I'm glad we're down to one spot in the rotation, and we've got time to decide. It's time for them to show us something. |
I'm not saying we have the perfect roster or that we're the favorites. We're in an extremely competitive division, and the other teams have improved themselves, as well. But we were able to (improve) without tearing up the core of our team. |
I've made calls and received calls. A lot of notes and a lot of conversations. But at this point I don't expect anything to materialize. |
In the short term, this is the first camp where he has been completely healthy and we have a chance to evaluate him. He has taken good care of his back. I'm encouraged with the effort level and how much he has worked on his defense. |
It was big psychological benefit for everyone involved. We don't have to answer questions about signing Tex, and it's a benefit to him because he does not have to worry about [a contract] all next year, answering the same questions. ... He's the kind of person we want to build around and it was important for us to demonstrate that with a financial commitment. |
It was hard to trade David. He has been with us for two years; he has a strong relationship with the players and the community. He was pretty shocked. |
It would provide us with options and depth. You never want to be in a position where injuries would put us in a bad spot or we didn't have depth to make a move if one presented itself. |
It's been a focus. All things being equal, in our ballpark it would be preferable to have a left-hander. |
It's impossible to quantify David's leadership with the loss of a No. 2 starter. If I had to choose, I wouldn't want to part with either of them. |
It's not going to be easy. But don't count us out. |
It's something our medical staff has assured us is not normally a recurring issue. We don't see any issues there. |
It's the same as yesterday. We're going to fill it from within unless something presents itself. You never say never, but I don't have anything close. |
Jonathan, ... has an intense natural curiosity. |
Juan had something like six out of eight quality starts at the end of the year, and that's not counting 10 strikeouts earlier against the Yankees. There's no denying the ability. As he continues to mature, we'd like to look at him as someone we can rely on. If you look at the back end of the rotation guys around the league, he could be in the upper echelon. |
Mark is an integral part of what we are trying to do here. He's the kind of person and player we want to build around. |