Dave Littlefield
Dave Littlefield
David Littlefieldis a former Major League Baseball executive, who is currently the vice president of player development for the Detroit Tigers. Littlefield was employed as Senior Vice President and General Manager of the Pittsburgh Pirates, a position he held from July 13, 2001 to September 7, 2007. He took over as GM for Roy Smith, who had assumed the position on a temporary basis after the firing of GM Cam Bonifay on June 11...
compliment concern definitely doctors moved regards serious standpoint
It definitely can be a serious matter. There's always a concern in regards to clots, aneurysms, things like that. Evidently, we moved on it very quickly. ... I really compliment our doctors from the standpoint of detecting this.
gives hope perform plug point position road stronger win
We're in a position where we can look years down the road and plug in other things. I think that gives us hope for a stronger future. Now, they've got to win and perform well and all that stuff, but you've got to get yourself to that point where we are now.
I'm still comfortable in what we have in-house.
excellent experience five game good guy jim league lots major minor six tracy worked
I was comfortable that Jim Tracy was an excellent choice. I'm confident, from having worked with the guy for five or six years, that he's a very good communicator, he understands the game well, he has lots of experience as a Major League and Minor League manager, and he's won.
five four next
I think we're going to be significantly improved. And I think we're very well positioned or the next four or five years.
decision fall felt last level meetings planning review starters talent
I think we made a decision last fall when we had our review and planning meetings that we felt comfortable with the talent level of these starters we had.
felt talent time
I think we've always felt Gonzalez had the talent to do it. We felt this was time to see what he can do.
pitching preserve starting
We need to preserve our starting pitching depth.
challenges effort guys heck leagues major minor pitches takes talented talk tougher
Those are some challenges some young guys have to face, even guys as talented as he is. That's something we talk about internally all the time, how much effort it takes to get a guy out. Those 100 pitches in the major leagues are a heck of a lot tougher than those 100 pitches at the minor league level.
continue couple exhaust last looking normal number opportunity path playing prospects third time
We need to try to continue to get him at-bats. Because of his path the last couple of years, he hasn't had the normal number of at-bats that your prospects have. I think it's important that we get him a lot of playing time at third base. ... We want to exhaust the opportunity for him to play third base, because we are looking at our future.
few guys hard pop
It's going to be interesting, I think. There will be a few guys who will pop out of this thing. It's hard to say who it's going to be.
bad certainly gives good guy hate news performed send sure
The bad news is you hate to send a guy to the minors because he has performed well. The good news is I'm sure he'll be back soon. This is a guy who's made improvements, who's matured, who certainly gives you the look that he's major-league ready.
consistent full learns looking scene season year
Considering this will be his first full season making every start, I'm just looking for a consistent performance. If he learns the major-league scene and experiences a full year healthy, that will be progress.
good guy hate news performed send sure
You hate to send a guy to the minors who has performed as well as he has. The good news is I'm sure he'll be back soon.