HoustonGM
07-24-2006, 08:12 PM
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February 20, 2006
O'Dowd Steps Down, Names Smith Replacement
Dan O'Dowd, general manager of the Colorado Rockies baseball franchise since 1999, stepped down from his position yesterday. He issued a statement shortly after announcing his resignation. "I've been the GM here in Colorado for seven long years, and it's been fun, yet very stressful. I've lost touch with a lot of my family, and the time has come that I move on in my life. I love baseball, and the Rockies are the blood that runs through my veins, but I'm sad to say that I don't think I can run the franchise anymore." Late yesterday night, O'Dowd announced his replacement in an unprecedented move. Erik Smith, a 17 year old high school junior from all the way out in New Jersey, has been chosen to be the new general manager of the Rockies. O'Dowd refused to comment much on his replacement, but did promise the fans great seasons in the future.
We got a chance to talk to Smith via phone this morning.
DP: Congratulations on being chosen to take the helm of the Rockies, Erik.
ES: Thank you.
DP: There's no doubt that there's going to be critics of Dan O'Dowd's choice. You're 17 and haven't even finished high school. How do you respond to those critics?
ES: What else can I expect? It's not every day that a teenager gets chosen to general manage an entire Major League Baseball franchise. I'm going to ignore the critics, and not respond to their criticism. They can judge me once they see how I handle the franchise..
DP: Are you going to finish high school?
ES: Yes. I plan to get home schooled for the rest of this school year, and do my GM work out of my house in New Jersey. During the summer, I will head out to Denver to do the work like any normal GM. For my senior year next year, I've set up something with my principal where I will take the courses online out in Denver, and fly back to New Jersey to get my diploma next June.
DP: I'll assume you're in this for the long haul, this GMing business. Do you plan to attend college?
ES: I haven't decided yet. I'm gonna see how my last year and a half of high school go, and if I'm comfortable with this job, I don't really see a need to attend college. After all, it's a well-paying job. If I don't attend college during my tenure as Rockies GM, I very well might decide to resume my schooling later in my life.
DP: Do you have any rough plans as to how you're going to manage the team?
ES: Actually, I do. I've followed baseball my entire life, and recently, I've become fascinated with guys like Chone Figgins and Ryan Freel. These guys can play every day, and at any position. I'd like to have at least one or two guys like that on the roster. I also want to focus hard on creating a pitching staff chock full of sinker ball pitchers. I figure, if we can keep the ball on the ground, especially at home where the balls fly out of the field, we stand a better chance at winning. I also plan on testing out some guys with tremendous power up in Colorado, to see how well that goes.
DP: Ok, thanks for taking the time to talk to us, and good luck!
ES: Thanks.
We even managed to get ahold of long-time Rockie and fan favorite, first basemen Todd Helton, to ask him about his thoughts on this. Todd said, "I think it's pretty darn cool. Sure, he's young, but from what I heard, he's a pretty smart kid. It's gonna be cool, especially for the younger players in the organization, to have a guy around the same age as them running the team, I would think. I look forward to this season and all the seasons that follow."
From what we hear, Smith has a few tricks up his sleeve before the season starts. We'll report on each one, and bring you up to date on Opening Day with the Rockies lineup and pitching staff, and we'll write continually about how the Rockies are doing, and the major news around the MLB.
February 20, 2006
O'Dowd Steps Down, Names Smith Replacement
Dan O'Dowd, general manager of the Colorado Rockies baseball franchise since 1999, stepped down from his position yesterday. He issued a statement shortly after announcing his resignation. "I've been the GM here in Colorado for seven long years, and it's been fun, yet very stressful. I've lost touch with a lot of my family, and the time has come that I move on in my life. I love baseball, and the Rockies are the blood that runs through my veins, but I'm sad to say that I don't think I can run the franchise anymore." Late yesterday night, O'Dowd announced his replacement in an unprecedented move. Erik Smith, a 17 year old high school junior from all the way out in New Jersey, has been chosen to be the new general manager of the Rockies. O'Dowd refused to comment much on his replacement, but did promise the fans great seasons in the future.
We got a chance to talk to Smith via phone this morning.
DP: Congratulations on being chosen to take the helm of the Rockies, Erik.
ES: Thank you.
DP: There's no doubt that there's going to be critics of Dan O'Dowd's choice. You're 17 and haven't even finished high school. How do you respond to those critics?
ES: What else can I expect? It's not every day that a teenager gets chosen to general manage an entire Major League Baseball franchise. I'm going to ignore the critics, and not respond to their criticism. They can judge me once they see how I handle the franchise..
DP: Are you going to finish high school?
ES: Yes. I plan to get home schooled for the rest of this school year, and do my GM work out of my house in New Jersey. During the summer, I will head out to Denver to do the work like any normal GM. For my senior year next year, I've set up something with my principal where I will take the courses online out in Denver, and fly back to New Jersey to get my diploma next June.
DP: I'll assume you're in this for the long haul, this GMing business. Do you plan to attend college?
ES: I haven't decided yet. I'm gonna see how my last year and a half of high school go, and if I'm comfortable with this job, I don't really see a need to attend college. After all, it's a well-paying job. If I don't attend college during my tenure as Rockies GM, I very well might decide to resume my schooling later in my life.
DP: Do you have any rough plans as to how you're going to manage the team?
ES: Actually, I do. I've followed baseball my entire life, and recently, I've become fascinated with guys like Chone Figgins and Ryan Freel. These guys can play every day, and at any position. I'd like to have at least one or two guys like that on the roster. I also want to focus hard on creating a pitching staff chock full of sinker ball pitchers. I figure, if we can keep the ball on the ground, especially at home where the balls fly out of the field, we stand a better chance at winning. I also plan on testing out some guys with tremendous power up in Colorado, to see how well that goes.
DP: Ok, thanks for taking the time to talk to us, and good luck!
ES: Thanks.
We even managed to get ahold of long-time Rockie and fan favorite, first basemen Todd Helton, to ask him about his thoughts on this. Todd said, "I think it's pretty darn cool. Sure, he's young, but from what I heard, he's a pretty smart kid. It's gonna be cool, especially for the younger players in the organization, to have a guy around the same age as them running the team, I would think. I look forward to this season and all the seasons that follow."
From what we hear, Smith has a few tricks up his sleeve before the season starts. We'll report on each one, and bring you up to date on Opening Day with the Rockies lineup and pitching staff, and we'll write continually about how the Rockies are doing, and the major news around the MLB.