I wished he would have handled it a little bit differently. We probably could have handled it a little differently from our end, too. So we're going to call it a mistake on both sides. I don't want him to be looked at as some kind of troublemaker or some guy who is always going to pop off. |
I'm under no direction from ownership that I have to trade them whatsoever. That's not even a factor. |
If [Blum] plays third base, he'll get the majority of the at-bats. If he ends up playing second base, if we don't sign another middle infielder, then he would get the majority of the at-bats there. We brought him in to be a full-time player. |
if they don't think he can play shortstop then they should think about trading him. |
It's been said: 'How can a team have a manager making that kind of salary when our payroll is [so low]. ... It's the best money this organization's ever spent. He taught these young players how to win. He taught all of us how to win. |
It's the general manager's responsibility, no matter what the circumstances are, to make the product on the field a winner. |
Most of the teams are going to be holding on to what they have. We're going to do everything we can to fill those holes, but I'm not going to overpay financially or with prospects. |
One of the biggest decisions this organization will make is whether B.J. Upton is going to be the everyday shortstop. If not, personally, my decision would be to move him to third base and let him play there. |
There's no question it's going to be a busy week. You're going to have some released players that had outs in their contracts that are going to be available, you've got players who are out of options that are going to be available, you've got players who ended up being 26th or 27th men on competitive teams that could possibly be an upgrade for us. You're going to see a lot of names, more as the week goes on. Every day the list is going to increase. |
We thought he had had enough -- going from Double-A to Triple-A |