For those of us pining for the sights and sounds of spring, there's an event happening in Burlington Saturday night featuring Buster Olney, a senior baseball correspondent for ESPN.com
He'll be part of a panel discussion put on by the Vermont Lake Monsters with former Red Sox scout and current director of player personnel for the LA Dodgers Galen Carr, who lives in Burlington, and Tim Neverett, play by play announcer for the Red Sox radio network. Proceeds will benefit the Vermont Community Foundation, which is a VPR underwriter, and more information on the event can be found here:
https://www.milb.com/vermont/tickets/winterwarmer
Buster Olney is a Vermonter who grew up in Randolph Center, and we talked about his earliest memories of having Single A baseball in Vermont (he was too busy on the family farm to attend games in Burlington, but did make it to Centennial Field as an adult), and the state of the game today.
Olney says Major League Baseball will likely adopt a 15 or 20-second pitch clock to move the game along and keep younger fans from getting bored with inaction. He also stands by his reporting on an offer the Chicago White Sox were reportedly ready to make to free agent Manny Machado in the range of $175 Million.
Machado's agent had criticized Olney for that report, saying he had either been lied to by his sources or was being manipulated by MLB owners trying to keep players like Machado from a much bigger contract offer.
Olney also discusses the strengthed Yankee bullpen headed into 2019 and why many teams are willing to tank a season in order to get closer to a number one draft pick if they feel they can't realistically compete for a World Series championship.
Click on the listen button above to hear the full interview.
