10 HARD-HITTING QUESTIONS FOR VANESSA RICHARDSON
Here’s an inside look at how the biggest interview of the year came about
Oct 23, 2020, 12:06 pm
Let's pull back the curtain on the Jeff Luhnow interview. Photo via: Vanessa Richardson/Facebook
Houston's biggest sports story of the week was Channel 2 sports reporter Vanessa Richardson's lengthy interview with banished Astros general manager Jeff Luhnow, who denied any responsibility or knowledge of the Astros cheating scandal. For almost a year, Luhnow had been the great white whale of "gets" for Houston media.
The next day, sports talk radio was consumed with reaction to the interview. One of the head scratchers was, why would Luhnow choose to bare his soul to a young local reporter who came to Houston only last year after covering news and sports for the NBC station in Cincinnati.
Here is the story behind the story: the anatomy of Vanessa Richardson's scoop.
1.Ken Hoffman: How did the interview come about? Did he approach you, or did you seek him out?
Vanessa Richardson: When Luhnow and (former Astros manager A.J.) Hinch were fired, every reporter in town, plus national reporters, wanted to talk to them. Understandably, neither wanted to talk for a while. I ended up asking Luhnow a few months ago, and he said he felt he was getting to the point where he might be ready, but had to get some things in order first. October ended up being the time he wanted to share his side of things. Once we had a date and time, I told my bosses about it and they wanted to make it a more professional, two-camera shoot.
2.KH: Since he wanted to wait until the Astros season was over, when did you do the interview?
VR: We did the interview the week before it aired. He didn't want to take the spotlight away from the Astros, which we were more than happy to accommodate. My bosses decided to turn it into a 30-minute special, which was great, but took a lot of work in one week.
3.KH: Do you get why some media veterans wonder how you got the Luhnow interview?
VR: I completely understand people wondering how I got this interview, since I haven't been in Houston that long. It's really simple; I met Jeff, his wife, and some of his extended family when I moved to Houston in 2019, and we kept in touch. They trusted me, but also allowed me to ask harder questions that probably weren't pleasant for him to reflect on, which I appreciated.
4.KH: Your interview on Channel 2 was a 30-minute special. On the station's website, the interview ran 37 minutes. How long were you in Luhnow's home?
VR: From setup to teardown, it was probably two hours.
5.KH: Did Luhnow set any conditions for the interview? Were any topics off limits?
VR: He did not control the questions, and allowed me to ask what I felt needed to be addressed.
6.KH: When you watched the finished interview, were there any questions you wished you had asked?
VR: As a reporter, if you don't look over and critique your interviews, you're doing yourself a disservice. There are two or three questions I wish I would have asked! But there are also Astros beat writers who hopped on local radio stations and acted like I threw Luhnow softball questions, which I disagree with.
7: What did you think of baseball commissioner Rob Manfred's response, where he shot down Luhnow's claim of innocence, and said Luhnow was guilty of an infraction and deserved punishment?
VR: I knew Rob Manfred would probably give a statement or comment to a network, which he did. He said there was more evidence, which was interesting to me. I think we all would like to have been a fly on the wall in that investigation.
8.KH: Were you surprised when it appeared that Luhnow was close to tears?
VR: I didn't expect Luhnow to get teary-eyed. It was definitely the most human side of him I think the public has seen. From what I could tell, he deeply cared about the Astros, which I don't think anyone would deny, and I know that part caught some people off guard.
9.KH:How much preparation did you do for the interview?
VR: I was excited to do the interview, and extremely thankful. I knew it would interest people, simply because it was the first time he would be talking about this. I also figured there would be questions why I got the interview, being I'm a young woman and relatively new to Houston. Although I had covered the scandal at length, I wanted to make sure I did proper research. I spent weeks delving into different articles and trying to get it right. Overall, the response was pretty positive.
10: KH: Did you come away believing his explanation of how things happened, or did you feel he was doing damage control?
