Q&A: Dusty Wathan on Returning to Baseballtown in '15

Fightin Phils radio broadcaster Mike Ventola is in Clearwater, Florida for Phillies Spring Training. Over his time in the Sunshine State, Ventola will sit down with Fightins alums and coaches and talk to them about their spring training goals for 2015. Today, Ventola chats with Fightins manager Dusty Wathan about the start of minor league camp.

How was your offseason?  

It was great. You get to spend a lot of time time with the family, doing typical dad things such as take the guys to practice and the girls horseback riding. It was nice to be home for a while but it's exciting to be back here.

What was your reaction to returning to manage the Reading Fightin Phils for a fourth season?  

Very excited. It's almost become a second home now. All the way from Scott Hunsicker to everybody in the front office - my family loves it there. I love it there and it's been a great three years. Hopefully we can have a better record but it's a great place to play and manage.

You have a minor change to your staff as Frank Cacciatore joins you and Rob Ducey will be in Clearwater this season. You looking forward to working with Frank again?

Yes. It was just a situation last season where you had players in certain spots and it felt like it was a perfect fit for him. Frank does a tremendous job and Rob Ducey did a great job. From a personal level, Rob lives right up the street from the complex in Clearwater. Frank did a tremendous job in Reading the past six/seven years he's been there. It's an exciting time to have Frank back.  

Is your managers cap always on in regards to seeing how players are improving?

Absolutely. Every time these guys get on the field they are being evaluated. We try to tell them that and hopefully they take that and run with it. We're always talking as coaches at lunch time, after games and meetings before the day. Anytime someone can impress you a little bit be it from the year before or day-to-day the constant effort these guys give - it's been a tremendous week so far. You want to see improvement in every area. Every time you come out on the field you're looking for something to put in front of another guy.  

Are there some days when they're shorter than most?  

Yeah I think so. These guys come in tremendous shape now. It's not like how it was 15-20 years ago where guys come to spring training and might have thrown a couple of times. Now these guys have a program they follow all winter such as lifting weights, conditioning, throwing and hitting. It's all controlled with the programs given to them. We tend to give some guys a break every now and then due to the programs. However, you have to get used to the daily grind of the season. One, maybe two days off a month and on those you may be spending those on the bus. Especially for the younger guys that haven't been through the grind many times I think it's important. It becomes more mental than physical. It's up to Doug Manzolino our Field Coordinator as he picks some spots here and there to give guys an afternoon off or just come in the morning to do a quick thing and be done the rest of the day.  

Are you guys starting to get excited for minor league games and inter-squad games?  

Oh yeah absolutely. That's the fun time for the coaches, players and fans. All this stuff we do prior is a necessary evil to get these guys prepared as in going through the fundamentals so they're prepared. We have the rest of today and tomorrow to continue to work then on Saturday and Sunday we'll begin some inter-squad games. We start playing games on Tuesday. This is something we all look forward to but like I said this is a necessary evil and the pitchers take a while to get ready.  

With spring training you're here to help these players reach their full potential but what do you like to do when your not at the ballpark while you're here? 

Sleep. By the end of the day there's a lot of going to bed at 7:30/8:00. A couple of us try to get out once or twice to do some fishing out on the gulf but to be honest, most of the days when you're done you just want to find time to relax.