A little better. A little smoother, a little bit less nervous this time out. It's only my second time; there's a lot of stuff to work on. |
All I can remember is sitting on the bench in a cold rain. All year long. Every day, it was raining. It just didn't work out. |
From the get-go, I didn't have what I had last time, or my good stuff in general. I knew it was going to be a rough day, and I tried to battle through it. |
Honestly, I wouldn't mind having another crack at him. I'm sure I'll get another opportunity, hopefully. |
I felt like I was in a groove. Obviously, the four runs did help. It gave me a cushion there. But I really feel that having those innings in Spring Training helped me, and I feel a little bit more at ease this year. |
I kept thinking, 'hold off, rain.' I was feeling good and I wanted to get some innings under my belt. |
I tried to guide it in there and I guided it right down the middle of the plate. If there's one pitch I'd like back it's that one. That was the biggest pitch of the game. |
I was glad to get that double play. Whether I settled down or not, that's a different question. |
I was really trying to get a ground-ball double play. But once I got to two strikes, my mentality changed over to try to punch these guys out. |
I went to grab it, and I didn't grab it right. I kinda threw it. It was a wonder it even made it halfway there. |
I'm hoping we can both learn a lot from each other and improve. |
I'm progressing like I should be. I felt better today than I did the time before, and I felt better then than I did my first (start). |
I'm trying to win that spot and I'm fighting hard for it. |
I'm trying to win that spot and I'm fighting hard for it. But at the same time, I have to just let it happen because it's not my decision to make. |
I've always been able to control myself. If I go back down and the Tigers find something I have to work on, then hopefully I'll go back and show them that I can do what they want me to do up here. |