[BigRedChief]

Post-Dispatch: You've had more than eight months to evaluate the front office after the most dramatic shake-up under your ownership group. Have you formed an impression? >>


Bill DeWitt Jr.: I think Mo's done and continues to do an excellent job. It's working the way we had hoped it would. He's put a good team together that works well together utilizing all our resources. I'm happy with the way he's organized it, the operation of it and the results.

P-D: Any change of direction invites scrutiny. To what extent were you apprehensive about committing to such dramatic changes when the club had enjoyed a fairly extended run of success?

BDJ: I think any time there's change, by definition things are going to be different. It's important to get off to a good start when there's a change in the way you're operating and in the decision-making process. You can be confident in the individuals but you can't be sure of the effectiveness of the individuals involved. I've been very impressed by his effectiveness.

P-D: You've publicly made player development a priority. We've seen sweeping changes in staffing, greater commitment in the lace w:st="on">Caribbeanlace> and more outside recognition for a number of your prospects. Are you satisfied?

BDJ: We're having a good year in the minor leagues. We're winning at Triple-A (lace w:st="on">Memphislace>) and pretty much up and down the line. The nice thing is we're winning as we've developed our players, by and large, as opposed to bringing in from other organizations as minor-league free agents. I thing you see various people and publications outside this organization recognizing the progress we're making. It's something we plan to sustain.

P-D: It can be argued the club has legitimate prospects at every level now. As you amass talent, what is your philosophy regarding keeping them for yourself or using them to address immediate needs on the major-league club?

BDJ: I believe the best way to use value in your system is either to bring it up and play it if there is need or, if you've got a surplus in certain areas, try to be in position to help you improve yourself through other means, such as trades. As far as winning the division, you look at whatever means you can to help yourself. When you look at the current race, we're interested if it's something that helps us now and in the future.

P-D: You've been fairly attuned to how outside publications and local media have depicted your scouting and player development. Obviously, it's a reason why you initially brought Jeff Luhnow into that side of things. What's your read now?

BDJ: The rating of our minor leagues by third parties has gone way up, and deservedly so. That class we drafted in '05…— many of those players are in Double-A and Triple-A now and performing well. (Colby) Rasmus is playing well now. (lace w:st="on">Bryanlace>) lace w:st="on">Andersonlace> is hitting well above .300 at Triple-A. (Mitchell) Boggs was in that draft; he's been up. (Chris) Perez was chosen in '06; he's been up. We've got solid prospects now at Double-A and Triple-A, which hasn't always been the case. Before it was difficult to project a time frame for many players at those levels to reach the major leagues. Now that's not the case.

P-D: Is there still a question about whether this team will have a "buy," "sell" or "hold" mentality as the non-waiver trade deadline approaches?

BDJ: I'm not sure the "buyers-vs.-sellers" is quite what it was a few years ago. Now there are a lot of teams that see themselves in contention for the wild card. A lot of the divisions are very competitive, so you don't see too many deals where teams are unloading good players at the deadline or moving players just to dump salary. The free-agent market the last several years has been very thin. I think that more and more you see teams tying up their top young players to extensions. That serves to dilute the market and in many cases diminish movement around the deadline. But there's always opportunity to improve through the trade process. Some years it's a question of degree.

P-D: You've said consistently this year that the club retained financial flexibility despite a payroll around $100 million. Is that still true?

BDJ: We've got room to add payroll if it would be something to improve our club. But, again, you don't see teams moving payroll just for the sake of moving payroll.

P-D: If an opportunity arose that would allow you to trade for a player or players that would add $1.5 million-$2 million in pro-rated payroll, could you digest it?

BDJ: Something like that would be very achievable.

P-D: Do you still allow yourself to act independently of your rivals after the Milwaukee Brewers acquired CC Sabathia and the Chicago Cubs traded for Rich Harden?

BDJ: We can't worry too much about what other clubs do. We have to be as good a team as we can possibly be, particularly when we're in the playoff hunt. I know Mo' is doing what he is doing to improve the club, trying to get out there and before the deadline to improve the club without sacrificing more talent than we receive in return. I know he's on the case. What we don't want to do is something we regret later. Clubs in the past have panicked and given up a lot and gotten back a little. We don't want to be in that position.

P-D: You've recently experienced injury and medical setbacks with several starting pitchers signed to multiyear deals. Mark Mulder hasn't won on his current ($13 million) deal. Neither has Chris Carpenter. Adam Wainwright is down. Does that make it even more unlikely that the club will commit beyond three years to a starting pitcher in the future?

BDJ: It's certainly case by case. But it's been pretty well-documented any time you sign a pitcher long term, you're taking on a substantial risk. The risk profile for a pitcher is significantly higher than for a position player. We know that. Wainwright was a younger player projected as central to the club's future and obviously his deal is not of the same magnitude as if he was a free agent.

P-D: How does this relate specifically to Mulder?

BDJ: When we did the two-year deal with an option we knew that it was a risk coming off of double surgery. It was incentive-driven to a large degree. We felt it warranted the risk because of the quality pitcher Mark had been. He's disappointed. We're disappointed. That's sometimes the way things go. There is risk. We were willing to take the risk at that time. Obviously at this time we don't have a lot of production from it.

