Jim Tracy
Jim Tracy
baseball care catch chances defense either fairly game good level managing name people philosophy pitching playing since
Pitching and defense has been the name of the game in baseball forever. I don't care what level you're playing at. My philosophy since I started managing has been that, before you can look at any other phases, you've got to feel fairly comfortable that you've got some people who can pitch and you've got to be able to catch the ball. If you can't do either one, your chances of being very good are slim.
awful believe character effort field given giving players playing research single
I laud my players, and I told them that, way back, playing in Philadelphia. The effort that they have given from day to day is noteworthy because, believe me ... if you go back and you research some of those lineups that we had out on the field ... I think it'll tell you an awful lot about the character that these players have displayed between the lines, in going out there and giving you every single thing they've got.
club division fighting playing question september win
There's no question about it. This is not the same club that we were playing a September ago when we were fighting to win a division championship. It's not even close.
ahead few playing
Mentally, he was a few years ahead of everyone he was playing with.
admiration factor gain game history learn people players playing previous respect rich understanding
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.
catch changed hope lead playing slug
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.
belongs convince helps knows major playing winning
It helps convince (him) that he belongs playing in the major leagues. He's a winning player. He understands situational baseball, he can steal, he knows how to read pitchers.
across both compelled complement force league main major players playing realize special time
The main thing that I wanted to get across to both of them is to not feel compelled to force things, because the important thing for both of them to realize is that we have two very special Major League players here. We have to find playing time for both because they really kind of complement one another.
catch speed
We're going to speed Duff up and get him some at-bats. We've just got to catch up a little bit.
easy few gonna guy identical last leave quality recognize saw seeing start starts step teammates took
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.
came says schedule
What the schedule says is what you do. I think we came out of it pretty good, all things considered.
arm ball decrease instead pushing slot throwing timing
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.
impact push runners talking
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.
rest
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.