Junior Spivey Interview

[splitterpfj]

I hope you enjoy it, Mr Spivey says he'll be joining us at Brewerfan shortly.

 

-Todd

 

http://www.brewerfan.net/ViewHome.do

[burnzy24]

Once again, another great interview. I always thought Junior was very quiet while he was on the Brewers, I guess now I don't blame him after the "I'm devistated" incident. I can't believe he is only 34 yet, maybe he can pull a Gabe Kapler and get another shot somewhere. Also very interesting was his observations on the Brewers before and after Doug Melvin.

[craigharmann]

Awesome! I really liked Spivey as a player. Would totally love to see him come back! Well done Todd!

[homer]

I love these interviews Todd. Good job. Hopefully we can find that clip for Junior.

[logan82]

Interesting what he had to say about JJ. We have known for a while JJ probably needed more rest than most young players because of his back and shoulder.

[sbrylski]

Ha, I love his request at the end there, that's cool. Wish I had a copy for him, I think I remember the play he's talking about.

 

It was hard not to get caught up in the Rickie Weeks hype at the time, myself, but I had a good friend who just loved Junior Spivey. Authentic jersey and everything, IIRC.

 

Looking back, Junior was a bit under-appreciated (+10 UZR/150 in MIL, nice.) I can't believe he only spent five years in the majors, doesn't seem like he was ready to leave, both from a personal perspective and from his numbers. Surprised he didn't bounce around more after leaving Washington.

[trwi7]

Sounds like a cool dude. I always liked Spivey.

[Schlitz001]

I'm always impressed by your interviews. Great job. It's nice to hear Spivey's high praise for DM. He did build a playoff team for the Crew.

[Vgmastr]

I still remember a home run he hit off of Randy Johnson late in a game to give the Brewers a win over the Yankees. I don't know why, but whenever someone brings up Spivey's name, that's the first thing I think off. He was traded to Washington a week later.

[stoutdude04]

VERY passionate about baseball I will give him that. As far as being a cool dude, not really... He is Junior Spivey, he was a PROFESSIONAL baseball player, and he will gladly make that known if you ever run into him...

Im not going to hate a guy because hes proud of his job/former job. I am proud of what I do and im not afraid to let people know if it comes up.

[AJAY]

Great article. Thanks for doing the interview.

[PrinceEatMeat]

Good guy. I remember being excited when we got him in the Sexson deal, but then I got caught up in the Rickie hype by the end. I also remember that HR off of Johnson to beat the Yanks. It's probably my best memory of him.

[TooLiveBrew]

Nice work, splitter. Your interviews are always well-done.

 

Hey now, let's talk about JJ Hardy. I love JJ, and I still talk to him. Don't forget, he had that labrum tear, it's the same thing for him, sometimes he's going to have to deal with it. When it's right, he's fine, but when it's not, it knocks your swing off. That was his deal this year, trust me on this... .JJ Hardy will be all the way back, there's no question.

...

JJ Hardy is a terrific shortstop, and his swing will come back for sure, after this offseason, you'll see, he'll be all the way back.

I didn't realize that a labrum tear had such a chronic nature. It's kind of confusing to me, though, that right after stating that it's something Hardy will have to deal with for some time, he says "he'll be all the way back." If J.J.'s shoulder is going to be a real continuing problem, I can better understand why the market for him is/was so barren. After all, Spivey had this to say about his own injury: "... My shoulder was never completely the same after that."

 

 

"That's my team, I know a lot of the guys."

I'm really hoping to see Spivey around these haunts if that's really the case. http://forum.brewerfan.net/images/smilies/smile.gif

 

 

"Oh, and watch Matt Kemp for the Dodgers. He and I are close. He's a good friend, and I've watched him grow as a player. Sometimes, when I see the things he does, I get tears."

Kemp is an incredible talent. Interesting to know that Spivey is so close with him.

[UndraftedFA]

Thanks for the great interview. I was just thinking about Spivey the other day, little did I know that he was playing right here in Tucson. Too bad I was busy with school all summer long. I live about 5 minutes from where they play and the HR guy for the Toros used to work where I do.

 

I remember Junior being pretty popular, along with Overbay, at the On Deck event the year he was traded. I remember some guy thanking him and hoping he would stay in Milwaukee for a long time. Junior handled the question great even though I am sure he knew the writing was on the wall with Weeks.

