It worked out even better than imagined. |
It's a tremendous program. I've been here for 11 years and we've seen some of the youngsters who have come through the program and graduated college. It's very successful. It's kind of neat to see kids at this age, in the eighth grade, ready to embark into their high school years and be able to feel that the Padres have had something to do with it, which can lead to very long and successful careers. |
It's good for our players, too. I think it's important to be able to give back to some of these kid that are less privileged. I think it's a gut check for them to realize how fortunate they are and what they have and be able to bond and get to meet some of the kids in San Diego who aren't quite so lucky. |
It's nice to have two guys who are homegrown middle infielders who can be together for a long time. It's nice to be able to draft and develop your own. It would be great if someday they could be Trammell and Whitaker. |
It's probably the biggest win we've had since '98 because we haven't been in this position since '98, |
Khalil is an exciting, popular player. We think he's going to have a real good year, offensively and defensively. |
Let's relax, have a good time and prove that we're better than people think. We play to our competition. All year long, we've done that. The Atlanta Braves and St. Louis Cardinals, if we're fortunate enough to get there, I don't think they're going to take us lightly. |
Mike Piazza is one of the greatest-hitting catchers in the history of baseball and has his name written all over the major league record books. This is an exciting addition to our club and we are thrilled to see him add to those numbers while wearing a Padres uniform. |
Mike still thinks he can catch 70 to 80 games. We'll also use him as our designated hitter against American League teams on the road (nine games against the Angels, Seattle Mariners and Texas Rangers). And he could play first base against some left-handed pitchers. |
My integrity and credibility mean everything to me. I've known Greenie over the years. I always had a lot of respect for him. He's married with (three) kids. I just felt that if he wanted his release, I would grant it to him. |
Ned deserves a lot of credit for what they've done in San Francisco the last 10 years, reinventing their club the way they do and always staying in the top two or three in the division. I know he's very good at negotiating contracts, has a good rapport with agents and is media-savvy. |
No, and I don't plan to, ... Everybody talks about how great it is to hear Hell's Bells and his entrance into the game, but as soon as he is about to toe that rubber, I'm gone. |
No, I'm just superstitious. Very superstitious, ... The way I look at it, he's been successful. We've been successful. I've been successful. So why screw with it? |
Once I see the team healthy, then we can begin to make some calls about where we stand, |
Once I was able to get a pitcher who was more affordable and who we liked as good or better, the deal happened rather quickly. |