I think it's just a respect factor. I think he's earned that over his career. And I loved his response. He's flattered. He said 'Thank you. It's an honor. I'll be ready go.' It was totally professional. |
I think our 13 position players, whoever they are, would look at me like I was nuts if I didn't take those two guys. And I would lose some credibility. |
I think there's no question we got the right guy for the situation. I've been impressed. I've had good (coaches). I've been lucky throughout my managerial career with that kind of stuff. He's very good at what he does. He came highly recommended by some very bright baseball people. He's quickly become a friend, a nice buffer between me and the pitchers, a good guy to hang out with. |
I think this guy's got a very bright future. You don't see stuff like that. |
I think this is a pretty talented team. We've got a nice combination of youth and veterans. We've just got to figure out why this hasn't happened yet. |
I think this weekend. Maybe by Seattle. We've got some big hurdles to climb with him yet. We'll see how he feels tomorrow. |
I think we need to improve on defense. Sometimes, we are a little tentative. I want them to be aggressive. I don't mind physical errors. That is part of the game. But I want them making errors because they are being aggressive. |
I think, in this case, it might be more important for them to know me. I'm going to know pretty much, I think, what they can do. But there's a real serious side of me that takes things serious, and the answer to all these favors and everything is not always going to be yes. That's when you find out if you're all together or not. |
I think, offensively, it's easier managing in the AL and, defensively, it's tougher. That would be the best way to describe it. |
I thought he had a good slider. He had pretty good command all night. |
I thought he looked a little more comfortable today. I thought he threw some good change-ups, too. |
I thought he threw the ball extremely well. He pitched, he didn't just throw it. The other day he threw the ball, today he pitched. That's the major difference and you can see it in the results. |
I thought he threw the ball extremely well. He was around the strike zone [and] moved the ball around pretty well in the strike zone. I thought he was very impressive in his first outing. |
I told them I was interested in players, not athletes. I want a baseball player. I can find a lot of guys who can dunk a basketball. I can also find a lot of guys who can't hit one. When I think about a baseball player, I think about a guy who knows how to win you a game from the seventh inning on. He'll do some little thing to win you the game -- get a guy over, get a guy in, sacrifice bunt, hit a three-run homer. Those are the guys that I want. I made it pretty obvious. |
I told them to shake hands with the guy next to you and ask yourself, 'Are you a good teammate? Kirby Puckett exemplified what he loved to do. Kirby Puckett, to me, played every game like it was a Little League game. It was never a chore. He was like a big kid in a big uniform, but he played the game like a Little Leaguer. |