I think we've always felt Gonzalez had the talent to do it. We felt this was time to see what he can do. |
I think we've got a talented group of young players that are going to be around here for three, four or five more years. What we've got to do is have these guys continue to show improvement. |
I think we've seen through the years that a guy coming back after missing a full year is still a little rusty. But the end game is not whether he makes the team April 1, the end game is we want this guy to have a long career with the Pirates. |
I think, as he's starting to mature and come into his prime years, he'll do even better offensively. Offensively, I'm confident that he's closer to the player you saw at the end of last season than the one you saw at the beginning. |
I think, with what was identified before the surgery, it really came off similar to what Dr. Thompson thought would happen. Considering all things, I think it is a good result. |
I value Bruce as a talent evaluator. He has a good feel for people; he's a loyal guy and a hard worker. |
I was comfortable that Jim Tracy was an excellent choice. I'm confident, from having worked with the guy for five or six years, that he's a very good communicator, he understands the game well, he has lots of experience as a Major League and Minor League manager, and he's won. |
I would consider him for a minor league job, but he just didn't have interest in that. |
I would tend to think (that is) right going into this year, but as a peer I don't want to be criticizing other teams before it plays out. |
I wouldn't describe it as a drastic overhaul. I think we'd like to get a couple key components. |
I'll give him a call back to talk to him, which I would do for anybody. My position is, I do understand people will show interest in this job, but really we're focusing on the rest of the season right now. |
I'm aware of Jim Tracy and I have a great deal of respect for him. I would have interest in him now that he's available. |
I'm comfortable he'll get us back to winning ways. |
I'm confident Jim Tracy is going to do a fine job based on having worked with him in the past and seeing his work on a daily basis. I think I probably feel even better working with him now that he's had five years of major league experience as a manager and after seeing him here at spring training. |
I'm not worried about it. |