I had a lot of maintenance my first year because we had six outfielders, so there were three guys every day who were pissed off because they weren't in the lineup. Last year we started with three first baseman and there was maintenance there. They were all veteran guys. This year we haven't had that. |
I haven't seen much of him, but I've heard he's a great prospect. He's impressed a lot of people, I know that. |
I hope in his mind he can sit back and say he doesn't have to do the whole thing. When he looked around and didn't see Crosby in the lineup, he probably thought he was our only home run threat and he had to do a whole lot. |
I just want him to go out there and play. |
I liked [Kendall] tagging up and going to third. If you look at the linescore today, he's 0-for-4, but he opened the game by hustling and setting the tone. |
I look at all the positives he can bring. I have no past with him. We have tremendous makeup on our team and I have confidence in all the players and the staff that we'll continue to have a great attitude. |
I looked at some of Frank Thomas' on-base percentages, they're frightening for a full season. He's one of the marquee offensive players. |
I noticed when they scored that extra run in the ninth inning there was a lot of people down the right-field line walking to the exit gates. They missed a good finish. |
I probably would have paid to go see that one. You've got a premier matchup with two of the best pitchers in the league right now. |
I read the book. I know what the view is, |
I really respect him and the way he called the game. You knew when he was back there you were going to have a tough time. |
I still think he can be sharper. He hung a couple breaking balls, but overall, it was a very positive outing. |
I think both of us felt this would be best for himself, best for myself and best for the club. I think Billy has a lot of trust in what I do on the field, and I have a lot of trust in what he does off the field. |
I think he realizes what they are doing. I talked to [hitting coach] Gerald Perry and he thinks he's starting to come around. But I just thought it was good to give him the day off. |
I think he was pretty determined. |