VR: Everyone is asking me if I believe him, which I understand. My job was to do the interview, and try to be as fair as possible. It's up to baseball fans and viewers to decide what to think. Of course he wanted to share his side, who wouldn't? Whether or not people believe him is for each individual to decide.
Bonus question. Did Luhnow offer you any delicious snacks or refreshing beverages?
VR: Haha! He and his wife did offer me and the photographers water and whatever we needed. They were very welcoming.
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With the Astros now officially ten games under .500 for the season, manager Joe Espada is taking a lot of heat from the fanbase for the team's struggles.
While we don't agree with the sentiment, we even hear fans clamoring for the return of Dusty Baker and Martin Maldonado, thinking the Astros wouldn't be in this mess if they were still here.
Which is ridiculous. First of all, Maldonado has been awful for the White Sox, hitting .048 (even worse than Jose Abreu's .065). And for those of you that think his work with the pitching staff justifies his pathetic offense. Let me say this: Where was Maldy's game calling genius for Hunter Brown, Cristian Javier, and Framber Valdez last year? All of them regressed significantly.
And as far as Baker is concerned, we have no idea how much a difference he would make, we can only speculate. Baker would also be dealing with a pitching staff ravaged with injuries. And let's not forget, Baker was the guy that refused to move Jose Abreu down in the batting order, even though he would finish the regular season with the ninth-worst OPS in baseball.
The reality of the situation is managers can only do so much in baseball. Which leads us to something else that needs to be considered. Is Espada being handcuffed by the front office? Espada and GM Dana Brown both said recently that Jon Singleton was going to get more at-bats while they give Abreu time off to try to figure things out. Yet, there Abreu was in the lineup again in the opening game of the Cubs series.
It makes us wonder how much power does Espada truly have? The Astros have some other options at first base. Yainer Diaz may only have eight games played at the position, but how much worse could he be than Abreu defensively? Abreu already has four errors, and Diaz is obviously a way better hitter. Victor Caratini isn't considered a plus offensive player, but his .276 batting average makes him look like Babe Ruth compared to Abreu. Let him catch more often and play Diaz at first. Starting Diaz at first more often could also lengthen his career long-term.
Maybe that's too wild of a move. Okay, fine. How about playing Mauricio Dubon at first base? I understand he doesn't have much experience at that position, but what's the downside of trying him there? If he can play shortstop, he can play first base. He's driving in runs at a higher rate (11 RBIs) than everyone on the team outside of Kyle Tucker and Yordan Alvarez. And he's producing like that as part-time player right now.
The other criticism we see of Espada is his use of Jon Singleton to pinch hit late in games. Let's be real, though, who else does Espada have on the roster to go to? Batting Abreu late in games in which you're trailing should be considered malpractice. Espada can only use who he has to work with. This all really stems from the Astros poor farm system.
They don't have anyone else to turn to. The draft picks the club lost from the sign-stealing scandal are really hurting them right now. First and second rounders from 2020 and 2021 should be helping you in 2024 at the big league level.
Maybe they go to Astros prospect Joey Loperfido soon, but after a hot start he has only two hits in his last six games.
Finally, we have to talk about what seems like a committee making baseball decisions. Lost in a committee is accountability. Who gets the blame for making poor decisions?
As time continues to pass it looks like moving on from former GM James Click was a massive mistake. He's the guy that didn't sign Abreu, but did trade Myles Straw (recently DFA'd) for Yainer Diaz and Phil Maton. He also built an elite bullpen without breaking the bank, and helped the club win a World Series in 2022.
The reality of the situation is Dusty Baker and James Click are not walking back through that door. And all good runs come to an end at some point. Is this what we're witnessing?
Don't miss the video above as we hit on all the points discussed and much more!
Catch Stone Cold 'Stros (an Astros podcast) with Charlie Pallilo, Brandon Strange, and Josh Jordan. We drop two episodes every week on SportsMapHouston's YouTube channel. You can also listen on Apple Podcast, Spotifyor wherever you get your podcasts.