He's a great player with great tools. Having another switch hitter is also great. I respect all switch hitters, because it's tough to do. |
I didn't come in here to planning to be the fifth outfielder. That wasn't what I had in mind. ... I feel like every spring training I've had a shot to be a starting guy, so this is a little different for me -- and it's well-deserved, because the last few years I haven't put up the numbers I need to. |
I don't understand what the bad rap was about. He's a really good dude as far as what I've seen. |
I want to get as many at-bats as I can, and maybe if I show I can hit from the left side, they will think a little differently. |
I would say the Steroid Era is over. If it isn't, these people are going to get caught. You are going to be caught and you are going to pay. If you are dumb enough to take steroids, you are going to pay the price. The penalties outweigh the benefits. |
It was a great series. We felt like we definitely had momentum going into it, but they came back and beat us twice, |
It was one of those things -- when it got to be 2-0, I wanted to see a fastball and get a hack on it. |
It's funny how a 162-game season turns into a 29-game season now. It's going to go right down to the wire. |
It's funny how a 162-game season turns into a 29-game season now. It's going to go right down to the wire. But there's no doubt in my mind that we're the better team. |
Obviously, he's one of the best pitchers in the game, |
Sometimes I'll take a pitch right there, but with him, if he gets a strike, he's coming back with that [nasty] slider of his, ... So I was sitting dead-red, and when I got the fastball, I capitalized on it. That was definitely the biggest home run I've ever hit. It was a very emotional home run. |
Sometimes that's a case where you might take a pitch and see if he goes 3-0, but in that situation against a guy like that, you want to try to get a fastball. He threw a good pitch to hit and I was able to capitalize on it. |
That's definitely the biggest home run of my life. For five minutes afterward, I didn't know what I was doing. I was on a high for five minutes. I barely remember running around the bases. When I got in the dugout, I was being a maniac. Everybody probably thinks I'm crazy. |
That's just baseball. The way we came out today, you can't explain it. A couple of hits went our way, and it turned into a big game for us. |