There's a lot of things this team has had going for it. It's good timing. But if you had to say what's been the biggest factor so far, you'd have to say it's starting pitching. |
There's a major difference between throwing and pitching. |
There's a reason that there is a new manager here, and it damn sure wasn't because it was (former skipper) Alan Trammell 's fault, I can tell you that. The responsibility is right out there. |
There's no breathing room with that team over there. That's a pretty tough lineup. They can swing the bat. We were nervous to the end. |
There's not a guy here who knows for sure. |
There's some competition going on. That's good. |
These are the kind of games you're going to have to win if you're going to be a good team. |
These guys were raised too good. Hey, I don't want guys who won't sign balls for a kid, or who give the front office (flak), or a guy who's not a good human being. I want good people representing the Detroit Tigers organization, too. But I want a different animal, which is the best way to put it. I want to see that mean streak when we go compete. |
They all have good legs. Nolan Ryan? Real strong legs. Roger Clemens? Real strong legs. Tom Seaver? Real strong legs. |
They haven't done it real good, to be honest with you. They haven't done it real good for a few years, obviously. Those are the things we're pressing upon. It's one thing to listen. It's another thing to hear. |
They need to get away from it. They're playing too many innings. We've got a gruesome stretch here the next few days. |
They pitched him tough. A couple times, he went out of the strike zone, but that's going to happen. That's the way these things go. |
They smelled blood, it looked like to me. |
They'll make 'em. I'll veto 'em. |
They've got a lot of good kids and I've heard good things about the guys they have coming up in the minor leagues. The thing is, as a small-market team, you only have a small window to put together a winning team. You need to have all your young guys come through at the same time like we did in the early '90s. I think the Pirates are putting themselves in position to do that. |