It's funny how that worked out, us and Montreal playing again. It will be a chance for a little redemption, I hope. I think everybody in the league is going to be hungry this year after not playing last year. Our team is definitely going to be hungry because that ending two years ago left a sour taste in all of us. |
It's going to be a very tense situation, I think, for all parties, ... But he's entitled to come back. And if he wants to come back, and I guess he does, he'll be back. And whatever the reaction is going to be, whether it's in Camden Yards or around the American League, is something he's going to have to live with. |
It's good to get your feet wet in a little bit of a sloppier situation rather than a one-run game or a tie game. We had a five-run lead, so we had to attack the hitters and force them to earn their way on base. I'm not going to try and trick them. And that kind of plays in hand to what Taylor does generally anyway. |
It's just kind of frustrating, somehow we can never get these guys. I don't know if it's mental, obviously too many turnovers tonight was a big thing. I had five myself in the first half, that's just unacceptable. We're not preparing ourselves the right way for the playoffs like we need to. We've got to step it up. |
It's kind of a tussle for me. It's like you're not supposed to be upset because you have no expectations because you haven't been able to prepare. But then, on the other hand, it's like you want to do well for the rest of the family, give them something to cheer about instead of worrying about what's been going on. |
It's more of what our season this year had. I think last year is in the past. You don't really think about it too much. I think we're more focused on (The fact) we lost to Penn State at home. We're more focused on coming off a loss and coming off a bye week and just staying in the race for the Big Ten championship. |
It's pretty tough for the Dominican to put a team together because it's a third-world country, really poor, and sometimes it's pretty tough to even get David Ortiz or myself to represent in the Caribbean Series, which is a big deal. Sometimes you don't get permission from the organization. Our job is here [in U.S]. |
It's something we're going to try, because you never know. I mean, during the season, it could come up where you've got a runner on second and third or first and second, with two outs, and you've been struggling to get out of the inning, and a guy kind of gets lazy off second base - boom, pick him off, inning over. |
It's sticky. There are very few people who think he can't help our club, but is it the best thing for him? He's done a great job adjusting to the outfield, making all the plays, and I'm confident he can do other things defensively, like shortstop and first and third base. In left field, he looks like Dave Winfield. |
It's taught me patience, leadership, cooperation, and teamwork. I have to be patient no matter how much time I get. I can be a good leader for the team. I think we're going to have a good year. We've switched coaches and that was a big change. We play well when we all come together. I feel we're finally doing that. |
It's tough to have a good rating and success as a quarterback if the defense is giving up a lot of points, ... but they're not. They're keeping us in games and I haven't had to throw nine out of every 10 plays. It says a lot about the O-line that I'm not getting sacked and on top of that I've got guys getting open. |
Jimmy has switched from a two-hand backhand to a one-hand backhand and has struggled with that, but is improving. He has also played some very tough competition at No. 1 singles. I think for him (5-8, 140 pounds) it's the right move going to a one-hand backhand because it gives him more mobility and a bigger reach. |
Joe Gibbs wants his team to be physical. Every single meeting that Joe has in front of this team he talks about how we're going to win these physical battles: 'I don't care what else happens in this ballgame, we're going to be physical.' And it's nice to see us playing that way, especially at the end of the season. |
John has the ability, he is a slippery player, he is able to use good speed and he has a great change of direction. He has a knack of getting himself to the goal and is also a very good feeder so he is making others better. When John is at his best, there are not many players that are of his ability in the country. |
Just being around these guys, you never want it to end like this. You want it to end on that last day when nobody else can play after that. It didn't happen like that, but I'm proud of what we did. I'm happy to have the season we had, and I just feel blessed that we were able to make it this far to the Elite Eight. |