Interview with Tony DeCastro,
South Carolina Sea Cats

BIGGEST DADDY: First off, give us an update on your son. How is the little guy doing?

TONY DECASTRO: Thanks for asking. He is going to be one year old on the 25th, and is such a happy baby it's hard to believe all the surgeries (4) that he has had. As for his health, everything is coming back good in varying degrees. He still has a little fluid in the kidneys, which I believe is really all we are waiting on before he can be deemed a normal healthy child. The good news is that we are seeing steady improvement here, and it appears to be just a matter of time. His blood work looks outstanding showing that his kidney function is normal. He's an amazing little guy.

BD: The Sea Cats are hanging tough so far - just two games behind the SoCal Slyme, who were favored to win the EL title in the pre-season. Are the Sea Cats for real? What needs to happen for the 'Cats to see the post-season for the first time since 2001?

TD: Well, I'm not surprised by a 15-13 record through Chapter One. So in that regard, I think it's safe to say the Sea Cats are for real. I also think that it's safe to say that the Slyme are a much better team on paper than us, but alot of things can happen when you start playing the games. Undoubtedly, the biggest thing that needs to happen for the Sea Cats to make the post-season is the addition of a good arm in the rotation. I'd also like to add a LF. I've been playing Kotsay out of position alot there, and he's been more of a liability defensively, than I had planned. He's not a very good bat either, but I expected that.

BD: Let's say the final trading deadline of the season is approaching and you are still two games behind the Slyme. Would you be willing to sacrifice your team's future - Nick Johnson, Josh Barfield, Jose Reyes, etc. - for a chance to win it all?

TD: I think it's safe to say that if the Sea Cats are within FIVE games at the trading deadline, that we will be willing to sacrifice some young guys. Nick Johnson really factors heavily in this team's present, so I wouldn't expect to see him moving anywhere. But I'm serious about seeing what I can do this year, so don't be surprised if I pull a Stein this year.

BD: Last year, you had more money to spend in the auction than anyone else, yet you finished in last place. What went wrong? If you had it to do over again, what would you have done differently?

TD: There is admittedly a good bit I would have differently in the auction, but I think alot of that team's problem was a lack of attention by me. You know I really admire Mike Glander's ability to be productive not only as a GM, but as the Commish despite having alot of stuff going on in his life. My heart just wasn't in it last season, and it had as much to do with the last place finish as anything. As for what I would have done differently, I probably would have gone with my original strategy, which was to see if I could bag Guerrero, and then just be very conservative with the spending...leaving money in the coffers for a legitimate run in the 2004 season. I changed this plan right before the auction. Obviously, the plan of going after Guerrero would have turned out similarly, but at least I wouldn't have guys like Kotsay and Glavine really hurting my payroll this season.

BD: The Sea Cats have suffered more (real-life) injuries than any other team in the BDBL. Why do the Baseball Gods hate you so much?

TD: Why don't you just throw salt in the wounds, Biggest D.? Let's just say my misfortune with the Baseball Gods goes back a long ways. I am Catholic, perhaps the Baseball Gods don't approve?

BD: You enjoyed a prolific college career as a pitcher. What was your greatest moment on the mound?

TD: My greatest moment from a personal standpoint is actually pretty boring. Basically, I was a walk-on, which made it very difficult to get playing time, so I only threw a handful of innings in my Freshman and Sophomore seasons. My coach said I would get to pitch more my junior season, so my father made some trips up to our road games in Alabama (I'm originally from St. Pete, FL went to school in Louisiana), however not only did I not get to pitch in any of these games but I went into the last few weeks of the season with ONE inning pitched against an NAIA school. So my dad was having second thoughts about making it up for our conference tournament in Texas. I finally got a shot right before the season's end and pitched well. So, my dad decided to make it up to Texas, but he didn't know if he'd make game one, which didn't seem like a problem given that I wasn't likely going to be used until the bullpen had been depleted. My dad actually drove through the night after work all the way from Florida-Texas (something like 20 hours) for game one, and I saw him walk into the stands right before game time. Our ace got roughed up a bit early, and I was the first out of the pen. I threw five shutout innings, gave up a few hits, struckout six. We lost the game to Arkansas State. It was the only time my dad got to see me pitch in college, and I pitched well.

From a strict performance standpoint, in my senior year I was the only guy on our staff to throw a CG shutout, and I got the win in relief against #18 Mississippi State with 4IP and 9K's -- best breaking ball I ever remember having. I'd probably take the MSU outing. My senior year was so different than the previous seasons (for one I was finally on scholarship)...there were series where I would close one game, throw middle relief in game two, and start game 3. I think Dusty Baker was my coach's hero.

BD: You also played in the minor leagues? For how long, and at what level? What was that experience like?

TD: I played for the Champaign-Urban Bandits of the now-defunct Great Central League...an independent league. I was only with the team for 3 weeks though technically I finished the season on the 60-day DL. The experience was about as wacky as anything you see in Bull Durham to tell the truth. I made two starts...I took a no-hitter into the 7th inning in my first start, and got a no-decision as I gave up a 3-run homer in the ninth to tie the game up. We won in the 10th. In my second start I threw 2 or 3 innings, before I injured myself. The league had no DH, and I managed to hit a double off the wall in right center. Next batter singled, and on the play at the plate, I scored but managed to tear my ACL. Nonetheless, I wouldn't trade the experience for anything in the world - the copy of my professional baseball contract is my favorite piece of baseball memorabilia.

