Jim Tracy
Jim Tracy
biggest chance element fifth good last pitcher starting
Did the starting pitcher give you a chance every fifth day to go out there and win? -- that's the biggest element I look at. (Santos) was pretty good at that last year.
bat becoming carrying certain chance full great offensive pitchers player point strike terrific understanding zone
I think he has a chance be a terrific offensive player. But part of becoming a great offensive player is having a full understanding of the strike zone and understand what pitchers try to do to him in certain situations. The only way you get to that point is you keep carrying the bat to the plate.
ahead command decent innings learned pitchers positive speak
Those are young pitchers who made the adjustments, learned how important it is to get ahead in the count. There isn't much I can say positive about the first 3 2/3 innings of this game. Oliver had a decent first inning but after that there was no command to speak of.
approach candidate fact good guy kid league major matter mentality pitcher possesses start starting strongly talking time type
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.
caliber chris face opportunity pitcher
When you face a pitcher the caliber of Chris Carpenter, you only get one opportunity like that.
given mission pitchers strike three
Those three left-handers -- their mission on any given day, when they're going really, really good, will not be to strike out 12 or 13 guys. That's not the kind of pitchers they are.
continues focus good keeps major opportunity pitcher realize satisfied wind
As long as he keeps his focus and continues to realize there is no real opportunity to be satisfied and he maintains that hunger, ... he could wind up being a real good pitcher in the Major Leagues.
ball bring bullpen determine game gets handle hit losing mistake pitcher pitching record side watch
That's his game to determine at that point. You take him out of the game like that there, you bring in the bullpen and a mistake is made, a ball gets hit in the gap, and he's the pitcher of record in the losing decision, and he got to watch it on the other side of the dugout. I don't handle pitching that way.
duke last pitcher type
Zach Duke showed us last year, and in his first start, what type of pitcher he is.
perform pitcher sit starting
There isn't a day you would sit here and not want a starting pitcher to go out there and perform the way he did today,
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.
against caliber chris crack face opportunity pitcher quick seventh time took until
Any time you face a pitcher the caliber of Chris Carpenter, you get one opportunity against him. He started quick and it took us until the seventh to get our opportunity to crack through.
afraid attack ball certainly close paying pitcher
If I'm a pitcher and I'm paying close attention, I'm certainly not going to be afraid to attack somebody's bat. I want the ball in play -- because they're going to make plays.
against best game
We were pitched to death. It's the best game that's been pitched against us all year.