Billy had a tendency to try to pull the ball. He's starting to use the whole field now. He can really hit with power to all fields. |
He came in here from Day 1 really working his hands, and I like that. He's having a good spring, and I'm having fun watching him because he's my kind of player. He's tough-nosed, takes guys out on double plays. He plays the game the right way. |
He's back (in the clubhouse) looking at tape and he's back in the cage every other inning hitting. He works hard at his game. He was great about that in spring training and that's carried over to the season. He just loves to hit. |
He's not trying to hit the ball out of the ball park even though he's hit a few home runs off the bench. He uses the whole field to hit. He just takes what's being given to him. |
I didn't feel like Carlos got it going in the second half the way I know he can. I think (the home run derby) might have had something to do with it. To me, Carlos is a .300 hitter. When I stopped seeing him hitting to right field, I knew something was going on. He had trouble even in batting practice. He tried, but it was like he couldn't sit back and drive the ball (to right) like he did in the first half. |
I don't think he got it all. He hit it good, but I think it missed the barrel. He is just so strong. |
I don't want us to live and die by the home run. Home runs are nice, they're beautiful things and everything, no doubt. But the winning clubs are the ones that do the little things, too. |
I hate to say it, because I'm not a big believer in turning the switch on and off, but if there's one guy who I think could do it, it's Carlos. In his mind, he knows these are Spring Training games, and when it's Opening Day, I think the light bulb will come on. I'm not worried about him. |
I hear he's a prankster. He's that quiet guy that you have to look out for. |
I look for him to have a monster year. |
I look for him to have a monster year. There are a lot of things going his way. He's going into his free agent year. It's his second year here. He's got some good guys around him in the lineup who should take some pressure off of him. |
I love his approach at the plate, the way he uses the whole field. It looks like he takes every at-bat seriously. He's going to be a really good hitter. |
I think we all agree that they're all going to be offensive forces. You just see too many good things in those swings. The big thing now is the mental side, how to make those little adjustments and trust in those adjustments. I think all three of those guys will play older than they are, because they're that mature. |
I want to talk to him and see what he's thinking about. He's not getting into a good hitting position, which is something he never had a problem with. |
I wish I had an answer for it. |