Don Cooper Guy Quotations

Mac needs to come into spring ready to get a lot of innings. I'm not going to say he's our long guy or our seventh-inning guy or a spot starter, but he is a reliever right now until further notice.

Let's face it, there was a lot of criticism when he started in New York. I've been saying, if that would have ruined his career, then he's not the guy we thought he was anyway. And we've all seen first-hand that's not the case.

He's had some lumps, and recent health issues, but the guy can pitch, and if we can hang on, the postseason is a place where he can perform.

He's got toughness, heart and he's pretty calm. He's been in some pretty big moments for a 24-year-old guy coming up from Double-A. And he's really handled it.

This was the guy that Fidel Castro called 'The Bronze Titan. Well, he's our Bronze Titan now.

Any time a pitching staff does well, I think the first thing you've got to look at is the defense and right along with that you've got to look at the catching. The catcher holds the brain. He's the guy that everybody is looking at to be the leader and take control of the game and keep that pace going. With A.J. and Widger, I haven't felt as comfortable with two catchers in the four years I've been here as I do with these guys. They remember the game plan and they carry it out. That's one of the reasons why we've had the kind of pitching staff we've had this year.

This is still the guy who won the fourth game of the World Series for us. I'm not going to draw conclusions from one day.

He became that guy in the second half.

The guy wasn't dogmeat before this year. He was just young and he wasn't ready to give the things that everybody expected. When a player comes to the big leagues and kicks butt and the rest is history, that's the exception to the rule. The norm is what happened with Jon. You give a few beatings and you take a few beatings, but you get to where you want to go.