We appreciate Brad's efforts here on behalf of the team for the last 10 years. We decided to make a change, and wish him and his family the very best in the future. |
We connected. Very compatible. Very similar ideas on how you run a quality organization. |
We didn't have anyone at that game. We had some scouts ... that liked him. |
We had some one-year discussions. Most of those were before I came onboard. I thought the best way to get this done was the way it ended up. I felt like let's make a statement here to some extent and see if we can get a two-year deal. |
We just felt like there were other people ahead of him at this stage. We appreciate all he's done for us the last year or so and hopefully he can hook on with someone else and stay in big leagues. |
We just want to get a feel for what's going on down there. |
We knew he was a young and talented ballplayer. I didn't want to miss out on that opportunity. I only saw him in one [spring] game at Winter Haven. We had our scouts watching him and they recommended we take a shot. I listened. So far, so good. |
We know he has received other good offers. But we're very interested in acquiring his services because we think he could be the fourth or fifth pitcher in our rotation. |
We like David Ross. He's a very good defensive catcher. It's almost like pitching - you can never have enough catching. There aren't any predetermined things here as far as the roster goes. |
We made every effort to trade Ortiz prior to the Rule 5 Draft at the 2002 Winter Meetings but there really wasn't any interest. There simply were no takers. |
We signed him with the idea that if we did move an outfielder to get a pitcher that he could step in and we wouldn't miss a beat. |
We thought Ross was a better fit for the club. I'm going to do my best to find a spot for Tony with another club. Hopefully, it will work out; if it doesn't he becomes a free agent. |
We tossed around the idea of having three catchers anyway. |
We wanted to add to our depth. This guy's a true professional, somebody I've had my eye on in the off-season here in the event I did get this job. The playing time will take care of itself. |
We were on the same page. We've been on the same page with just about everything we've done. |