Jim Tracy
Jim Tracy
bat becoming carrying certain chance full great offensive pitchers player point strike terrific understanding zone
I think he has a chance be a terrific offensive player. But part of becoming a great offensive player is having a full understanding of the strike zone and understand what pitchers try to do to him in certain situations. The only way you get to that point is you keep carrying the bat to the plate.
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There are a lot of little things that you definitely have to understand -- not only as an individual but as a group -- to get it done,
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I am a firm believer in the fact that a group of guys needs to understand the importance of 90 feet, that it makes the difference in a baseball game. These players will gain a strong realization of that.
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One of the things that young players have to not only learn but gain an admiration for is the respect factor of the game and the people who have participated in previous years, and an understanding of the history of the organization they are playing in. It's an organization very rich in tradition.
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The one thing I noticed about this team while watching from the other dugout is that it swung and missed too much. The approach had to change collectively, in my opinion, as far as each and every guy approaches his at bats. You need a group of players that understand that in a given situation it's pretty important for them to try and put the ball in play, and not swing and miss.
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I'm looking forward to spearheading this ball club to back to some of the days when the Pittsburgh Pirates were somebody you really had to deal with. I'm very anxious in making the players understand there is history here - history for them to be proud of and history for them to follow up on.
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I think a group of players has to understand the type of baseball you have to play to play winning baseball. You have to realize the importance of the intangibles, the little things.
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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.
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We have two kids there. Both are very competent kids -- smart enough to understand what we're talking about -- and they will figure it out. We've got to find opportunities for both of them. We'll take it a day at a time and go from there. As I've said all along, with these two guys on the club, I don't want to see either one of them sit for too long a time and not participate. It's advantageous to both of them to do it that way.
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I mean, how do you play winning baseball that way? I challenge players to understand how the game's played.
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I thought Ryan caught a good game. He certainly will go back out there.
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I think it's very safe to say that Ryan is not a finished product defensively. I also feel that, when you look at a major-league baseball team that has 25 active members and half of that is your pitching staff, it's pretty imperative that that stuff back there behind the plate gets taken care of.
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I think the mistake people made was, many thought he was a finished product. We wanted to back off for a while. We wanted to watch. We didn't want to attack him.
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Just giving him two or three days. Hey, that kid can fall out of bed and hit. The first game we played he had three hits and every one was smoked. I said right then, 'Let's put him in a humidor until Opening Day. Why does he need to be out here?