Dave Dombrowski Quotations

We're extremely pleased to have a person of his makeup and his ability to bolster the bullpen.

We're still in this position where we haven't made a lot of decisions yet.

David Ortiz is an icon. He is one of a kind. But we'll do our best job to replace the offensive aspect, however we can.

I don't think you ever replace David Ortiz with what he brings to an organization or to a community.

We've talked about having somebody at the back end of the bullpen. Todd has had a tremendous career, had a fantastic year last year. ... He's not only got the ability, but the experience that we know we need.

Naturally, you don't ask him to lead the other guys. But if you watch (the pitchers), he's like a sponge. They're always around him, asking questions.

I don't have any steadfast rule. I think it's more of a generality. I think in Mike's case, he's a guy who expressed a desire to have a multiyear deal. Based upon his past performance, we were open-minded to it.

Ideally we'd like to still have Kenny in the organization. He had a good season last year. Other pitchers are ahead of him at this point. We needed to create a roster spot.

I am driven to move quickly because I think there could be a lot of interest in Jim Leyland.

I always wanted to be a general manager.

I don't think it takes long for somebody to be impressed with Jim Leyland and his knowledge of the game. He knows what he wants to accomplish, and he's done it so many times. He's a great communicator. The players like him.

He's got that hop in his step, the passion back. I think everyone knows who's in charge at this point.

It brings back memories. Nobody enjoyed the experience of what we had to do.

I think it's an important year for the organization. We need to take a step forward.

Our scouts thought he could hit at a big league level because he swung a good bat and had a good command of the strike zone.

I think he's going to be fine. There's no reason to believe he won't be fine. We just can't take any chances with that.

You just have to hope that doesn't happen. All teams are in the same situation as far as that's concerned. You have to take extra care with the pitchers, and be sure they're ready to throw when those games begin.

We don't expect him to fall off because he's not a guy that relies on throwing really hard. We signed him to win games, but his leadership for our young players is a bonus and his presence should take some pressure off of them.

We've had conversations, but I can't say more at this point.

The decision to name one of the top managers in the game of baseball in recent time, to bring him back to this organization, is a very big day for our franchise.

We like Nate Robertson. We think he's a starting pitcher.

To me, not only is he a good player, but he's a quality person. He's a guy you win championships with.

To me, four years is a big commitment, both for the organization and the player. We're very happy to get this done.

We won a world championship with some high-maintenance ballplayers and he handled Barry Bonds (in Pittsburgh).

When I talked to him about the various reasons, I'm sure none of them caught him by surprise because we've been discussing them.

You have to realize that if you start making deals just based on public opinion, you're going to be in a lot of trouble.

We are waiting to hear back on his situation.

The time away from the game has helped him a great deal.

People don't come to your games to see your manager. I can understand why some people will feel that this was based on Alan's popularity here. But really, we could not afford to make this decision based on that, because we need to right this ship.

Some people from the minor leagues have told me that once he comes here, he'll never go back to the minors. He's very well regarded.

You're looking to make some changes, but not a major overhaul at this point.

There was no question in my mind that Leyland was the leading candidate if he had the passion. I didn't know that until we interviewed him. Both candidates were made aware that we had a leading candidate. I had been given indications by people that he had it, but it didn't take long to see that he had the passion.

This man knows how to manage a baseball club.

It's an inexact science. That's why you need to have a system that's consistently producing good prospects.

It's hard, yet it's easy to be patient. You know what you have to do yourself. You take all of the proper steps involved. You've got the right people involved. You're thorough. It's not like we make spur-of-the-moment decisions. But at times, you're just going to get murdered from a public perspective.

The No. 1 key for our club is health because if we can keep our everyday players on the field, we'll score runs. We have the capability to have a solid pitching staff, especially with the additions of Kenny Rogers, Todd Jones and our two young pitchers.

It was one of the greatest clubs put together in recent time.

It's well deserved. He had a great season last year. We're happy to see him that honor.

It took about two minutes. I knew he was ready.

It works out well - Lou lives in Lakeland, and he's a great Tiger. He's worked hard on the field for us and has done a good job in spring training.

It works out well -- Lou lives in Lakeland, and he's a great Tiger. He's worked hard on the field for us and has done a good job in spring training.

I'm going to sit down with Trams and review what's going on. It's an important day.

I'm going to sit down with Tram and review what's going on. It's an important day.

I'm sure that both sports offer their own unique challenges when developing young talent. But I think baseball is more of a crapshoot because you're generally looking at a longer time frame in the maturation process of a young prospect.

I'm saddened because you're dealing with somebody who has put their heart and soul into something. For the organization, he's one of the greatest players of all time. If you've met Alan Trammell and you don't like him, you should probably look at yourself.

But I don't think in my own mind I had a perspective on how long it would take, but we knew it wasn't something that would happen overnight.

He's a proven winner. He's a leader. When you walk into a room, you know he's in charge. He can bring in young players and work with them, but he can also work with veteran players.

He's a player we like a great deal, as we've said all along, but where we are and what his situation is financially just doesn't mesh.

He's an outstanding manager, one of the best in baseball.

If he had hit the way he did the last six weeks of last season, the fit would've been there. Right now, we haven't seen it.

If he would've hit like he hit the last six weeks of the season, we would've found a spot for him.

You will not find a more dedicated, hardworking and respected individual that cares more about the Tigers and his coaching staff. However, for the Tigers to reach the next level, I feel it is appropriate to make a change at this time.

All the sudden, during the last six weeks, we didn't win many ballgames.

The Central might be the best now. But that's potentially a good thing for a team that's trying to develop a consistency day in and day out.