A couple weeks ago, the Goat Riders of the Apocalypse secured an interview with the Chicago Cubs excellent play-by-play man, Len Kasper.

Len is a member of what I would call the "next generation" of broadcasters. Besides having an overall good sense of the baseball fundamentals, he also has a handle on the statistical side of the game and understands metrics beyond your basic batting average and home run count. He knows his OPS, for example. Or maybe a VORP, if you will. In other words, he speaks the language of the modern fan.

I can remember listening to him discuss an article which stated that strikeouts may not be as bad as everyone thinks. It was interesting listening to him play two different parts out all by himself. One part was him supporting the article and the other was him defending himself against his theoretical opponent (as we all knew what the response from the "establishment" would be). And, as expected, he was quick in responding to an e-mail from a fan aghast that anyone would suggest that a strikeout is not the end of the world. Len is in the interesting position of having to keep a foot in both worlds. I will say, listening to him bring up the stats that go "beyond the boxscore" has made me a big fan.

Anyway, nobody is interested in what I have to say about Len. The question is, what does Len have to say about the Cubs?

We sent Len ten questions which he was good enough to answer and we have compiled this into a real-time, action-packed interview. My responses to his replies are in Cubbie blue italics. My responses do not reflect the opinions of the rest of the Goat Riders, but they should.

Thanks to Len for his participation and we hope everyone enjoys.

GR: Which Cubs blogs do you visit the most?

LEN: I visit as many as I can throughout the year. I don't want to slight anyone, but I'd have to say I read our own blog on wgntv.com, desipio.com, cubs.com and northsidebaseball.com the most often. But I will be making goatriders.org a regular visit for sure.

Darn tootin'

GR: In your recent WGN blog entry, you comment on a Cedeno/Perez double play of the sort we rarely saw last year. This is in keeping with your "pro second base defense" comments you made at the convention. However, given Walker's strong start with the bat, and the Cubs' anemic offense, do you feel that his overall value is such that he should start once Lee comes back, or do you feel we would benefit more from the excellent defense of a Neifi Perez?

LEN: I think once D Lee is back, Todd Walker should get the lion's share of the time at 2B for sure. This team needs as much offense as possible right now. I suppose Tony Womack could stay hot (4 hits today in his first start), but overall, Walker would be my choice. His defense hasn't been bad at all this year. And having Ronny Cedeno as a DP partner has helped him.

I just want to get Lee back so I can stop grinding my teeth at night. This offense is killing me

GR: Len, I've noticed that the in-game graphics on TV show OBP this season. Also, you and Bob are talking more about OBP than your predecessors. Is this a direct influence of Cub Fan/Bloggers, or are mainstream analysts starting to take the 2004 book "Money Ball" more seriously?

LEN: I would start by saying I consider myself a sabermetric guy and I have to hold back a lot as far as not bombarding people with new statistics that are unfamiliar to many. I'm a firm believer in rate stats over counting stats in evaluating a player's individual performance and I have many arguments (all friendly of course!) with "old school" folks. I don't pretend to think I know more than anybody out there, but I have my opinions and they're usually based on the numbers because, for the most part, I don't trust that my eyes tell me the truth, i.e., I don't think by simply "watching" a player I have the ability to determine his value. I need to look at the OBP and SLG and those sorts of numbers. A great example (maybe the best of them all) is Adam Dunn. I have this argument with a lot of people--many don't like him because 1) he has a low batting average and 2) he can look bad on defense in LF. My reaction to both is, WHO CARES? He's a monster offensive player because he walks a ton and hits a lot of HRs. And he'll out hit his defensive mistakes in LF. Just my opinion, but I'd take him on my team in a heartbeat.

And that, my friends, is the perfect answer to that question. My hat is off to you, sir

GR: This is a totally hypothetical question with no basis derived from any events that may or may not have recently occurred. Hypothetically speaking, if a team totally tanks, what would the pros and cons be of say, completely firing the coaching stuaff and replacing them with new faces? Or is the “fire-and-switch� overrated and ineffective?

LEN: I really don't know the answer to that question. I do think that managers in general are given maybe more credit and more blame than is deserved. The bottom line is, you have to have good players. Without good players, how can you win? In the end, you are what you are and your record, I believe, will mirror your talent for the most part.

So I guess we won't have to fit Len with a Down with Dusty t-shirt?

GR: What do you think about the idea of broadcasting from the bleachers?

LEN: I loved it last year and I hope it's an annual thing. The fans out there were so cool. I want to do it for sure every year.

GR: How did you feel about the White Sox winning the World Series, and how would you feel about the Cardinals winning it this year? (Warning: this is a trick question)

LEN: I have a lot of respect for the White Sox and having been around Ozzie back a few years ago in Florida, I was very happy for him. But, I have that North Side allegiance working, so no, I don't love seeing them being so much better than the Cubs. Nothing against the White Sox, but I want to see the Cubs be the best team in the city. And the Cardinals? Again, with all due respect to them, I don't want them winning the World Series this year.

hmmm...that'll do.

GR: Can we all agree that a receding hairline (or as I like to call it, "a high widow's peak") is the new hotness? Pretty soon all the kids are going to be shaving their heads to get that high, shiny forehead look. Am I right? (Note: apparently more than one Goat Writer is suffering from the dreaded receding hairline, and we're under the impression that you've voiced a complaint about a similar problem yourself, although Jason's wife says she doesn't see it (on you, she definitely sees it on him.))

LEN: Oh, I'm losing it faster than I care to reveal. But there will be NO hairpiece for this Cubs announcer. When it's gone...it's gone. I promise you that.

I don't know, the toupee has done wonders for Ron.

GR: Len, since you watch the team every single day, all their workouts, fly on their plane, sleep in their hotel, please tell me: what DOES a hitting coach do?

LEN: A hitting coach works as hard as any person in the game. He gets to the park early to look at video and take extra BP with guys. He's their shoulder to lean/cry on and he'll never stop working to help them figure out what they need to do. But, the cliche is true...the hitting coach can't go the plate and hit for the player. It's ultimately up to the player to put in the work necessary to improve.

GR: Being a native Michiganer, you are, no doubt, familiar with vitriolic rivalries, which, I would imagine, allows you to understand the animosity between Cubs and Sox fans. So, my $64,000 question for you is...Spartans or Wolverines?

LEN: I have to say, my sister went to MSU, so I'm partial towards East Lansing.

Noooo, I'm sorry. The correct answer was Hoosiers. Hoosiers.

GR: Could you try to convince Ryan Dempster to grow a fu manchu mustache like Rod Beck used to have? It would endear him further to the fans, and it would be really hard for his opponents to take him seriously - giving him a deadly advantage in that 9th inning. Speaking of mustaches, we at Goat Riders would like to issue you a mustache challenge. In the accompanying image, we can see the various stages of the moustache challenge.

Will you accept the Goat Riders challenge?

LEN: I think Ryan would consider anything, knowing his personality! And I'm happy to do the challenge, but I will definitely skip the 1st option. I'm not into the "JUST mustache" look. I'm going full goatee mode right off the bat. Fair enough?

While I still feel that the world cries out for a moustachioed Len Kasper, we will certainly take what we can get. Okay, thus concludes the interview. Thanks again to Len and Go Cubs!