A lot of getting better defensively is hard work. And in David's case, you know he's going to work hard. You're pretty safe expecting him to improve. |
Anytime you're trying to trade a player, you really have to take into consideration a lot of factors. And one of them is the marketplace. |
Because of time constraints we weren't able to conclude a deal with Scott Strickland to tender him a contract. We still plan to negotiate with him. |
But I really feel from my own evaluation of the Orioles and from people that I've talked to that this organization has a tremendous upside. One GM called it 'a sleeping giant.' |
First off, it's one of the historic franchises in baseball, ... These types of positions don't come around too often. I think it's a very good fit. I view it as a step up. If I thought it was a lateral move I wouldn't be coming down here. I feel I have more authority, more decision-making abilities with the Orioles than I do with the Mets. That's the reason I'm here. |
First off, it's one of the historic franchises in baseball. These types of positions don't come around too often. I think it's a very good fit. I view it as a step up. If I thought it was a lateral move I wouldn't be coming down here. I feel I have more authority, more decision-making abilities with the Orioles than I do with the Mets. That's the reason I'm here. |
He has the opportunity to be selected for the U.S. team. That will be a great opportunity for him. |
He wants to pursue offers in Japan, so we went ahead and gave him his release. |
He's got 173 at-bats (before Wednesday), and with the numbers he has been able to put up in that short window, he's been really impressive. We're definitely excited, but we have to temper it because he's still so young. We know he has a lot of room for improvement. |
He's highly motivated, and you like to take chances on those kinds of guys. |
He's the ideal player you'd want your daughter to date. I can name you some in this game I wouldn't want a daughter to date. |
I couldn't ask for a better way for him to handle the situation and the way he treated me and the responsibility he gave me, ... He didn't have to do that, obviously, but he made it easy for me. It made a potentially difficult situation for me much easier. |
I think a $70 million payroll can be more than competitive, which is indicative of what happened last year. If you are in the $70 (million) to $80 million range, you can do it the right way, with a combination of veteran players and using players from within. But your scouting and player development are critical in doing it. |
I think it's a very good fit. The two of us will work together to change the culture here. I report to Mike, but he has made it clear we will work together to change this thing. |
I think we are a victim of the fact that (Simon) has only one (client). He's had only one player for the length of his career, and he doesn't have a lot of experience dealing with this type of language. |