If he feels better he'll go out there tomorrow. We'll go from there. |
If I remember correctly, we had some questions leaving camp last year. No matter how good you are - and we have to prove we're good - there are going to be questions. |
If I was watching this club I would probably say that it's vulnerable, but knowing this club I wouldn't say that. It's only natural that there is going to be a loss of intensity under the circumstances we've been playing. You can't do anything about it. |
If Looper gets his game back, which I expect he will, he can contribute as much as Tavarez, if not more. |
If the three weren't even, coming into spring training, they are even now. |
If we know who we're playing (in the playoffs), ... that could be a start (for Marquis). |
If you do something he doesn't like, he just might flip you. Nolan Ryan was that way. Don Drysdale, I'm sure was that way. (Bob) Gibson was that way. Not that they're out of control. They're not out of control; they're in control. But they're going to win the game. |
Instead of getting in shape, he can refine the quality of his pitches. Has he been good? Yes. Is he capable of being better? I think so. |
It could be a good pitch for him if he can gain control of it to the point where he doesn't make mistakes that are hit. If his mistakes are down, OK. If he makes mistakes up ... I don't think he wants to walk off the field after getting beat on a changeup. But he can find places to use it. |
It depends a lot on who the fifth guy is. You have to consider how long he's going to be sitting out before he pitches again, No. 1, and what benefits you're looking to gain from that. |
It has a lot to do with mental strength. He prepares as good as you can prepare. He doesn't let anything distract him, whether it's a bad call by an umpire, a call that he thinks is bad, an error, or whatever else might go on. He stays focused on what he wants to do and doesn't let anything distract him from that purpose. |
It looks to me like he's trying to be too fine. He's getting behind in the count too much. When he does know he has to throw a strike, it's in the top of the strike zone. He needs to be more aggressive early in the counts - not as concerned inside and outside as he is up and down ... mostly down. He can go to the corners when he controls the counts. |
It was a natural progression. It was good for the pitchers to know how much importance we placed on defense. We're always adjusting ... defense as well as pitching strategy. |
It was not a close call at all, simply because Marquis can be tremendously valuable to us out of the bullpen, |
It was pretty easy to wait. I don't want him going out there the least bit restricted, and then all of a sudden his delivery changes and he gets into some kind of bad habits or hurts himself worse. The bullpen is well-rested, especially the guys that are able to give us innings: Eldred and Thompson. It's a pretty easy decision to make. |