BD: How did you get to be a Yankee fan living in South Carolina?

TD: I grew up in St. Petersburg, FL, which has alot of Yankee fans as they trained there from the 20's to the 60's. Still, as a very young boy I was a Cards fan. St. Louis' Class A was in St. Pete. My dad grew up in New York City, and was a Bums fan until they broke his heart and moved to LA. He became, of all things, a Yankees fan. Somewhere along the line his propaganda must have turned me into a Yankees fan. I remember being a Yankees fan when Reggie hit the 3 HR's in the '77 series, so it happened pretty early on.

BD: What is your favorite pulp detective novel? Who is your favorite author? What book(s) are you currently reading right now?

TD: I've never really given much thought to my favorite detective novel. I'd probably go with "The Long Goodbye" by Raymond Chandler. My favorite author is John D. MacDonald. He had an incredible way of putting these wonderful insightful commentaries into a simple detective story. He wrote about the suffocating of Florida's environ's before the tree huggers even gave thoughts to such things. And there is a passage in "The Green Ripper" (written in the 70's I believe) that is spookily prophetic in it's discussion of terrorism making it's way to the US and the reaction. I am currently reading "The Con Man's Daughter" by Ed Dee, which has been disappointing. I am also re-reading "The Big Sleep" by Raymond Chandler for about the 3rd time.

BD: You are an architect by trade. Compare and contrast the process of building a franchise and building a building.

TD: Interesting quesiton. A building starts with the foundation, and if you screw up the foundation...you might as well forget about it. You've got to get that right, all the pieces that go on top need that good solid foundation. Same thing goes for the franchise I suppose (though I haven't been all that successful, so what do I know). It's alot easier to add those final pieces if you have a good foundation to build upon. Take that foundation away, and it's harder to fit those pieces into place.

BD: In terms of BDBL seniority, you rank sixth. What is your proudest achievement in the BDBL?

TD: The division championship, obviously.

BD: What is the low point of your BDBL career?

TD: Geez, do I really have to try to pick one? In 2000, I thought I had put together a pretty good team, and thought I could easily contend. That team so underperformed that I often wonder whether the manager was at fault.

BD: What is the best trade you've ever made in the BDBL?

TD: Trading for the #3 pick that got me Clemens in 2001. I already had the #2 pick which got me Glavine. Adding that extra ace to a team with a good offense, elevated that team from contender to favorite.

BD: The worst?

TD: Freddy Garcia and Dustin Hermanson to Pheonix for Carl Pavano. I made the trade without looking at Pavano's recent stats (he had gotten off to an outstanding start), so I didn't see that he had just been put on the DL. Everyone was saying it wasn't serious, but I knew better. There's no such thing as a minor injury when it involves a Sea Cat.

Honorable mention - Mike Sweeney to Kansas for Shane Halter and Antonio Perez. I liked Perez, until he became a Sea Cat, I dumped him a few months later.

BD: What is the biggest change you've witnessed in the BDBL since you came into the league in November of 1998?

TD: Ownership. I just don't see us ever returning to the high turnover we had early on.

BD: You get to be the BDBL's Commissioner for the Day. What is your first act as commish?

TD: Create a new position - Trade Secretary, responsible for approving trades. Assign the position to Paul Marazita.

BD: Of active players only, who is your favorite player in baseball?

TD: Derek Jeter. He's not the best, in fact he's pretty awful defensively. But he seems to really love the game, he hustles, and he just seems to play like a Little Leaguer in October (in a good way). Not to mention, he seems like a decent person.

BD: Would you rather win the BDBL championship or win $1,000 in the lottery?

TD: The BDBL championship. Seriously. I don't even play the lottery, but I'd be all about the big jackpot if I did. At least then when I'm filing taxes for it, we're talking about some real money.

BD: If a toy company made a Tony DeCastro action figure, what would it look like, and what accessories would it come with?

TD: Tall, soft in the middle (but I continue to work on it!!!)...accessories - a pint of Guinness...which goes along way in explaining the soft in the middle.

BD: If you could live one day of your life over and over again, like Bill Murray in "Groundhog Day", what day would that be?

TD: I couldn't re-live my marriage day or child's birth over and over again. It would literally kill me. I played summer league ball when I was home for college made up other college guys. I had thrown a no-hitter (my only one) in the Florida State Tournament. My next start in the Regional Tournament, I carried a perfect game late, but eventually walked two, and then gave up a pop fly in the 8th or 9th that dropped to the ground between the 1b,2b,RF, and foul line. I figure if I got enough chances, I could sprint from the mound and get to that ball to secure back to back no-no's. A scout from the Cleveland Indians actually spoke to me after the game, and said that he would be in Battle Creek, MI for the World Series, and he hoped that we made it so he could see me pitch again. We did in fact win the Southern Regional to advance, unfortunately we took two in the shorts and came home. I was slotted to pitch the third game. Never saw that scout again.