walked over to join the interview, one was actually asking Bobby, "So, did you buy anything nice for yourself this offseason. Any bling?"
You know that the term "bling" has lost any credibility as a hip-hop term when a middle-aged sports reporter is tossing it around in an interview.
Next thing you know, he's going to be saying, "I work for televizzle. Fo shizzle."
Without further ado, here is what transpired while I was a part of the Crosby interview.
Blez: Was there any particular thing you came into camp trying to work on this spring training, such as being more patient?
Bobby Crosby: I'm trying to work on my two-strike approach a little bit. I want to get into a comfortable stance where I can be in the position to hit anything. There's not any one particular thing I've made an effort on, I think I can get better at all aspects.
Blez: So, nothing like opposite field hitting to help you keep your hands back longer?
BC: That is part of what I'm working on, but it's not my main focus. I'm going to pull the ball regardless because that's just a part of my game.
Another media guy: Any advice for Nick Swisher coming into this season? A lot of people have him favored to win the award you won last year and that's Rookie of the Year.
BC: I'd tell him to just relax and not try to do too much. He should just come in and try to be himself. If he plays the way he did last year and all the way up, he'll be fine. Where you get into trouble is when you try to do too much and try to hit a home run every AB and that's sort of the way I felt that first month last season.
Another media guy: It must be hard coming up with those kinds of expectations.
BC: Yeah, and you want to excel at every level you go to. You always want to come out hot and start out on a hot streak to show you belong at that level. And he did a good job last September, so I hope he kind of builds off of that.
Blez: I've talked with Billy before and one of the things that he says about you is that sometimes you kind of press too hard. Is there any way to work on that to try and make yourself relax a bit?
BC: I'm harder on myself than anyone is ever going to be on me. That's always helped me in the sense that I don't like struggling, so I'm going to work my butt off to get out of a slump and it's going to make me better. But at the same time, sometimes I can wind up beating myself up, which in this game you can't do when you're playing 162 games. So I think that's going to come with time. This year I'll be better at that and then the year after that I'll be better.
Blez: Short-term memory can help in this game.
BC: Yeah, exactly and you've just gotta let things go. And as I'm getting old, I'm getting better and better at that.
Blez: By older, what are you 24 now?
BC: (Laughing) Well, I'm 25 now, so I'm older than last year. But what I mean is that the older I get the more experience I have. That means the easier it is to say, I've already been through this, I'm not going to worry about it. I know I'm going to go out there and I'm going to be fine the next day.
Another media guy: Does that just come with being in the major leagues?
BC: The longer you've been in the big leagues the more likely you are to have faced certain situations. Last year, the first month, I was struggling to get through games and I didn't know what to do because I hadn't been in those situations before. Hopefully it doesn't happen this year, but if it does, I'll be ready for it and I'll know better how to deal with it.
Blez: What did you do last season that helped you emerge from that funk?
BC: I pretty much said, "Screw it." That's exactly what I told myself. I'm not going to think, I'm not going to care. If I get out, I get out; if I get a hit, I get a hit. Then all of a sudden you stop thinking and you start hitting. It's the kind of thing where you stop worrying and you go out there and let your reflexes take over.
Another media guy: Is there a moment where you kind of realize you're a big leaguer and you're comfortable in your position and realize you're here to stay?
BC: Yeah, I hope so. I know what I can do and I think last season was just kind of touching the surface a little bit. I'm pretty confident in knowing that I can go out and put together a lot better year.
Blez: Do you set any statistical goals at the beginning of the season?
BC: I never do at the beginning of the year. Like last year, about half way through the year, I knew I could hit 20 home runs, so then I wanted 20. But at the beginning of the year, I really try not to because I don't want to focus on that. I just want to focus on going out there and play. One thing I can say is that if you look at all my stats, I can hit more than 22 home runs, I can hit for a higher average, I can get more RBIs and defensively, I can improve there. I don't look at certain stats, but I know I can improve on all of those.
Blez: Do you feel relief that the Tejada shadow thing is finally done and over with?
BC: I certainly hope so. This spring has certainly been a little different. Last season that was all I got. I didn't really look at it as replacing Tejada coming in. I just kind of said, "Oh, I guess I'm going to be the shortstop, so I'm going to go out there and play."
Blez: Any sage advice Dad gave you last season?
BC: It's all encouragement from him. When I started out at Sacramento, I started slow. At every level I've gone to I've seemed to start out slow. He always just seemed to say, you've always ended up on top and I know you will again this year.
Blez: How do you think the team is going to gel this year?
BC: I think it's going to be good. The clubhouse atmosphere is just awesome right now. We have such a good time and everyone gets along, it's just nice.
Blez: Has it changed a lot with the turnover?
BC: Well, we're missing a couple of guys from last year. They were good guys and good clubhouse guys. But we added a couple of good clubhouse guys too.
Blez: Thanks for your time. Good luck this year, Bobby.
