Rick Sweet
Rick Sweet
Ricky JoeSweet is a former professional baseball catcher and current manager of the Milwaukee Brewers' Triple-A affiliate, the Colorado Springs Sky Sox. He played three seasons in Major League Baseball between 1978 and 1983, and has since had a long career as minor and major league coach and minor league manager...
call figure leagues somebody
In the big leagues you can just call up somebody to put in there. In Triple-A we're pretty much on our own. We've just got to figure it out because we're not going to get any help.
bit guys people pitchers power tend walk
Guys who do walk people tend to be more your power pitchers who get a little bit wild. We don't really have any power pitchers.
everybody exciting people players shake stops time watch
Every time Stratton comes to the plate, everybody stops and watches. It's very exciting to watch players like that hit. You just shake your head, because not many people can do that.
consistent couple last
The last couple of games, we've had a lot more consistent at-bats and a lot more consistent approaches.
ahead ball contact higher pitch plate throw
That's always an emphasis. If you want to say pitch to contact or get ahead or throw strikes, it's all the same. You've got to throw the ball over the plate to be successful, especially at the higher levels.
ball dangerous hate might playing
A lot of these Americans can't skate, so I'd hate to see that. It might be a lot more dangerous than playing ball in those conditions.
gaps guess hard hitting hot keeps running
He keeps hitting gaps and running, and he's 30-plus (actually 32) years old. He's the one who told me, 'I guess I'm just getting old.' But it's hard on you with all that running, especially as hot as it is.
ball cutting far paid practiced putting spent spring swing time training
That was huge. We spent a lot of time in spring training working on two-strike counts. We practiced that, as far as putting the ball in play and cutting down your swing a little bit, and it paid off.
control couple pitch quality strike throw
He will throw a quality strike and then throw a couple that are not. He's got to get it to where he has control of every pitch he throws.
giving great starters
Our starters are young, but they're very solid. They've been giving us some great games.
doubt ethic reason work
Without a doubt, his work ethic is the No. 1 reason why he is where he is.
expected hit offense poor start strong trying
We expected our offense to really be the strong part of our team. But we got off to such a poor start in Ottawa, and it's like we're still trying to get that big hit to get us going.
bullpen everybody exactly guys help knows last sat talk three
We sat down and had a little talk with our bullpen and got everybody in roles. That's been a big help the last three games. Guys didn't know when they were going to pitch. Now everybody in our bullpen knows exactly when I'm going to use them.
against bad good guys swings
We did not have many good swings against him. He made some guys look bad out there.