Mark Shapiro
Mark Shapiro
area gives great intended player rotation sign
We had intended to put a young player in the rotation and sign elsewhere. But we made this signing, and it gives us an area of great depth.
add bat creative forced impact preferred sign team
I would have preferred to sign another impact bat to add to this team somewhere. Sometimes we're forced to be creative in the way we look at things.
believe fact good sign
There's not much not to believe. The fact we're having these conversations is a good sign for this franchise.
event events problem signature
The problem with ESPN2 is it doesn't have a signature event after the live events are over.
davis guys improve money opportunity original plan player playing role rotation saw signing slate spend spot team unable upgrade younger
Our original plan in the off-season was to slate the No. 5 spot in the rotation for a younger player (Jason Davis or Fausto Carmona) and to spend money to upgrade elsewhere. When we were unable to get some other things done, we saw an opportunity to improve the team by signing Jason. The young guys still could end up playing a role for us in 2006.
sign wants
Do I think he wants to sign back here? Yes,
both core happening players run signed similar team together
It's similar in that both times we signed core players who we wanted to keep together for a run of championship baseball. That's what's most important about what's happening here now. We want to keep this team together.
above among certainly offered signed
I know we were certainly among the finalists. But, dollar-wise, we offered above what he signed for.
cleveland either general hard inside last outside people skepticism standing waiting
I think there's been a general skepticism in the game, a lot of people inside and outside of Cleveland waiting for us to collapse. It's been so hard for people to believe. But if we're still standing by the last weekend, either race, it doesn't matter.
ability compliments extremely high jason outfield percentage player positions recording three tough
Jason is a hard-nosed, tough player that compliments our lineup extremely well. He has always been a tough out while recording a high on-base percentage and has the ability to play all three outfield positions well.
expected good guy
Jhonny's a guy that we expected to have a good year,
bullpen dominant last pitchers
I think if you look what he's done over the last two seasons, he's been one of the most dominant bullpen pitchers in the American League.
approach discipline finish great guy needs plate progress quality year
I think he's made great progress from a year ago in his approach and plate discipline. The quality of his at-bats was significantly better. He's a guy that's coming. He needs to finish off some things offensively, but he's coming.
adversity belief communication consistency critics doubting earlier manager reason season team year
I think he should get it (the Manager of the Year Award). The reason our team was able to withstand the adversity we had earlier this season was his belief in the team. That belief, when a lot of critics were doubting him, his consistency from day to day, and his communication skills, all of that is a big reason why we are where we are.