P-D: Do you second-guess the move now?

BDJ: We believed, and he believed, that he would be healthy. We were told by those who evaluated him there was a high probability of him being healthy and having a chance to come back and be what he was again.

P-D: To what extent has the $13 million outlay hindered the club?

BDJ: We factored it into our payroll and budget like we do with every other player. We knew what we were getting into and the impact it would have on payroll.

P-D: How does any of this relate to the club's interest in negotiating with Kyle Lohse?

BDJ: He's certainly pitched very well and shown himself to be a quality starter. There's always a question about whether you talk about an extension at midseason or if it becomes a distraction.

P-D: Pitching coach Dave Duncan is among your pending "free agents." To what extent is it a priority to retain him?

BDJ: (Chuckling) There's no question that everybody involved here wants to keep Dave here. As it relates to his contract, I believe we'll talk about it and do whatever we can to keep him here. He's obviously an important part of the success we've had since he and Tony arrived.

P-D: You've taken some jabs about the halting progress of lace w:st="on">Ballpark Villagelace>. To some extent things have been out of your control. But to what degree can you offer assurances that it's going to happen?

BDJ: I feel confident that the Village will get developed and, from this point forward, in a more timely manner. The market's changed. There will be less residential and more office. We spent a lot of time on the Centene Project, which we thought if it could work would be a great addition to the Village and downtown. But it didn't work. It set us back a number of months. Now you look out there with the dirt and the water…— we need to get started with construction.

P-D: The club has offered assurances before on behalf of itself and the developer. Why should the public be convinced now?

BDJ: I think we have more certainty now because we know Centene won't be here and we were able to acquire the Bowling Hall of Fame site. That also had its own set of complications. If they hadn't chosen to move, we would have loved for them to be in Village. But in that location on that parcel, it wasn't ideal. That would have complicated things to move them to another part of the Village. We could have done it. But I think the way it worked out is probably a cleaner way for us to have certainty for that site and simplify the project.

P-D: Will the project be recognizable compared to its original rendering?

BDJ: I think it will be recognizable from the original vision. I don't think residential will be Phase I. It will be a second phase. I hope the residential market comes back to where it's viable.

P-D: Projections no longer call for completion of the project before the team hosts the All-Star Game next July. What can be done by then?

BDJ: The site will be a lot nicer for the All-Star Game. We'll definitely need to pave and set up an area for various All-Star activities. We were hoping to have it open for the All-Star Game but as of now that's not going to happen.

P-D: When can the city expect to see something coming out of the ground?

BDJ: I think toward the end of the year, the first of next year. I think you'll see some cosmetic things before then. But in terms of real construction ... nothing until later.

P-D: So, for you, is there still a question of whether lace w:st="on">Ballpark Villagelace> will be built?

BDJ: The Village will be built. It's just a matter of when it will be completed.

P-D: Back to the club. Much speculation has sprouted about how far the organization will go to acquire help for this year's team if it remains in contention. What does that say about the availability of premium prospects such as Colby Rasmus?

BDJ: They're must-haves for any organization. I don't think you can trade potential premium prospects unless you get premium players back. I think what a lot of clubs have done historically is trade premium prospects for less-than-premium return. I don't agree with a short-term fix. A lot of quick fixes don't work. Time goes on, you're down the road, and your former prospect is out there putting up All-Star numbers for someone else.

P-D: Is there a chance that Rasmus could play his first major-league game in another uniform?

BDJ: I don't anticipate that. No.

P-D: Does the team's success alter your expectations coming out of spring training? Many saw this as a transitional year for a team predicted to finish no better than third. How does that square for you?

BDJ: The expectation of March 30 was to be competitive and to have a chance to win the division. That hasn't changed. It's a great team to watch. I've gotten a lot of feedback from fans that this is really a fun team. They're young. They're energetic. They never give up. They've shown an ability to bounce back from a tough game. They're playing great defense. A lot of it is opportunity. We're not necessarily that young chronologically. But these are guys who have never really had an extended opportunity for one reason or another, whether they were with us or with somebody else. It's just a fun group to watch.

P-D: So you don't consider this team to be overachieving?

BDJ: Until the team played, because we had so many players playing regularly for the first time, I'm not sure everybody saw the potential upside. You still have to go out and play the games. They've done that. The most exciting thing for me to see is even when they've lost two or three in a row, they pop back. They don't get down. They come back and beat top clubs. They expect to win. That's pretty obvious.

P-D: It sounds as though you believed that last year's club grew stale.

BDJ: I don't know if 'stale' is the right word. But we wanted to get younger.

P-D: Fair to say you remain bullish?

BDJ: Things with the organization have gone extremely well. We've got good talent high up in the minor leagues. We've got some international kids playing very well. Our system is very much on the upswing. We've got a lot of top prospects. As for the second half, I think it's going to be great to watch. It's fun to be right there. We're the wild card as we speak and the division is within reach. I'm looking forward to what's ahead.>>