Catchers have to create a relationship with their pitchers, and we have a bunch of new guys. It'll take a little longer in that aspect for me to get ready. Obviously, it's a disruption. But at the same time, it's not a regular thing. This is something that's going to happen just once every four years. |
He got the big outs. |
He's been there and done that and he knows the game very well. He can help out the bullpen a lot and give them a lot of advice because he's been there and he was very good at what he did. |
He's got a good fastball, hard slider and a [split-finger fastball]. He's going to come right after you and throw hard. I caught him once, and it wasn't real hard to catch. He comes at you with his stuff, and he's real direct about it. |
He's one of those kids. You know when a kid's got talent, but a lot of times you see 'em struggle with new surroundings. In his case, it was the total opposite. He's a kid who, if he doesn't open your eyes, your eyes are shut. He has a chance to be a star in this game. |
Hopefully we will come out and do well and open some eyes. It's a change for us compared to the last couple of years. |
I can't figure out what it was, ... I know after the game, it didn't feel good at all. |
I don't think you are going to feel that from us right now because it has the E- word in front of it. It's only an exhibition game. But this rivalry is going to turn into an unbelievable rivalry. It has the potential to be good. |
I had no idea what he was going to do. It's a great thing, because we need him to play. We need him in the lineup. ... It could have turned into a big distraction. |
I have a lot of catching up to do. Here it is March 18th and I have six at-bats. |
I just tried to be aggressive. I got a good pitch to hit and put the best swing I could on it. We haven't given [Loaiza] that many runs this year. To give [Loaiza] a three-run lead to work with is new. [We wanted to] let him get comfortable, be aggressive, and go right after guys and not worry about giving up runs. |
I know the bench was going nuts and I thought he did leave early. I'm glad the right call was made. I had a pretty good angle, from what I saw, he left early. |
I know you hear this a lot, but this is what we're taught: Only worry about what you can control. And all we can control is what's on the field. The stuff that goes on away from the field, you just can't worry about that. |
I want this thing to work out. We need Alfonso in that lineup bad. It would be a huge help. I don't think it has been a huge distraction. I know people were anxious to see what happens when he came back [from the World Baseball Classic]. But I think it could be distracting if it goes on any longer. |
I wanted to keep as many offensive bullets as I could, |