Jim Tracy Quotations

We're talking about a catcher. Squatting, up and down out of the crouch, runners going, boom, the impact of landing. ... It doesn't make any sense to push it.

We're not going to say we're not going to see him for the rest of the year, ... We're going to take it day-by-day.

We're going to speed Duff up and get him some at-bats. We've just got to catch up a little bit.

What we're seeing right now is, in my mind, identical to what we saw last year, when it took him a few starts to get untracked, and then you see one quality start after another. His teammates recognize that's he gonna leave everything that he has on the field, and it's very easy to step up for a guy like that.

With what we have here right now, ... you'll see the landscape change and be better than what the perception is.

We know what kind of defensive center fielder Chris Duffy is. To get him going offensively, it's not going to do us a lot of good, eight games in, to keep going back and forth.

We know he's very capable. He has the pitches to get major-league hitters out.

We're seeing some of these guys beginning to escalate themselves in the direction that you want to see them going.

We're scratching surfaces and laying the general framework. Things aren't going to change dramatically other than the fact that we'll be more detailed-oriented, and a few extra steps will be taken along the way.

We're looking for 35 or 38 or 39, and this is an opportunity to find out who are those guys beyond the 25.

What the schedule says is what you do. I think we came out of it pretty good, all things considered.

When your timing is off and you're pushing the ball instead of throwing the ball, there will be a decrease in velocity. If the timing is off or the arm slot is off, you won't see the same thing.

We were in an ideal position. Unfortunately, we weren't able to finish the job.

We did everything we could to get ourselves back in it. We were a base hit from tying it or a ball in the gap from taking the lead. You have to have a lot of good things happen to do that.

We did everything we could do to try to win the game, but you have to give credit where credit's due: They played very well all weekend long.

We did everything we could do to get ourselves back in it. Once again, we were a base hit from tying it and a ball in the gap from going ahead.

We're a solid defensive club. We make routine plays, and we're capable of making special plays.

We're a much different club when we get results like that.

We've seen this be done on numerous occasions. You hate like hell if they huddled, reversed the call and it was wrong. To their credit, they got it right.

We're looking to get guys at-bats. We're going to play our best guys and hope the best in them comes out.

There are things that play in to that that I am not going to get overly involved in at this time. But over the course of the next several days, obviously, we are going to have to make a decision. We are going to make a decision that is in the best interest of this organization. That's the decision that we have to make. That's the prudent thing to do.

The pitch was up and in. In that case, you just try to make sure the pitch hits more helmet than face.

We're just going to gradually walk into this situation. We're not going to race into it. We're very well aware of what has taken place as far as his medical history over the last year. There's not a major hurry here.

Let me be very clear. When the decision was made that there would be no type of extension offer, I felt very strongly that it was time to move on. In the midst of (a conference call with reporters), the phone at the other end of my house rang and a message was left. Please call.

Oliver knows how to gear himself up for situations. But, while he was gearing up, he was maintaining his focus.

Oh, yeah, he can make the club. Is he going to make it? I don't know the answer to that question today, but can he make the club? You'd better believe he can.

Most of us still obviously know tendencies of their guys.

Moving a runner 90 feet makes quite a difference in a game. It changes decision-making and depth of infielders. The big thing is the introduction of it to everyone. They've really taken to it.

Mentally, he was a few years ahead of everyone he was playing with.

One of the things that young players have to not only learn but gain an admiration for is the respect factor of the game and the people who have participated in previous years, and an understanding of the history of the organization they are playing in. It's an organization very rich in tradition.

One of the toughest things in the world to try to stave off is when you walk somebody, especially the leadoff man in the bottom of the ninth, and that's exactly what happened. It's tough. It's unfortunate. More times than not, it's going to come back to haunt you, and it did.

One-and-7 obviously isn't the way you want to start. But the (Dodgers) team I managed last year started 12-2 and we won 71 games. So it's not a large enough sample size of games. It doesn't mean this is the kind of team we're going to be for the next six months.

Obviously, we're being tested early. You know, we were in a position to win all three games. We didn't get any of them, but the effort is there. It's part of the challenge of the game. You've got to get over it, get beyond it.

