q and a with trib's new sox beat writer

[thedoctor]

New White Sox beat writer Mark Gonzales comes to the Tribune from the Arizona Republic, where he has covered the Diamondbacks since January 2000.

 

He started his career as a stringer for the Peninsula Times Tribune in Santa Clara, Calif., where he covered high schools on a part-time basis until being hired full-time in 1985, the year he graduated from San Jose State.

He hails from Santa Clara and attended the same high school as former A's third baseman Carney Lansford.

 

How did the Tribune job come about?

 

I actually had an opportunity a year ago, January 2004, and I was really intrigued by the situation. Unfortunately, I was getting married at the same time, and even though my wife grew up in Highland Park for the first 11 years of her life, I could sense that she was a little leery of moving with being married for the first time and moving into a house. There was a lot of newness, and I think at that point it was a little more important to have a stable marriage rather than go for this opportunity. I'm just grateful that this opportunity resurfaced a year later.

 

From your first impressions of the White Sox, what are the early story lines?

 

I think there are plenty of story lines, and I think it's a really exciting time for the White Sox and their fans because of all the change. Here they go from a slugging team to one of speed and defense. It's something that they said, "Hey, we gotta do something about it, this power thing isn't working for us."

 

It's a risk, but I think it's a good risk because after a while, you have all these power hitters, but if you're not winning, you have to do something, and I commend Kenny Williams for doing that.

 

What do you think of Chicago?

 

I love the town. I've been coming there every year since 1992. It's really improved downtown. It feels safer every time you go there.

 

Being a California and Arizona guy, how are you going to adjust to the winters?

 

Well, I think the [litmus] test for me was in November 2004. I went to a University of Wyoming football game with seven other people, including Phil Rogers. We sat in 15-degree weather and I think that was a good test for me. I told myself, "If I can handle that, I can handle Chicago weather."

 

How'd you get into the business?

 

I kind of lucked into it. I planned to be an accountant, and my cousin had a friend who needed some bodies to keep stats at high school football games and write six-inch game stories in the Bay area. So I figured that would be a nice job on the side to do while I was in college.

 

I really took a liking to it, and he took a liking to my stories, even though they were only six inches. I began to really like writing more than working with numbers and I decided when I was going to go to San Jose State as a junior, that this was the course of action I would pursue.

 

So that's how it worked out, and I have no regrets about it.

 

So were you a Giants fan or an A's fan?

 

I grew up a Giants fan. It was mostly influenced by my parents, who were big Giants fans. I was lucky to see the likes of Willie Mays, Willie McCovey, Juan Marichal and Bobby Bonds.

 

How did you get started at the Republic?

 

I covered the San Francisco Giants for eight years at San Jose Mercury News and I became familiar with the Phoenix area. After two years [of Diamondbacks baseball], the Arizona Republic was looking for a beat writer and they called me and I always liked the Phoenix area.

 

The Diamondbacks were an interesting team because they were so new and yet they spent so much money on veteran free agents, I thought it was an intriguing opportunity for me, and I decided that was the course to go.

 

Tell us about the 2001 World Series.

 

The World Series almost went by too quick. There were so many elements going on. The one thing that will stand out would be just the effects of 9/11 and flying into Newark International Airport after Game 2 and just seeing where the area was once occupied by the towers, just seeing the haze, it was numbing.

 

The games themselves, the way the games were decided in the last at-bats was really dramatic. Looking back, every game was big in itself. It's really tough to digest all this because there were so many things happening.

 

Who's been the best interview in your years of experience?

 

Oh, without a doubt it was Rod Beck. He was a closer for the Giants and he had just started out as a kid, and I had just started out as well as a full-time baseball beat writer.

 

He was probably the most down-to-earth guy I've ever been around. He's really somebody who you could say, if it wasn't for baseball, he'd have a life outside of baseball.

 

What was his best quote?

 

There was one time he was being criticized because he was too heavy and he said, "I've never known anybody that's gone on the disabled list because of pulled fat." There were a few other quotes that he gave me but it might gross out the audience.

 

Pre-strike and post-strike baseball, what's the biggest difference?

 

Without a doubt it's been the offense. It's been a power game and you see that pitching has become even more of a premium now. You see teams that say they're more willing to develop their own pitchers but in the end, you can see the free agent pitchers who have great years that really cash in. Guys like Carl Pavano who have breakout years are really cashing in.

 

It just goes to show you how much of a premium is placed on pitching and the emphasis that more teams are trying to do with drafting pitchers early.

 

Does the free agent boom make baseball more transient?

 

I think baseball has become so transient regardless of the free agent situation. Now we have an extra pool of free agents known as guys that are non-tenured on Dec. 20. So it's really become a case where you have an expanded pool of free agents and that's caused by financial situations. Teams figure after two or three years, they can't afford to lose an arbitration now, so they usually tell a player, "Hey, here's our best deal, take it or leave it."

 

Does that make it harder to be a beat writer, having a different cast of characters all the time?

 

I think it's part of the process. Yeah, it does create a challenge, but baseball has become such a year-round sport that it behooves you to stay on top of things, and this is just one element.

 

¿Habla español?

 

Yo puedo. Yes, I can. I'm not the greatest, but yeah, I can speak it. I can hold my own. I'm not a native [speaker], I'm a second-generation Californian. My parents speak it fluently. I picked it up in parts. I still have a ways to go, but I picked it up in parts from my parents and in high school and hanging around ballplayers.

 

What's your take on Barry Bonds' assault on the media?

 

It doesn't surprise me with his comments. I actually covered him in high school, as well. There was a surliness back then, you just couldn't say it because you hate to knock high school kids. It doesn't surprise me that he's trying to turn the tables, especially because he can't comment, or he declines to comment on the ongoing BALCO case. This gives him a forum to make a personal crusade, or in this case, a personal assault.

[CSF]

Jeez, Gonzales this year, Bob Foltman last year, Teddy Greenstein in 2003, & Paul Sullivan in 2002. Does the Trib plan on changing the Sox beat writer every year?

 

 

Anyway, welcome to Chicago, Mark.

[Iwritecode]

We sat in 15-degree weather and I think that was a good test for me. I told myself, "If I can handle that, I can handle Chicago weather."

 

He must not realize that in the middle of winter, 15 degrees is considered warm around here...

 

[AnthraxFan93]

He must not realize that in the middle of winter, 15 degrees is considered warm around here...

 

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

[winninguglyin83]

Joe Cowley at the Daily Southtown still seems like the best info guy to me.

 

He hasn't been at spring training because I believe he wrote a story during the winter saying he was sick.

 

But I hope he's feeling better and will be ready to go this season.

[The Critic]

Gonzales sounds cool, judging from that interview.

I hope they don't poison his mind over there.

[Queen Prawn]

Joe Cowley at the Daily Southtown still seems like the best info guy to me.

 

He hasn't been at spring training because I believe he wrote a story during the winter saying he was sick.

 

But I hope he's feeling better and will be ready to go this season.

 

He has cancer. The way it spread brought down the survival rate according to his article. I, too, hope he feels better and is beating it.