Jim Tracy
Jim Tracy
boils fact hit needed simply
It simply boils down to the fact that they got a hit when they needed it and we got a base-on-balls.
lined
It was lined up. We were right where I wanted to be.
balls early good guys hits hitter middle pitch plate sitting suggesting
I'm not sitting here suggesting that guys don't get hits on an 0-2 or a 1-2 pitch ... but ordinarily, on 0-2, you don't see balls get hammered. When you come up through a minor-league system, you know early on that when you get a hitter 0-2, a ball sitting right in the middle of the plate is not a very good location.
chance combined contact given great helped hitter last less man none saying sean seasons second strike
I'm not saying things would have necessarily been different if Sean was in the lineup but I think it would have helped to have a hitter who combined to strike out less 100 times over the last two seasons up in the situation. You need to make contact with a man on second and none out, and I think Sean would have given us a great chance of doing that.
anyone glad
I'm glad we got out of it without anyone getting hurt.
sit youthful
I'm not going to sit there and second-guess my players. It's a youthful player. Let's be honest.
muddled
It's muddled. To be as muddled as it is now is ... intriguing.
chance
It has a chance to look like that.
both exactly great guys passed
I thought they both did a great job. I thought they both did exactly what you wanted to see. ... Both guys passed today.
against asking couple front group looking past players question realizing stability talent terrific
The allure, for me, was, No. 1, the stability of the front office. The other thing was looking at a group of players I'd managed against the past couple of years and realizing there's some terrific young talent here and asking myself the question 'Why can't it be better than it has been?
both command fastball forward good saw sides step tonight
Tonight was, in my opinion, dramatically better than what we saw in Florida. In Florida, he battled, but his fastball command was erratic. Tonight, it was crisp, it was good to both sides of the plate. It's a big step forward for him.
behind continue count extremely goes saying tough work
It goes without saying that if you continue to work behind in the count that it makes it extremely tough to compete. It's not what you want to see.
age gives impression learned throw trying understanding
He gives you the impression that he learned how to pitch, not just throw the ball, but do what he wanted to do with it, at about the age of 10. He has a real understanding of what he's trying to do. He comes in every day with a plan.
both create moving opportunity sides
I don't need to say anything more. I think that both sides are moving on from something like that. You don't use things like that as an opportunity to create a rift between two clubs.