Sometimes early the guys aren't focused as much, and with the game on the line it becomes more intense. I think we've shown the ability when the game is close and late, and our at-bats have gotten better. We'd like to keep that going for nine innings, but we haven't done that. |
Sometimes the biggest successes aren't the guys you hear the most about. |
The last couple days I saw some frustration in our players because they want to win. But they call it offense. You have to stay on the attack and not be defensive up there. It's no fun not scoring runs, no question about that. There's kind of a sense of urgency sometimes when a pitcher goes through you that quickly. But obviously they have good starting pitching and we're going to have to deal with it because they're in our division. |
They talk about his defense, but what I saw offensively was not a weak shortstop. He's got more strength than I was led to believe. Anybody can do the drills when the ball is coming at you at 50 miles an hour (in batting practice), but I like what I see early. |
They're both a big part of what we're trying to do to get better, but it's not just them. |
We made a lot of progress. I'm not one to put expectations on people, but I think you're going to see a different Jeremy Reed this year. |
We spent a lot of time on communicating with one another, getting a feel for one another, and understanding that the best thing that happened for him in 2005 was that he got his first year in the big leagues under him. |
We're starting to swing at pitches that God couldn't hit. We have to stay with our approach, and we've been getting away from it at times. |
We're very good friends. But essentially I learned a long time ago, you need to do things your way. If it happens, so be it. If it doesn't, they'll probably bring in another guy. |
We've got some guys going good and we've got some guys who are struggling. Usually April's a tough month. Guys come from Arizona where the weather's perfect and the ball flies all over the place. Then you get into the reality of the season, and it can work against them, not so much physically as mentally. |
We've just got to rebound from this situation. We've got a lot of ability here, and we've got a long ways to go. We've got to gather up as a team, because it's a team offense and it's not any one individual that's going to get the job done. |
When a team goes bad, the first thing you notice is they get a little wild and start swinging at balls that God can't hit. |
When a team goes through what we're going through right now, we can't go up there and get wild. We have to stay in the strike zone. When a team goes bad, the first thing you notice is guys start swinging at balls that God can't hit. |
You have to be able to run well in the No. 2 spot. With Ichiro on base, the No. 2 guy will take pitches, so he's going to have to be able to hit well with two strikes. I think we've got guys who can do that. |