Interview with Scot Zook,
Kansas City Boulevards

BIGGEST DADDY: Hello fans. I am back from my long sabbatical and now it's back to business...


BD: Hi, Scot Zook. I happened to notice that you have returned to the BDBL! That's great news! How is it being back for about a year now?


SCOT ZOOK: There is not a better league than this and I'm honored to be back and a part of it. And I'm also not too proud to admit that leaving previously was a mistake. The camaraderie is amazing between all the team owners. Everyone has been great and although it took me a little bit to get back up to speed, I think I'm ready to go now.


BD: Given that you inherited a bit of a mess of a team, how do you think you can get this franchise back to its winning ways? What key pieces exist with the squad now that you would consider centerpieces?


SZ: Yeah, this team was a bit of a mess. Believe it or not, I did have a plan heading into the draft where I was going to blow the whole thing up and start fresh - mainly by dumping most of the dead salary that was on the team. I think there are only four members of the original team left after I took over. We made an offseason deal with the New York Giants where I was able to unload most of the salary but I did give up some valuable pitching prospects in Syndergaard and Paxton. The problem with that strategy was that I then had a boatload of money to play with in the auction and absolutely no self control. None. I believe this was my first auction by the way, I don't remember an auction when I was in the league previously. Anyway, I was like a kid in a candy store. I mean, I picked out a few guys that I thought could help out my team and bid enough where I knew nobody else would go. By the time the dust settled, I think I put this team right back to where it was when I inherited it. But this time, I can't just cut the salary. As far as key pieces to the current team, I like my starting pitching staff. Wainwright, Ryu, Leake, and McAllister are all going to be very solid next season for me. But I am starved for offense, so if you know of some, let me know.


BD: What are your thoughts on your Griffin Division opponents? When would you expect for the Boulevards to make a playoff appearance?


SZ: The timing of this question is impeccable. I just got through being swept by the Outlaws and followed that memorable experience up with getting swept by the Undertakers. That ended my Chapter Two, so thanks for the question. Seriously though, this is a tough division to get dropped into when you need to rebuild. All of the teams are strong and run very well. Not to be derailed though, I'd like to think that I can build a competitive team. I don't like to make predictions like this but I see us possibly making our first playoff appearance in 2016 or 2017.


BD: How did you choose your team name?

SZ: Originally I was going to call my team the Kansas City Tornados, but this was right after the Moore, Oklahoma tornado had just destroyed a city and was making a lot of news. One of the league owners made a comment. I'm sure it was made in jest, but it hit home a little bit that maybe it wasn't he most appropriate name to choose. So I decided upon the Kansas City Boulevards, named after a beer that is produced in Kansas City. I wanted the team to represent the region where I live, so Boulevards fit nicely.


BD: Mike Moustakas -- Still hope for him? Or official dud?

SZ: Moose is killing me. He is absolutely one of my favorite players for his style of play. I just wish I could get some results from the guy. You'll rarely hear me cheer more enthusiastically than when Moose gets a hit. But that means I obviously don't cheer a lot. But I've got a fairly expensive dinner wagered with my neighbor that he'll hit .260 with 20 home runs and at least 80 RBI's this season. So with my blue-shaded Royals glasses on, I'm still going to say that there is still hope for him.


BD: Let's hear a bit about you and your family! And what is your job like?


SZ: I've been married to my lovely wife for thirteen wonderful years. She is by far the best thing that has ever happened to me. We don't have any kids; just a dog. I'm a technical trainer with a company that has automated the prescription filling process for pharmacies. What I do is train the technicians who travel the country servicing the equipment. I've been with the same company for awhile so either they are treating me really well or I'm really comfortable. Sometimes it's hard to tell.


BD: When you have 30 minutes of free time, how do you pass the time?

SZ: Well, for the last year, I've been staring at my roster wondering how the hell I'm going to right this ship. But I think I need more than thirty minutes.


BD: If you won the lottery, what is the first thing you would do?

SZ: I don't play the lottery. It really is just a tax on the poor. You never hear about a rich guy winning the lottery. Do you know why? Because rich guys don't play the lottery. But I'll get off my soapbox now. Just to play along, I'd simply disappear. Maybe to the Phillipines or something. Don't scare Mike, though, I'd retain my ownership to my team. We'd just be the Manila Maulers or something like that.


BD: If you knew the world was ending in 2014, what would you do differently?

SZ: I think I would have spent more time traveling. I'm still fairly young, in good health (I quit smoking!), and for the most part have the means to do so. I'm not really sure why I don't more often.


BD: What�s the #1 most played song on your iPod?

SZ: Interestingly enough, I don't own an iPod. I might catch some grief for this but I really like '80s music. It just brings back so many memories and it always seems like I know the words, so I sing along. What's strange is there are some songs that when I was a teenager I wouldn't be caught dead listening to. Now I'm bopping along with them! That is, until my wife makes me stop.


BD: If you could meet anyone, living or dead, who would you meet?

SZ: I'd want to meet Napoleon Bonaparte. But I don't want to travel back in time to meet him, I want him to travel to the present. I've always wondered how he would handle modern society. Would he be just a short guy with little man syndrome who trolled around on Facebook or would he somehow rise to prominence and start a war with someone?


BD: What was your favorite sitcom growing up?

SZ: Family Ties. I think I had a little bit of Alex P. Keaton in me growing up.


BD: How did you enjoy BDBL Weekend, Spring Training? What was the best part?

SZ: The weekend was a lot of fun and I'm really looking forward to traveling down with Chris again next season. Traveling with Chris was great and I really enjoyed myself. I had an amazing time meeting everyone. The best part? Stick with me on this. Reading different posts from owners on our message board can set a preconceived idea of what that person must be like in person. Of course, this is usually incorrect as you might interpret a post totally different than what was intended - unless you read a post from Peburn. He makes it really obvious for all of us. Ok, so I have to admit, I didn't think I was going to get along with one particular person in the league just based off of his posts. I was already resigned to it before I ever got on the plane from KC to Phoenix. When we landed, Chris and I were the first to arrive at the hotel. As fate would have it, the first person that arrived after us just happened to be the one guy that I was not sure about. Fortunately for me, I was totally wrong about this person and really enjoyed his company. I can't wait to drink a beer with him again next season. Now if he would just get out of my division!


BD: Is there a particular BDBL rule that you'd like to see eliminated or changed?

SZ: I've got two. First, the VORP rule cost me a trade last year that could have changed the face of my franchise. But because the other team was already maxed out their VORP that they could acquire, my deal couldn't be done. I do understand its value; I just hate it. The other is to eliminate unrealistic ballpark factors. It's sad that unrealistic ballpark factors even exist, but I guess in the long run it will just make the rulebook stronger.


BD: What's your favorite trade that you have made thus far?

SZ: Definitely the trade I made with Doyle that unloaded all of my salary. I didn't try to push the salary all off on him, he just sort of volunteered to take it. We need more Doyles!


BD: Good luck in the short and long term! Thank you, Scot!!