I've always been a big believer that it's just as important to learn to handle success as it is failure. |
I've always liked him, because he's always had great stuff and a great arm. His problem has always been health. When he's healthy, he's a quality Major League pitcher, without question. And if he can stay healthy ... that's always been an issue. |
I've been down that road, I know what it's like. |
I've got a few years left in me. |
I've never been around a better bunch of guys. |
I've really liked what I've seen. |
I've said it a million times, ?If it hadn't been for injuries, Alan Trammell would be sitting here today instead of me.' |
I've seen it windy, but tonight you could hear it. It really swirled around and you never knew what to expect. It was almost like a storm. |
I've warned people all along that with a young pitcher, there's going to be ups and downs and there will be growing pains. In five days, he'll go out there with his confidence intact and try it again. |
Ideally, we'd like him starting at Double-A or Triple-A. He's a great kid. Probably, most likely, he's not ready to start at this level. But who knows? ... A couple of the coaches think he'll never go back. |
If a guy can't play for me, he can't play. Can you play or can't you play? |
If he can pitch and locate like he did today, there's no league he couldn't pitch in. But obviously, you're looking for consistency. |
If he can pound the strike zone with strikes, he's a big-league pitcher. If he can't, he's not. I can make that (decision) pretty simple. If he throws the ball over the plate, he's a big-league pitcher. |
If he has problems after his next start, we'll have to look into it a little bit more. |
If I was an infielder and I was having a little trouble, I'd at least say hello to the guy. If you're a major league outfielder and you've got Al Kaline and Andy Van Slyke standing there, I'd have to think you might have a question for them at some point. |