It's really the first game all year where we had our pitching, our hitting and our defense all working at the same time. That's a good sign. |
It's unfortunate to see one guy take the fall for 25. It really is. There seems to have been not as many questions about us and the way we've played than there were about him. If we can take a positive from it, that's going to change. This is the wake-up call maybe we need. |
Maybe this is a wake-up call for us, too, to say 'Hey, we're shaking things up,' and, hopefully, it can help motivate us. |
Maybe this is a wakeup call for us, too, to say `Hey, we're shaking things up,' and, hopefully, it can help motivate us. |
No offense to Lloyd (former Pirates manager Lloyd McClendon) and his staff, but I'm looking forward to going to spring training. And there's going to be a different look, a different feel, a different way things are run and I've heard nothing but good things. So I'm just excited about the way we're going to go about things. |
On paper, no question, we're a better team. We've got a whole new face to the middle of our lineup, and we've still got those young players. That's reason for optimism. At the same time, we've got to start turning the young talent into wins. You can't keep coming into every new season talking about young guys. |
Roger wasn't as sharp as the other times we've faced him, |
Some people will probably take it a little more seriously than others. A lot of the Latin American countries play a lot for pride, but you might see a little bit of a gray line for some people. |
The key to the whole game was getting a lead early. We've been playing from behind in a lot of games. It's tough when you go into the seventh, eighth and ninth innings every night knowing that every at bat is do-or-die. |
The neat thing about this tournament is the nature of it, and how quick it is. A nice win here, you step it up in one game, and all of a sudden people take note, not just of the team but the players on it. |
There are expectations this year. I'm not saying great expectations, but I think people are reasonably expecting us to be a lot more competitive than we've been the last couple of years. I know the guys in the clubhouse have a different feeling. |
There are still a lot of things that need to be worked out, ... but it's flattering to have that offer. |
There's a lot of great names on that trophy. Being Canadian, I have a whole other country that's following me. You don't play for the awards, but at the same time, you realize that it goes a long way for a lot of people. |
There's not much we can do about that. As hitters, you just do your jobs and hope we can get all cylinders going at some point. |
There's still a lot of baseball left. |