It was cracked a little bit ... I just finished it. It's hard when you're hitting the ball well and the hits don't come. |
It worked out for the best. |
My dream is to play every day for a winning club, ... This is my chance to show what I can do. But Ramon Hernandez is the man here. |
Oh, no, I will never complain about that. Ramon is a great catcher. It is his job. I was just holding it for him until he came back. |
Ramon's the man here, ... I just try to take advantage of the opportunity when they call on me. |
Somebody would stand out there with his arms raised and say, 'Go!' ... And we'd take off. I'd win one, he'd win one. It was always close. |
That surprised me. I was throwing the ball to [Mike] Jacobs at first base, and I turn around and I see him. I didn't even know what was going on. |
The veterans do the same things. It's a part of baseball. We can't say it's just because we're young. |
These are my babies, ... They all have some base hits in them, I hope. |
This is going to be a good tournament. With all the teams there, it's going to be good. |
[Dominican fans] are going to be mad. But I'm new, and I've got to learn the pitchers. |
[He was batting .151 for the Mariners, and the harder he worked, the worse he fared.] I lost all of my confidence in Seattle, ... even though I worked my (rear end) off every day on hitting, blocking, receiving – everything. |
[Martinez] signed with a pair of spikes that I gave him. I know his family very well. I would always push him. We're from the country and I was the most advanced player from there. I tried to help him become what he is today. He saw the way I work and I think that motivated him. He's from a good family. He likes to work. |
[Olivo praised Padres hitting coach Dave Magadan, who, as a minor league instructor, had given Olivo good grades when the 6-foot, 220-pounder was hitting line drives up the middle for Chicago's Double-A club.] Here, the hitting coach said see the ball and hit it, and swing how you want to, ... That's what I'm doing now. |