My hopes are that Shawn gets things worked out and we can turn it right back to where we want it to be, ... I do not want to dramatically change the lineup.

Obviously, that's the hot topic these days. I've done everything I possibly can to keep Freddy involved, and he has responded big-time. You have to get Freddy at-bats, but you also have to give those other guys a chance to jump-start themselves.

Obviously, it's not something you want to see. That's for sure. But I think you always have to be prepared for something like this to happen to one of your players.

Obviously, he helped make us a good baseball team two years ago.

People wondered was he ever going to 'get it? ... He got it.

Only the one run wasn't going to be good enough, and we gave them two others.

I wouldn't have been interested in this job if I didn't feel very strongly that we can make a difference and can move forward,

I would be remiss if I said there were not philosophical differences as far as the club and how we put it together, what would work and not work. The disruption and focus loss with players is not good for anyone. That's where I felt strongly that it was important to wipe the slate clean.

I would certainly hope so. At the major-league level, there has to be a lot of nights where five runs are plenty to win.

I would certainly hope not (intentionally) in spring training. I don't think Curt Schilling goes out there to hurt people.

If this kid maintains the same type of mentality and approach that he possesses right now, it's a matter of time before you start strongly talking about the fact that he is a candidate to come here and start a Major League game. I look at this guy as being a very good starting pitcher some day.

I don't expect perfection. Just keep us in the game, keep us around. You can't use the bullpen at that rampant of a pace.

I don't find myself coming to grips with doing things like that at this early stage until we see him swing the bat and see what he looks like.

I'd like to hope so. But in order for that to happen, we have to continue to come out here every day and play with the same type of intensity that we have played with. And we will get to that point.

I'd like to hope so. But for that to happen, we've got to continue to come out with the intensity we've shown so far. And I believe we will.

I'd like to know what that feels like.

I'd love to be able to get my hands on Oliver, the sooner the better. I'd like to get him a routine and stretched out for the start of the season.

I don't know that we'd be asking that same question ... he had a start in Milwaukee that was awfully good. He had a tough time today.

I don't know whose fault that was. But you can't make a mistake like that against this club.

I don't care what the numbers suggest. I thought the life to his fastball was as good as we've seen all spring. I think there could have been a couple different choices he made in a few two-strike counts, but I'll tell you: He was throwing nothing but quality pitches in the strike zone. ... He was actually too fine.

I could sit here and talk about those things until I'm blue in the face, but those are things if you're going to become a good club you have to pick up on and capitalize. Thus far, we've not been able to do that.

I'd be very surprised if he participates between now and the season's end. First, there's the health, and second, with 20 games left, there's no place to rehab with live pitching. It would be unfair to put him into the lineup without seeing live pitching.

I am a firm believer in the fact that a group of guys needs to understand the importance of 90 feet, that it makes the difference in a baseball game. These players will gain a strong realization of that.

I believe that if you keep delivering your message that it eventually gets through and it will be delivered every day. It's like when you were a kid and your dad would tell you something day after day. After a while, you realized it must be important because he kept talking about it.

Ian Snell threw the ball extremely well. He was very impressive.

Ian Snell made an adjustment from what he was doing early on and got the ball down to where he could be very effective. He forced the opposition to have to swing the bat. He got himself some early-count outs. As a result, he kept his pitch count in order and was able to go through the fourth inning.

I have never ever confronted a challenge that I backed off from or that I was afraid of.

From my end, the biggest thing was the personnel factor and the evaluation of those players, ... I just felt very strongly that the right thing to do would be to move on.

From the first-base side, when he throws his sinker and misses with it, it becomes more of an unhittable pitch,

I don't want Jason Bay to do anything other than be the player he's been here for the last two years.

Giving up four or five runs through five innings with your starter ... that's a lot of runs to give up and expect to win.

Go ahead and take that gun. What was important was the life of the pitch when it's entering the hitting area. That was as good as I've seen him.

I give the club a lot of credit. It hasn't been the easiest thing in the world for this club in our first five games.

