Willie Randolph Ball Quotations

I thought Victor got the ball down really nice. I just think he looks totally different than he was last year. It looks like he's looser, freer, and balls are coming out of his hand real well.

He's making good passes at the ball and not favoring the leg, so let's get it going. He's probably as good as he's going to get as far as a shot. Let's see how he looks.

Pedro just made some bad pitches. He elevated some, and the ball was carrying. It was very unusual for Pedro. He's human. You don't expect to see four home runs off anyone, especially not him.

Give the pitcher credit, he threw the ball well. We didn't muster much of an offense.

An inch here, an inch there, that ball is through. I don't have a problem with that.

Hopefully, he'll return to the player I saw in Kansas City, who hit the ball the other way more. He might have tried to do too much visualizing.

Things still could change, but Vic threw the ball well, ... As I said earlier, we'll evaluate as we go, but anytime a guy throws well, does well, he gets the upper hand.

The baseball gods are showing me a little bit of everything this year. We just seem to make a mistake at the most inappropriate time.

The baseball gods are showing me a little bit of everything this year, and that was one of the more unusual (plays). I'm still positive about these guys. . . . But it just boils down to learning how to play winning baseball.

He is part of the team and he's going to be a part of the team. We'll get him going. He's going to be fine. We feel real good about him, even though he's one of the guys on the team that's maybe struggling a little bit right now. We'll just continue to give him the ball when we can, and I think before too long he'll start to feel good about himself.

Tommy threw the ball well again, but Jason Schmidt pitched well, too. He made the pitches when he had to.

He was impressive. It was nice to see the ball fly out of his hand.

The good thing about the World Baseball Classic is we get to see some kids play that we normally wouldn't.

I almost expected him to do what he did tonight. I know he wanted the ball and he was ready for this. I have seen him quite a bit in the past, and it was vintage Trachsel.

His stuff was pretty good, I thought, really. He had a sneaky fastball and threw in the low 90s. I think overall he threw the ball pretty well.

He threw the ball very nice. He's got some good elevation to his pitch, and I like his approach.

Sanchez kept us on the edge of our seats. He made pitches when he had to. He likes the ball every day.

We'll know where we are by the end of this trip and then we'll still have to go home and finish strong. A lot can happen, but the way the schedule sets up, regardless of how this trip finishes up, we still have a lot of baseball to play.

At 3-and-0, you don't want to give him a ball anywhere around the plate.

I think he looks totally different than he was last year. He's looser and freer, and the ball is coming out of his hand real well.

Good hitters capitalize on poor pitching. He got some balls up in the zone.

He's got quick hands. He attacks the ball aggressively. And you have to like his speed. He's just a very effortless type of runner. When he hit that triple, it looked like he was coasting. Just real smooth. It's that young talent, that raw kind of young skill you like to see.

We played some good teams, some good baseball at times. Just didn't get over the hump.

Getting thrown out of the game is no big deal for me. Just protecting your players. I thought the ball was low. You say your little piece and the umpire doesn't want to hear it and he throws you out of the game.

Jose's going to get his stolen bases. If you get a good fastball to hit, and you're a good fastball hitter, I want you to swing at it, almost like a hit-and-run.

I don't think its sets him back. He played winter ball so he had enough throwing. It could be a blessing in disguise. If you take a little break before spring training he could be strong after resting up. He'll have plenty of time to get ready.

I saw him on TV. He's got a good curve, a sneaky fastball and he pitches inside. I was impressed. But we're going to attack him. You don't give him too much respect. He's a young player, and you've got to attack him. You don't let him get too comfortable.

They just scratch out runs. They didn't do anything dramatic. They put the ball in play and execute.

Reyes knows what he needs to do. He's waiting on the ball better. He's an aggressive hitter, making solid contact. ... When he's totally focused on every at-bat, with his talent he'll be unbelievable offensively and defensively.

Our game is speed and obviously you can't use your speed if you don't put the ball in play. I think he's eventually going to be a decent leadoff hitter. Last year everybody wanted him to be Rickey Henderson, and he couldn't do that.

Overall I was pleased with the spring. All the guys who played in the World Baseball Classic came back healthy. We're ready to go.

I thought Zambrano looked a lot looser, there was more fluidity to his pitches, he kept the ball down. The key to success for any pitcher is to pound the bottom of the zone, but with him, especially. He looked totally different.

I think you just have to give the pitcher credit. He threw the ball well. Usually the pitcher has the upper hand when you haven't seen him, and he was a little bit funky with his delivery.

I was really impressed with him. He's nice and free and easy, and, boy, he's huge. Big boy. It's pretty impressive to just see the ball fly out of his hand without any effort.

We need to get him going. That's why you go to a guy early in the season, so he can get his confidence going. He'll be all right. We'll just give him the ball again and he'll make some pitches and get himself going.

Any time Jose hits a home run, I try to forget it real quick. I let him know that he needs to forget about it real quick, so I don't get excited about home runs. He knows I don't like for him to hit the ball in the air. But he's got some pop.

I like what I've seen from him all spring, actually. He threw the ball well today, and I like the way he carries himself. If he continues to pitch well, he obviously has a chance.

It's just a matter of, right now, our rotation's pretty set. Jae Seo's been throwing the ball well and we're not going to go to a six-man rotation. The math is easy.

It's fine. He was my closer and he said he was fine. I told him to take the ball and he went out and pitched. There's nothing wrong with him.