Even if there is a week left in the season and I feel like I am ready to play, I want to play, |
I have been putting in my work here. I don't want to end the season on the disabled list. |
I still plan on playing again this year. That's still the goal and that's still what I'm working for, |
I'm 100 percent. There are no restrictions. I'm not wearing a brace. It feels great and I'm excited about getting started on this season. |
If you picture .500 as the pinnacle of the season, ... you're not thinking much of yourself. |
It means a lot to me to come back and finish the season on the active list. ... They've done a good job of rehabbing me. They've taken their time and didn't rush it. |
It seems like there is a lot of baggage that you receive from winning that award. I'd just as soon finish second. |
Long-term is a relative term; that's what I've learned. You never know how a team's attitude about a player is going to change. |
Maybe I'll use him in the last few games, maybe start him. ... I can't answer that. |
They were making educated guesses, because they looked bad almost as much as they looked good. Even Barry, who's the greatest in the game at being patient and having strike-zone command, looks dumb sometimes. You can tell they have an idea of a pitch they want; they go with it, and they live with it if they're wrong. |
We certainly have a lot stronger team now than we did at the end of last season because (general manager) Dave Littlefield has made a lot of good moves. I think it's great. It means playing time is going to be a little harder to come by for myself, but that's fine. The important thing is that the team is better. |
We get paid pretty well as major-leaguers. I don't think it would be morally correct to not want to play just because there is a week left. |
We get paid well enough that it wouldn't be morally correct to be able to play and then not play just because there's a week left, ... If I'm able to play, I should be out there. |
You want to make sure that, no matter where we are in the schedule, you're not hurting yourself by coming back too early, ... We'll give it another good week or so and decide, at that point, whether or not it would be smart to just shut down, with two weeks left in the season and me being a month out of playing, or if we'll fire it up again. |