Andy’s Address: Clubhouse Kids and Bracket Busters

MLB.com/blogs Blocked Unblock Follow Following Mar 17, 2016

By Friar Wire

By Mike Janela

The Padres enjoyed their lone off-day of spring training Wednesday. Back in action Thursday, Andy Green met with the media to discuss a wide range of topics.

He touched on how he spent his off-day, the development of Jabari Blash, his take on the Adam LaRoche situation, and what will happen to Travis Jankowski if Stony Brook upsets Kentucky in the NCAA tournament.

Here are those takeaways and more.

BLASH’S PLACE

“In (Jabari Blash’s) position, he’s a guy from a power hitter perspective, they typically need more timing, more at-bats, that’s kinda how it usually works. But he might very well be our starting left fielder. There’s time for that to develop. We’re not gonna rule that out right now, there’s still a lot of at-bats ahead of him and don’t want to pigeonhole him for a bench role at this time.”

FERNANDO THE GREAT

“(Fernando Rodney’s) already been (a leader), especially for our young Latin group that’s in camp. I think he’s got some great leadership qualities. His work ethic is off the charts. We sent some front-office people down to watch his offseason workout and he gets after it harder than just about any 23-year-old in the game. He works incredibly hard. He sets a great example that way and he’s a guy the guys gravitate toward. He’s got a great personality, plays the game with a lot of life and a lot of energy and we love seeing that around here.”

REACTING TO ADAM LAROCHE

“Obviously he’s well within his rights to make any decision he feels he needs to make for his family. And the White Sox are well within their perspective to set the parameters for their workplace environment. I’m gonna leave that to them.

As far as the Padres go, we’ve had some internal discussions about the way we want to handle that. Baseball has always welcomed the boys into the clubhouse. We welcome children into the clubhouse. We choose to draw the line where we see fit and the White Sox do where they see fit.”

HOW A MANAGER SPENDS HIS DAY OFF

“I helped to get stuff together for a move and did taxes. Doesn’t that sound like a lot of fun? Isn’t that what everybody wants to do on their one day off in a month?”

CLUBHOUSE MARCH MADNESS

“I did get a Stony Brook t-shirt in my office from Travis Jankowski today (Green and Jankowski’s alma maters, Kentucky and Stony Brook, face off in the first round of the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament).

I brought it up to him in the meeting and pointed to a few lockers that had emptied and said if Stony Brook wins, your locker will look a lot like these. So, cheer for your team at your own peril. I expect a 20-point win.”

ETC.

Instead of making his next scheduled start in a big league game, Tyson Ross is likely to start a minor league game his next turn. This is ostensibly to avoid the Dodgers — Ross’ next scheduled opponent — seeing him in game action before he faces them Opening Day. …The rest of the Padres rotation for the next few days: Brandon Maurer on Friday, Colin Rea for Saturday, and Robbie Erlin on Sunday in what would normally be Ross’ spot.

Here’s the full video of Green’s address, including more on Blash and the kids in the clubhouse situation, plus his thoughts on the Padres signing third baseman Mike Olt to a minor league deal.

http://m.mlb.com/video/v556834183