DALLAS -- Astros manager Brad Mills addressed the media during a Tuesday afternoon news conference at the Winter Meetings in Dallas.
Mills, 54, touched on several aspects of the team, including the GM search, his overall expectations and a few position battles that are likely to take place over the course of Spring Training.
He even told a few jokes about Terry Francona -- one of his closest friends and the newest member of ESPN's Baseball Tonight.
Q: What are the Winter Meetings like for you without a GM?
A: It's interesting, but Dave [Gottfried] is doing a great job. The new ownership has given him the ability to do what he needs to do. From that standpoint, it's not much different. We're meeting with all the guys that are here. We're getting through things.
Dave is doing a great job of running those meetings.
Q: How are you personally handling the uncertainty of not knowing who your boss is going to be or what may happen?
A: I'm not really focused on me. I don't have that uncertainty. What I mean by that is we are trying to get better. Our new ownership has a plan on how they want to go about things. They have given Dave those plans. That's where our focus is. It's really exciting for all of us to go through that. There is no uncertainty.
Q: What are your thoughts on adding a shortstop?
A: Who we have internally right now is Angel Sanchez and some of the minor league signees, such as Brian Bixler and Diory Hernandez. We have a mixture of guys there that we are hoping to get a chance to look at. Jobs are open going into Spring Training. That's going to create a lot of good competition.
Q: Will you consider Jimmy Paredes at shortstop?
A: Here's a guy that when we first got him, he was a second baseman. We put him over at shortstop for a very short time. He was adequate there. Then, we moved him to third base. A month into the experiment of moving him to third, he's in the major leagues. He's a guy who has had to learn to play at the major league level against major league competition at a new position.
I don't know if it's fair to move him to shortstop. Right now, I don't see that as a possibility. Could that change in Spring Training? Sure it could. We are still looking at him to be a third baseman and go from there. We have Chris Johnson there, as well.
We all saw what C.J. did in the past. We see his work ethic. He is back in Houston in the clubhouse and in the weight room every day doing stuff to get ready. That's where the competition comes in.
It should make for a lot of fun.
Q: What other position battles do you expect?
A: In center field, you have [Jordan] Schafer and [J.B.] Shuck. I think [Brian] Bogusevic is doing a really good job in winter ball. There's going to be a lot of interesting situations with guys competing.
Q: Where does Brett Wallace stand?
A: He is going to be in the mix and get plenty of playing time in Spring Training, as well as Carlos Lee, at first base. We are going to go from there. We aren't going to put him in a box and say we're looking at this or at that. Carlos did a real good job for us at first base last season. There is no doubt about that.
To say that when he comes into Spring Training, he'll be moved to left field, is not fair to him or the ballclub. What does that do to Brett Wallace? Let's just see how Spring Training plays out.
Q: Did you meet with Jim Crane and George Postolos today?
A: Yes. It went real well. It was a really good conversation. I'm excited about the plan of action and them acting on that plan moving forward. They aren't going to sit around. It's very nice to see. We talked about quite a few things with the ballclub. I really enjoyed getting the chance to sit down and visit with them.
With them so busy with the GM search, it's easy to overlook how excited they are about our team, the city and everything else.
Q: Are you concerned about the wins/losses in 2012, especially if the organization decides to deal some of the veterans?
A: That's always going to be an issue, but we have a long time before the first day in Spring Training. There are a lot of things in the works here right now and other things in place going through the non-tender situation. We have the No. 1 draft pick in the Rule 5 coming up here on Thursday. We're positioning ourselves to be ready. Concern does not really enter into it as much as we're trying to get as good as we can right now.
Q: How do you plan to approach the hiring of a bullpen coach?
A: I think the best way to do that is wait for the new GM and see if he has any ideas. I have been talking with Doug Brocail [pitching coach] a lot about that. It is so important for the two to work together. We're going to put names together. When the new GM gets here and the time is right, we'll talk about that.
Q: What do you expect from some of the young guys from last year [Jose Altuve, Jimmy Paredes and J.D. Martinez]?
A: There will be a better comfort level from them, since they have a little experience. These are exciting players. They are very athletic. Altuve and Paredes run extremely well. What they can all do with the bat will continue to develop in time with age.
They know the staff, and we know them.
Q: How odd is it for you knowing that Terry Francona isn't managing in Boston and that he's now working for ESPN?
A: Every time I talk to him, I say, 'Is this off the record or on the record.' I always told him that if he is on TV that he may need to spend two hours in make-up. All that aside, everyone knows how much I think of him. He is going to do a great job with ESPN.
I'm thrilled for him.
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