In the first inning we had great at-bats against Roy Oswalt. Command wise he was not sharp. |
In the second inning, his breaking ball for a strike early in the count was a lot better than it was in the first inning. |
In the top half of the [eighth] inning, we got first and second [and] nobody out. We got two perfect pitches to bunt -- they're fouled off. And we left our guys stranded out there. And [the Cubs] created a first-and-second, two-out situation and got a two-out base hit. |
Is he a candidate to have an opportunity to make the club? I don't know the answer to that. We'll take it a day at a time and see how he progresses from a health standpoint. If he comes along quicker, that obviously creates more options for us. |
Is he a candidate? I'd have to say that would be yes. But likely? I wouldn't say that at all. |
Is he not a guy going into day one who is considered a Gold Glove candidate -- and a Gold Glove candidate that can go out there and get 200 base hits if he uses the whole field and hits intelligently with the situations that are in front of him? |
Is Oliver Perez important to us? And Kip Wells? Sure, they are. But we've got a whole clubhouse full of guys that are important to us. |
It boiled down to the sixth inning and they took some big at-bats in the sixth inning, |
It boiled down to the sixth inning and they took some big at-bats in the sixth inning. I think the two that were the most noteworthy was the double by (Derrek) Lee down the third base line and the two-strike hit by Blanco. That was hit in the perfect spot and found it's way through the middle of the field. |
It can start to happen as quickly as [the players] want it to because they're going to hear it every day, |
It could end up being a good thing and relieve some tightness, |
It didn't make any sense to push it. A catcher goes through a lot of wear and tear. He needs to be 100 percent. |
It doesn't get any better than that. It's what we've been talking about all spring - we went up there looking for something good to take a swing at. |
It goes without saying that if you continue to work behind in the count that it makes it extremely tough to compete. It's not what you want to see. |
It has a chance to look like that. |