If the call had taken place two days before that call and I don't pick it up, then shame on me.

He was completely on top of his game, ... I couldn't be happier for him. He's been the workhorse of the staff.

He was the type who got everything he could out of his ability. And the reason he did that was his intelligence level and a set of personal expectations that were higher than guys he was competing against.

He had two perfect pitches to bunt. That's the guy you want up there to get the bunt down. You get the bunt down, it makes them have to make decisions. And we had a guy coming up who's a contact hitter who can drive the ball to the outfield to drive the run in.

He had a tough time today, but that happens. You have to keep in mind that he's only 22 years old. He isn't going to be great every time out. I thought his mechanics were off a little bit.

He had the left hip labrum reattached and he had some debris cleaned out of his socket.

He has not had a bad at-bat since he's been here, ... His stock has risen, from my standpoint.

He has handled the situation very professionally and he's made a big fan out of me because of that. It's great to have a player like him on the bench that you can put into the lineup and the other team knows he's a significant factor to contend with.

He has competed very well. He's been very aggressive. He's not afraid to go after people. That's what we want here.

He has an aggressive, sensible mind-set at third when waving home a runner, and that's what I like. It's a matter of being completely aware of the situation, and he always is.

He has to be, and should be, proud of the spring training he's had.

He had a little extra jump in his delivery. This was precautionary.

He had a few more three-ball counts -- too many -- than I'd like to see. That puts him in a vulnerable position.

He got out of his game. He got out of what helped to get him off to a great start. I saw a much longer swing in Houston. I saw a very short wall in left field and I saw somebody that was trying to reach it way too often.

He doesn't realize what a huge backer he has sitting here. I respect him to the nth degree for the way he's handled himself.

He got 13 ground ball outs, and that's good for a nine-inning game. That's an indication of how well he pitched. That's a very positive sign ... It's March 18th, and you want to see your pitchers starting to sharpen.

He gives you the impression that he learned how to pitch, not just throw the ball, but do what he wanted to do with it, at about the age of 10. He has a real understanding of what he's trying to do. He comes in every day with a plan.

He gets it. He gets situations. He gets who's batting ahead of him in the lineup and he gets who's batting behind him. To have a winning-caliber team, you need players like that.

He gave us more than you would expect from a young kid, offensively, ... and defensively, he made many nice plays at third.

He may not have seen live pitching, but he's the type of guy who wouldn't take long to resurrect his hand-eye coordination. I don't think he hit 700-and-something home runs by accident. I think you would have to be aware of him.

He makes everyone around him better. It's not going to take him months to resurrect that great hand-eye coordination. It's safe to say he's a weapon depending on where he's at with his rehab situation.

He'll get his at-bats. He doesn't realize what a huge backer he has in me.

He'll do his fair share of damage when it's all said and done. For him to change his approach and expand his strike zone would be wrong. It would do him no good.

We talked about the things that are necessary in order to dramatically improve this club. That was the gist of what I was trying to get across. There are intangible things that are necessary. There is a different mindset that we have to take on.

We took great at-bats tonight. We hit four home runs. And the beautiful part of it was the run that we scored to go ahead was something that we worked at very hard in Spring Training.

When he's right, he's throwing quality pitches down there.

We've given him a substantial role due to some situations that've come up, ... and he's responded very well.

We threw a ton of strikes and we made some very good 0-2 pitches.

He really understands that he needs command and the ability to throw strikes when he pitches in the latter innings of games. I'm very pleased with the progress he has made in that area this spring.

Having the lead changed the way we go about our business. We weren't playing catch up. You can't hope to slug your way back into games.

He's a great athlete and a heck of a baseball player. You've got to like his future.

He's a clubhouse leader, great for young players to be around, knows how to play the game, accepts his role willingly and does it as well as any of the other top flight guys that come off benches and play, that you can think of. What's there not to like about this guy?

He's a good little offensive player. He looks like he belongs in the majors. This kid knows how to play. And he's a winner.

He's a guy we'd like to get our hands back on so we can start getting him busy with some of the things we have in mind -- namely, stretching him out.