It has been tremendous. The work ethic that has been put forth has been just great. The environment was very loose, which is what I like to see, and yet within the framework of that looseness was a very businesslike approach. |
It helps convince (him) that he belongs playing in the major leagues. He's a winning player. He understands situational baseball, he can steal, he knows how to read pitchers. |
It just makes sense, ... The way he runs and his ability to steal a base; if he gets on base it sets the stage for a Robles at-bat. |
It looked like the Zach Duke we saw a lot of around the National League last year. That's a very good sign, especially when you start to get short on time in preparing for the regular season. Zach is starting to spearhead his way toward doing the things you want to see a pitcher do at this time of the spring. |
It looks like the better part of three weeks. |
It makes sense to have him where he's at today. |
It remains to be seen how this will affect us. Based on last night, not at all. But that's one game. We have 37 more games to be played. And it's not just the results, but how we go about it. Do we play with enthusiasm, with intensity, with passion? |
It simply boils down to the fact that they got a hit when they needed it and we got a base-on-balls. |
It was a great game. We did everything we could to win the game to avoid being swept. |
It was a great pitch. There's only one guy in the game that could have hit it. |
It was a great workout. We got a lot done today and we accomplished a lot of things. |
It was exceptional. And that was from day in, day out, working with John Shelby. One thing you'll see us do is constantly work with players on their versatility. Having Shelby around makes a big difference. |
It was just sitting in the zone. Three runs, and we're going to play catch-up from the top of the second inning on. |
It was lined up. We were right where I wanted to be. |
It was not going to be in my best interest to be in the dugout as a lame-duck manager, ... I asked myself the question, 'Could I get the club back to where it was at the end of 2004 before the end of 2006?' I thought there was a good possibility it would take more time than that. |