Esteban is not happy, nobody is happy with the results. We'll discuss it. |
He had a fantastic camp and really caught the attention of the big league coaches. He stayed in camp longer than some guys who were ahead of him on the depth chart. That went a long way to increasing his confidence going into the year. |
He has exceeded any expectations you would have for someone less than a year out of the draft. Certainly, we probably expected a little more out of him because of the person he is and because of his background, and we all went into spring training hoping he would be ready to contribute at some point this year, but never expecting he'd be closing games in June. |
He was a huge boost for our offense. When he came over here, we said at the time of the trade that having that option was attractive because we knew we'd be able to keep him beyond this year. Jay's a professional. He fit in great with the clubhouse. He's another great veteran our young guys can learn from. |
I came here having played the game. I knew little about knowing what it takes to put a team together. I've learned from Sandy, through Billy and Paul. Sandy was a presence in the clubhouse and had the ability to build a rapport with the team. I think that helps guys feel comfortable. It all starts with Billy. Players respect the path he's been on. We want to run this thing like a business and take care of the employees. |
I don't foresee that happening. Lew and his ownership group have proven things are a little bit different now. |
I think Lew and the ownership group have proved things are different now. They've bumped the payroll and allowed us to do some things, but ultimately Barry is going to command a lot of money. He's earned it and he deserves it. |
I think Shane will tell you he had concerns about going through the rehab and working his way back. Once he committed to it, he was determined to get back. We were happy with the results last year. |
I'm sure that'll come up at some point this spring, but it hasn't come up yet. Whether something ultimately gets done is obviously still a question. |
It's something we thought about as long as two months ago. We didn't expect Dan to come in and wear No. 21 and pitch like Mark Mulder. He's done a tremendous job. I guess it's fitting he picked up where Mark left off. |
Jay brought an element we haven't had in the bullpen here for a while. We started right after the season talking to him about coming back. The fact he was honest about coming back allowed us to get it done so quickly. |
Jay is a professional. He fit in great with the clubhouse. |
Two more done, three more to go. We're making good progress. |
Until they are in the Major Leagues, they are assets. |
We build this team for this exact scenario. You never like to lose guys to injuries but we put this team together over the winter and build it with guys who can fill in. At least four guys in the bullpen started in major league games and fully capable of seizing this opportunity and keeping us afloat. |