 

Once again, great interview. Junior seems very happy and content with his life.

[Invader3K]

I enjoyed the interview as well. I actually did like Spivey a lot when he was a Brewer. He always struck me as being a hard worker out there.

[stoutdude04]

I never said anything about "hate", but feel free to twist my words as you wish... All I said is that he is far from being a "cool dude"... Just my opinion based upon my own personal experiences with the man.

I never said you did hate him. I just said that I wasnt going to. Feel free to twist my words as you wish.

 

I always liked Junior, never thought he was all that good of a player. I didnt realize he was only in the league for such a short period of time.

[bklynbrewcrew]

That was a fantastic interview. Spivey really seems like a great guy.

[yoshii8]

VERY passionate about baseball I will give him that. As far as being a cool dude, not really... He is Junior Spivey, he was a PROFESSIONAL baseball player, and he will gladly make that known if you ever run into him...

I never understand what the point of posting something like this is. He was nice enough to do an interview for Brewerfan.net, and he will probably be posting here, which is a very cool thing. If I played in the MLB I would also be very proud of that, and would probably tell a lot of people.

 

Do you really know Junior Spivey well enough to determine that he is not a cool dude?

[joepepsi]

Great interview! It's a skill to get an interview subject to be so open, honest, and talkative. Great job, splitter. It's nice to hear an ex ballplayer be so frank and speak so passionately as a fan.

[The Truth]

Thanks for the fantastic interview. Reading between the lines, that helps substantiate my opinion that JJ Hardy is injury prone and will soon be on a physical decline, and the Brewers were smart to trade him when they did.

 

Hardy plays stiff for such a young player

 

Always liked Spivey

 

(edited for spelling)

[splitterpfj]

Thank you, Everyone.

 

I spoke to Junior briefly this morning, he'll be along later.

 

-Todd

[thablingster]

Awesome interview. Whenever I think of Spivey I think of the 3 error game he had in the epic cheese sandwiches 17-inning, 26 strikeout game against the Angels in 2004 (Sorry, Junior). That and the notorious high socks.

 

Spivey's insights on Hardy are interesting and make sense. Just by reading the interview you can definitely tell his passion for the game.

[Mass Haas]

Awesome interview. Whenever I think of Spivey I think of the 3 error game he had in the epic cheese sandwiches 17-inning, 26 strikeout game against the Angels in 2004 (Sorry, Junior). That and the notorious high socks.

 

MMM, cheese sandwich game....

Of course, Spivey was also the topic of another historic Brewerfan thread.

[SenatorShriv]

I was really excited about Spivey as part of the Sexson deal. I couldn't help but feel that trade was the perfect hybrid between a total punt of the next two years and the arrival of the youngsters. I had always felt the Brewer's tried to hold on to players like Sexson who were talented (or put up really good numbers for one or two years) but never built around them. Most of the time it resulted in having one or two standout players every year and a team that just stunk up the joint over the course of the season. Or we ended up trading talent for a bunch of unproven low-level prospects with the hope that we might be good someday down the road. We never seemed to have a coherent plan to field a well rounded team up until that point.

 

Getting Spivey in the deal (instead of two or three minor league players with questionable futures) was a signal to me that the front office wanted to field a quality team that would entertain the fans day in and day out, but knew that we had to follow a long term growth plan. I was anticipating getting good production (which was the case when Spivey was healthy) and getting a good piece of the winning puzzle in return when Weeks was ready to step in and play full time. Obviously the injuries prevented Spivey from playing to his highest level for some of his time here and the Brewers getting a significant return on the inevitable trade but I'm really glad that he was here and part of the package that has allowed the team to have success over the last couple of years.

 

I also enjoyed the interview, if for no other reason than to give Spivey a chance to retract the "I'm devestated" comment. I know that he tried to clarify his comments shortly after the trade, but it just seemed forced at the time. I was turned off by the comments at the time, but got over them quickly based off my perception that Spivey was a quality addition to the team that basically shut up and played.

[jjkoestler]

Just by reading the interview you can definitely tell his passion for the game.

 

I couldn't agree more. I found myself reading the interview faster and faster as I got caught up in it. Great interview. This article got me excited for the season to begin. How long until pitchers and Molinas report? http://forum.brewerfan.net/images/smilies/smile.gif