Jim Tracy
Jim Tracy
bad since stock
He has not had a bad at-bat since he's been here, ... His stock has risen, from my standpoint.
bench contend factor fan great handled knows player situation team
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.
afraid
He has competed very well. He's been very aggressive. He's not afraid to go after people. That's what we want here.
aware home matter sensible third waving
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.
proud spring training
He has to be, and should be, proud of the spring training he's had.
extra jump
He had a little extra jump in his delivery. This was precautionary.
counts few puts vulnerable
He had a few more three-ball counts -- too many -- than I'd like to see. That puts him in a vulnerable position.
field great helped left longer reach saw short somebody swing trying wall
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.
degree handled huge realize respect sitting
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.
ball good ground indication march pitchers positive sign starting
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.
age gives impression learned throw trying understanding
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.
ahead batting behind gets players
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.
expect gave nice plays
He gave us more than you would expect from a young kid, offensively, ... and defensively, he made many nice plays at third.
aware guy hit home runs seen type
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.