Montreal Bandits: An Interview with Christian Latulippe

In our continuing interview series with the ABL ownership, we look closer at the best hitting team in the league. How did draft circumstances help to mold the Montreal Bandits into the ABL's best home team? Do the Bandits have enough pitching to go the distance this year? And what is the one decision that ownership regrets. These answers and much more as we explore the Montreal Bandits...

Q: The Bandits are one of only two teams in the ABL that are 18 games over .500 when playing at home. How have you been so successful at capitalizing on the home field advantage at Labatt Bleue Park?

A: I guess, I wanted to have a hitter friendly park from the get go. However, with the 24th pick overall in the draft, I was not sure I could get enough bats to help me in that park. When I saw that Tom Horseface Becker was available with 20 of Contact and 20 of Power, I said to myself that I was in business. Then with the additions of Thornton, Izyurov, Borlase, Shields, I knew I would have a good attack at home. Unfortunately for me, most of my opponents went for a pitcher friendly park, so we struggle in away games.   

Q: Catcher Tim Shields remained undrafted until you picked him up with the 73^rd overall selection in the 4^th round. Were you surprised to see him last this long? Has he exceeded your expectations?

A: It was surprise to get him, because he had good 18 of contact and 20 for avoding k's, but more importantly he only cost 510k and we all know how the cheap guys went early. Since I had to pick highly paid players in my first 2 picks, with the 24 and 25th overall. He was really an obvious choice for me, especially because the catching position went early. 

Q: Shields trails only Frank Powers of Maple for the batting title right now with a .386 average. He is only 3 points behind Powers…  how do you like his chances of winning the first ABL Batting Crown?

A: This man is a hitting machine, he has been consistent all year long. With a few big hitters coming back from injury it should help us to have a dangerous line-up in September. I do like his chances.

Q: Were there any trade deadline deals that you were close on, but just didn’t quite get consummated, that might have helped your playoff push?

A: I would have love to put my hands on Jim Thompson or Juan Fernandez from the Jacks, but couldn't make it happens.

Q: Gordon Thornton had the most expensive contract in the league this year and did not meet expectations, even before his season-ending injury. He batted just .284 with 5 homers and was caught stealing 12 times in 24 attempts. How disappointed were you in his performance this year, and was there ever any consideration for seeking an extension for this 30-year old outfielder?

A: Yes, the highest paid man in the league started pretty well hitting .324 in April, but then he really had a bad month of May. We played a bit with his batting position, because he can hit 1st, 2nd, 3rd or 4th and it seems to have thrown-off is rhythm. He finally had a season-ending injury.  Therefore, it is hard to be happy with his performance when you pay him big $$$.  We tried to sign him for awhile, we thought we had an agreement with him, but he changed his mind. In the last month, he was asking 23 million per season for 8 years, an amount we were not ready to pay him.  He finally lowered his expectations and the number of years in the last sim. We came up with an agreement, and we hope he will accept it. We are better with him in our line-up and he's an extremely popular guy in Montreal.  

Q: Tom Becker is batting .358 and is on pace for 52 homers and a league-best 174 RBI’s. His contract expires after this season, with arbitration pending. He’s only 27 and very popular and looks like a candidate for a big contract extension. Talk a little about your plans to keep Becker in Montreal long term.

A: We had tried to sign Becker for the long run, but we couldn't reach an agreement. We will have to see if we can sign him next year. But we want to keep that monster in Montreal.

Q: In AAA, your Diablos are 30 games under .500. In AA, your Outlaws are 18 games under .500. In A-ball, your Stealers are an amazing 42 games under .500. Despite this undeniable poor showing down on the farm, Baseball America still ranks your organization 11^th among 24 teams for minor league system. To what do you attribute your minor league struggles, and do you feel that the win/loss record is totally unrepresentative of the talent you have in the minors?

A: I don't understand this. I do understand my pitching struggles, because I have hitter friendly ball parks. But I  don't understand why players like Villalobos are not killing the single A league. After the season, we will review our coaching staff in the minors. If there are better candidates, we might think about making changers.

Q: It’s only been a couple weeks since you traded with Eureka to bring in veteran starter Ed Gillespie, but the returns are not very good as of yet. He has an ERA over 6 in his 3 starts for the Bandits after compiling a 3.89 ERA in 23 starts for Eureka. Add to that the 7 million he is due in 2013 and 2014, and how concerned are you with his performance so far? Any buyer’s remorse?

A: No, not really. We had to do one move to solidify our rotation. Gillespie is an arm. But he arrived in Montreal and had to pitch right when he got off the plane. It was a tough outing and then his next 2 starts were ok. He will still be better then Merritt and Lou Smith, who had the chance to catch the 5th rotation spot.

Q: If you could redo any decision that you have made in team oversight to this point, what would it be and why?

A: I guess I will have bet a bit higher earlier with the coaches. Even thought I am not sure it will have make a difference.

Q: Let’s put you on the spot here. Give me two ABL teams that you think have the “coolest” team names.

A: Mine for sure, and I really love my logo. But besides mine, I like the Mustangs, the Jokers and the Tornadoes.

Q: The Bandits are currently 6.5 games behind division leading Minnesota. You have 7 games with the Berserkers in the final month of the season, including a 4-game series at home to end the season.  What chance do you give your team for making up that difference to win the division?

A: I don't know, 7 games is a lot. We are more fighting for the wild card spot then the division title.    Although, if I can decrease the number of defecit games, I really like that I play at home in our last 7 games with four against Minnesota.

Q: If you don’t win the division, you could miss the playoffs altogether. You are currently just a half-game ahead of the Mountain Cats in the Wildcard race. How disappointing would it be to come so close but miss the post-season?

A: It will be disappointing to miss the post season for sure.