We're going to familiarize ourselves with (Hernandez) so we can get a pretty good idea, as we enter the season, of what we can expect with him as far as workload goes. I don't want to say, though, that because he threw 125 innings or so last year, that he's not capable of throwing 180 or 190 innings this year. It will all be based on how he feels. |
We're going to have to work a bit on growing up. |
We're not trying to saddle up Freddy and have him carry us into the postseason. We just need him to be a significant, reliable contributor to the starting rotation. |
We're really pleased. He's been very vocal to our staff, that he's here to serve them. He puts the lion's share of his focus on defensive play. He's a real pro. Pitchers sometimes shake to the wrong pitch. The sign of a real good catcher is that he runs out there and doesn't let the pitcher make that mistake. He's shown a propensity to do that. I'm really impressed. |
What he's doing in the present is beyond anyone's expectations. The maturity is unequaled. |
When [ Ken ] Griffey made his start as a 19-year-old in 1989, when he walked around the clubhouse he was the best player in the room. Now, we don't want to get ahead of ourselves with Felix. But there's that same sort of feeling now with him as there was with [Griffey]. It's special. |