My Interview With Chad Jennings

Here is my interview that I did with the Scranton Yankees beat writer. He does a great job in AAA, you got to check out his blog at http://community.thetimes-tribune.com/blogs/yankees/ He did a great job with this interview and I hope you guys really enjoy it. Thanks to Chad again for doing this. Guys please support him and his blog, im sure you will enjoy seeing what he has to write. First I would like to ask you for a little bio of yourself? I grew up on a farm in Southeast Missouri and started driving a tractor when I was roughly 12 years old. Out of high school, I majored in journalism at the University of Missouri -- I also minored in political science and economics, though it's not entirely clear why -- and moved to Scranton in January 2003. I shared the baseball beat for a couple of years and have been doing it full time for the past four seasons. I know Scranton only became a Yankees farm team a couple of years ago, but how long have you covered the Scranton franchise for??Just the two years they've been here. Do you ever dream of doing the same job for a major league team?? Sure, I'd like the challenge of a big league beat, but I do enjoy covering minor league ball. Did you always want to be doing what you are doing now? If not what did you want to do when you were younger?? When I was young I wanted to be a farmer like my dad, but when I was about 15 I realized I really enjoyed writing and I've wanted to do this ever since. Early on, I wanted to cover basketball, but I've found that I really like the grind of a baseball season. Is the traveling tough? Does your employer cover meals, lodging etc? Most everything is covered by the newspaper. The travel is tough at times -- I don't enjoy leaving Buffalo at 11 p.m. to drive four and a half hours and cover a game in Scranton the next day -- but I'm not married and I don't have kids, so being on the road is not as hard on me as it is some other baseball writers. What is the most fun time of the year for you, spring training? The Regular Season? The offseason?? My time in spring training is probably when I'm most busy, but I like the work. My most fun time of the year is probably the middle of the regular season when I'm in the routine and feel like I'm on top of things. I'm much less busy in the offseason, but I don't enjoy it nearly as much as when I'm working my way through the season. Have you ever got to cover a major league team?? What was that experience like if you did so? I've never covering a big league team as a full time beat, but I've covered plenty of major league games in St. Louis, Philadelphia and New York. My first experience in New York was a lot more comfortable than I expected. I'd never been to the stadium, but I knew so many guys in the clubhouse that I felt at ease. What player that you have covered has been your favorite to cover and why?? I covered Dan Giese for a long time, so it was fun to watch him make that run to the big leagues last season. Several years ago, I enjoyed covering A.J. Hinch because he was very willing to share his experience and knowledge. On the field, I've always enjoyed watching the speed guys. Shane Victorino. Brett Gardner. Justin Christian. Pablo Ozuna was a lot of fun to watch too. I also saw Ryan Howard hit some absolute bombs and watched Chase Utley play as well as anyone I've ever seen day in and day out. Those guys were fun to cover. What player has been the most challenging to cover and why?? He wasn't a bad guy, but Cole Hamels was tough only because he was such a big name prospect that I had to be careful not to over do it. It would have bothered a lot of the guys in the clubhouse if I fallen all over myself trying to write too much about Hamels. To some extent, it's that way with Phil Hughes and some of the other starting pitching prospects in the Yankees system. I have to find the right balance between reporting on the individual big names and reporting on the team as a whole. It's important to do both. What player are you most looking forward to seeing this year in Scranton?? Obviously it will be interesting to watch Austin Jackson try to take that last step to the big leagues. I'm also curious to see whether Kevin Russo can put himself on the big league map. But I'm most interested in seeing how Hughes, Kennedy and every other young starting pitcher responds to New York filling it's rotation through free agency this winter. Do you think it is neat to cover these guys and then some of them become stars or good players in the majors?? Do you ever keep in touch with any former scranton guys that have made it big?? Sometimes it's neat. Sometimes it's inevitable. I enjoy watching Giese and Chris Coste as much as I enjoy watching Utley and Howard. As far as keeping in touch, those relationships are different from any other. I might send a text message or something to check in or ask a question, but for the most part staying in touch is limited to talking the clubhouse or on the field during the season. It is, however, always a lot of fun to see those guys after they've moved on. Victorino positively attacked me the last time I saw him. Is there another job that you would ever want to do?? I'm pretty happy doing this, but most any form of writing would be a lot of fun. You think Aaron Sorkin needs an intern? If you weren't covering baseball, what other sport would you like to cover? I covered men's college basketball for a year and enjoyed it. That was a good University of Missouri team and I covered them through the Elite Eight. Lack of access in college sports, though, is annoying. I've often wondering what it would be like to cover tennis or golf. The travel would probably be insane, but it might be a lot of fun. Is it easier to write up a story for the newspaper or to work on the blog you have?? They're completely different. Day to day, I'm not sure one's easier or harder, but there is certainly less pressure with the blog. I pretty much get to do whatever I want on there, and the only deadlines are the ones I put on myself. What gave you the inspiration to start your blog?? My boss told me to start it. Does that count as inspiration? What are your favorite sports teams?? University of Missouri. Of course. Do you reside somewhere near the stadium during the year?? I live about six miles from the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre stadium. I used to live about 20 miles from the stadium. It's a lot better this way. How do you think the New York Yankees will do this year?? Hard to pick against them, isn't it? It's the depth that makes me think they'll do well. The one place they don't have much depth is the infield, and most of those guys have little or no history of being injured. You know a pitcher or two is going to break down for a little while during the season, but the Yankees have plenty of depth in the rotation and the bullpen. That's why I think they're the team to beat in the East. What player on the Yankees would you like to interview if given a chance?? I'm trying to learn Spanish and would love to get to the point that I could interview Robinson Cano or Melky Cabrera in Spanish. A one-on-one with Alex Rodriguez would obviously be nice because he doesn't seem to give those very often. There's no one in that clubhouse who I would want to interview simply because he's a "star." Outside of the Yankees, I think the best stories in baseball might be Josh Hamilton and Rick Ankiel. I'd love to be in a position to write those stories. Especially Ankiel because his comeback seems to have been overlooked a little bit. If it's not going to be me, somebody get Gary Smith on that one! .AOLWebSuite .AOLPicturesFullSizeLink { height: 1px; width: 1px; overflow: hidden; } .AOLWebSuite a {color:blue; text-decoration: underline; cursor: pointer} .AOLWebSuite a.hsSig {cursor: default}