[The difference] is a plan. He's got a really good plan on every hitter that goes up there, and he's able to execute. |
[Two hundred and twenty-nine diamonds might be forever for the 2004 Marlins, but the last time the franchise won a World Series, in 1997, Florida fell back to earth in about five minutes.] In spring training ['98] we had guys spread out in about 15 camps, ... This time we kept most of the core. |
[When Florida manager Jack McKeon told his players he was calling it quits, they responded with applause and hugs. McKeon confirmed his resignation to the team before the game.] He got very emotional, like your granddad is going away and you're not going to see him anymore, ... It's tough for him. Baseball is his life. |
A lot of first-pitch strikes, he kept you off balance with a lot of off-speed stuff after fastballs. Obviously that was effective because we didn't get too many square bats on the ball. |
A lot of them weren't even baseball fans. We passed out tickets to the game, to occupy their time right now. |
Around the field he was all business. He didn't really socialize or go out with us that often, but he didn't cause problems around the clubhouse, either. |
B-Rob was text messaging me every hour, 'Come on back, buddy. |
Basically, we are performers. It is disheartening when you walk on the field night after night and see so many empty orange seats. [Talks] have been going on for 12 years, and nothing has happened. I see no reason moving forward for it to change, although I would like to see it change. |
Every time someone goes out the door and someone comes in, you hope there's improvement, ... because we didn't make the playoffs. |
He doesn't give you many mistakes to hit and when he does it almost surprises you that he makes a mistake. |
He doesn't give you many mistakes to hit. It was just command. He was not throwing 95 mph at you. It was just pinpoint control. |
He got very emotional when he told us, like your granddad is going away and you're not going to see him anymore. It's tough for him. Baseball is his life. |
He made some mistakes. And, fortunately for us, we didn't miss them. |
He threw a lot of fastballs and just put them right where he wanted them. It's a perfect example of when a pitcher hits his spots, he's going to be successful. |
He was coaching us through it, ... It's pretty simple. You've got a diamond that represents your line of site. That's the perfect track you want to be on. There's a box, and you want to put your box over the diamond and keep it there. As you're maneuvering the space shuttle you want to stay on that diamond. |