That was tremendous. Without a doubt [that was a turning point in the game]. He's been a key guy in the middle of some defensive plays. Right now he's doing well, but I can't get too excited because there's still a lot of work to do. |
That's another thing, too. I think a lot of it is just being tentative, not wanting to put too much weight on it. You know your body. You know what you can and can't do, and I don't think he wants to have any type of setback. |
That's what we talked about in the dugout. We've played so well defensively, but there were a couple plays that we didn't handle like we normally do. But you know what was nice? We came back and swung the bats. A couple of those innings were just a thing of beauty. Line drive after line drive. Not all was lost, even though we kicked it around a little bit. |
They all really feed off each other. Johnny has been around the block, and they're able to watch him from close up. Johnny, besides being a very good fielder, is very sound fundamentally. So they're able to emulate him and follow things that he does. I've been pleased that they've been down here and are working their tails off. |
They sincerely like each other and learn from each other. I think they like the challenge of being in the middle of things and being a part of what we're doing. |
We didn't stretch him out too far. Every time I stretched him out a little bit further than his comfort zone, you could see there was a little bit of a limp. ... We're still a ways away, just because of the nature of the position where you stop and start so much. |
What's really pleasing is [that] I went over to the field the other day where they were working, and I got to see him turn a double play from second base. He was really good. He's obviously been down here working hard. |
While he was with us, he was swinging the bat real well. The thing that stood out for me is the improvement he's made defensively. He's throwing better and he's taking better routes in the outfield defensively. |