Don Cooper
Don Cooper
Donald James Cooperis a former pitcher in Major League Baseball and the current pitching coach of the Chicago White Sox...
NationalityAmerican
ProfessionAthlete
Date of Birth15 January 1957
CountryUnited States of America
believe
I've gotta believe that my managing tenure has come to an end here.
bad matter mind needed second
No matter how you tell him it's not going to be that bad out there, you get out there and ... (expletive). This will get his mind right for (the second round) and he needed that.
family throw
All I know is if my family isn't there, I'm not the same guy. And I don't have to throw a pitch.
everybody exception few guy happened kicks leagues norm player ready rest
The guy wasn't dogmeat before this year. He was just young and he wasn't ready to give the things that everybody expected. When a player comes to the big leagues and kicks butt and the rest is history, that's the exception to the rule. The norm is what happened with Jon. You give a few beatings and you take a few beatings, but you get to where you want to go.
baseball competition cuba expected level major win
The level of competition in Cuba isn't the same as it is in the major leagues. It's about Triple-A. Contreras went (to New York) and was expected to win right away and that wasn't realistic.
attitude believes brings confident knows season
I think the attitude he now brings into this season is because he knows what he's got. He's a very confident guy, and he believes in that stuff, the way he should.
bring chance control good guarantee mental minutes people rest stuff weak weeks whether
If you're a weak mental guy, it can get to you. Whether you have two minutes rest or two weeks rest, you're going to have energy. Control that energy, bring your stuff to the glove and I guarantee we'll have a real good chance of getting people out.
people thinking
For a while there, people were thinking we were going to let them down. Well, we didn't let them down.
bad concerned control days eight energy last series start whether
For all these guys, whether you're getting eight to 10 days off before a start or haven't pitched in the last series as a reliever, it's not a bad thing. You're going to have that energy and (need to) control that energy. Don't be concerned that you didn't get the ball. Don't be concerned when you get the ball.
ahead challenge four full game great harness pitches season throw
It's his first full season in the big leagues, so he has a challenge ahead of him. The challenge is to harness those four great pitches he has. If he can throw to the glove this year, it's game over.
knew
Again, I wasn't there long, but you knew when (Martin) was in the room, who was in charge,
concerned freddy good looked main maybe pitching
Again, I'm concerned about a lot of things, being the pitching coach. Freddy being good wasn't one of them. I know Freddy is good. We all know what he could do. My main concern was the other day when he looked for that fastball, it wasn't there. But you know what? Maybe it just wasn't time.
against amazed anybody club expecting maybe stop three
I don't think anybody could tell you, 'Yeah we were expecting three CGs against a club like that.' It's pretty amazing. I don't know, maybe I should stop being amazed by these guys.
above beyond call duty expect good
You always expect good performances. You expect, you want, you believe. But that's way above and beyond the call of duty and my expectations and probably a lot of other people's.