I was tired of being on one-year contracts. It was nice to have a good year in a free-agent year and be able to get a longer deal. It's made me more confident and mentally got me back to where I was a couple of years ago. |
I was trying to get my mechanics straightened out and I think it paid off. I felt normal for the first season, even in Spring Training. Seeing it is not enough, I need to feel it and tonight I could feel I was in the right groove. |
I was working on throwing changeups and fastballs to certain spots. It felt pretty good out there. Yeah, I'd say I'm where I want to be at this point. |
I wouldn't say I was sick. I didn't feel quite right. After getting through six innings, I didn't have a whole lot left. |
I'm not angry by any means. I know the guys are trying their best. They want to put runs up on the board, but we ran into a guy that was on today. |
I'm pretty sure I'll get some runs. I think the most exciting part is I don't have to pitch to them anymore. |
If there's a time when a guy comes up and asks me a question, or wants my input on something, I'll be happy to tell him what I know – or what I don't know. Like I said, I'm not the coach, but I'll do what I can to help. |
If they came over here in the next five minutes and offered me what I wanted, yeah, I could get something done quick. |
It felt good to get out there. |
It felt good today. It was really windy out there. That was a crazy home run. ... The only bad stretch were the two walks. |
It happens. You can't blame anybody. We did it in Oakland to those guys. It's part of the game. There's not much you can say. |
It hasn't been easy, ... But I've been able to keep us in the game and give us a chance to win, that's a starter's job. |
It means a lot to a team when you can match up against any upper-echelon guy and win. But these guys had a lot to do with it -- they put up good at-bats and scored some runs and that made it a little easier on me. |
It means a lot to a team when you can match up against any upper-echelon pitcher and win. |
It was quite amazing -- maybe not for the A's. He made life a lot easier for himself by doing that. How many people would've thought about touching the bag? |