It's great when you have a manager secure enough to want the best people. |
It's hard for me to say. I'm not out there. I don't know how their practices were being run. It's hard to make those statements from afar. Those are the issues that obviously are concerning to all the clubs involved. . . . I don't know if (Team USA) was too aggressive or too conservative. I just don't know. |
It's helpful, but we're hoping we don't have to turn to those options. We have more depth on paper than we did last year, and hopefully they're quality options. There's a very high ceiling. |
It's just as simple as that, ... Any time that individual has to take their time away from those endeavors - if they're working on potential trade ideas or things of that nature, or thinking about the coaches, whatever the ideas may be - that's how we're going to simplify it. It fits rather well together, and that's clearly what we all want. |
It's not my style to qualify where we are throughout the process, ... We'll keep talking until we get it done or not. |
It's not our workouts, we're not treating him. It happened while he was out there. |
It's nothing to be alarmed about. It's a process, and he's been doing so well. He threw one inning, fastballs only, and he felt sore. His body is telling him to back off a little, so that's what we're going to do. |
It's too early in the process to say, but it's possible. I can't tell you if it's probable or not, because it's only Nov. 16. We have an in-house guy that is a fly-ball catcher at the very least. With the offensive lineup we have, we can afford that. |
Joe has a great deal of trust in him. Joe has worked close with Ron for a number of years, and he's been talking to him for three years about replacing Mel when Mel decided to retire. This is the man he wanted. |
Johnny was a perfect fit for us. We had a big-time interest in him. |
Let's get what we can get accomplished and let's concentrate on the future at a more appropriate time, which is after we get through the season. |
Like every year, we try to put together the best staff possible; hopefully we've done that. We have a lot of experience, a lot of people our players can go to for help. |
Maybe he will be calling me now. I hope so, he's a good baseball man. We'd love to have him. |
Maybe it'll help, ... We've done it in the past. I don't remember the last time we did it, but he's available if guys want to hit off him. It's up to Joe and Donnie. |
Mel told me that he'd always be interested in staying around. I talked to the Boss about it. He thought it was a good idea. Mel thought it was a good idea. Everybody basically felt: Let's continue the relationship. Mel did a tremendous job here for a long time and provides a lot of valuable insight. So it's nice to have him as part of the support system as we move forward. |