I trust C.C. as a man and know he'll make the right decision. I respect that decision. |
I want it for us , ... not as any validation for me. |
I would have preferred to sign another impact bat to add to this team somewhere. Sometimes we're forced to be creative in the way we look at things. |
I would hope [Thome will receive] resounding cheers. |
I wouldn't say I'm surprised by Cliff's development, but I am a little surprised by the pace of it. He's an extremely competitive guy. He's made a ton of adjustments since last season, but I don't think anyone could have anticipated (that he'd get this good, this fast). |
I'll take the same number of extra-base hits [56] from Casey Blake. A better on-base percentage [than last year's .308 mark] and a better average, and that's fine for right field. |
I'm excited to see him do well in a meaningful game with the pressure of pitching for his country. We could not simulate that kind of atmosphere here. |
I'm happy for him. We're disappointed it's not happening here, but that's just part of the game. |
I've always liked and respected Paul. I've followed his career and made sure to say hello to him when he came to town. |
If he's healthy, he hits. That's a given, write it down. |
If it doesn't rise we've got a concern. But that concern is not in the short term. |
If we are done, I feel good about what we've done. |
If we can't get something done by the end of spring training, we'll stop. We will not negotiate during the season. |
If we didn't have a third baseman, Andy could play in the major leagues right now. Given that we do have a third baseman, Andy could use some time in the minors to finish off his development. Defensively, he's major-league ready right now. Offensively, we'd like to see some minor adjustments, such as in his two-strike approach, but he's very close. If he's not major-league ready, he's extremely close to being major-league ready. |
If we didn't have a third baseman, we could go with him, but he needs time at Triple-A to finish himself off. |