Mark Shapiro
Mark Shapiro
bullpen dominant last pitchers
I think if you look what he's done over the last two seasons, he's been one of the most dominant bullpen pitchers in the American League.
approach discipline finish great guy needs plate progress quality year
I think he's made great progress from a year ago in his approach and plate discipline. The quality of his at-bats was significantly better. He's a guy that's coming. He needs to finish off some things offensively, but he's coming.
adversity belief communication consistency critics doubting earlier manager reason season team year
I think he should get it (the Manager of the Year Award). The reason our team was able to withstand the adversity we had earlier this season was his belief in the team. That belief, when a lot of critics were doubting him, his consistency from day to day, and his communication skills, all of that is a big reason why we are where we are.
almost hard point
It hasn't been very hard at this point. But from this point forward, almost all (of the cuts) are going to be hard. If not, we're in trouble.
camp great help knowing left
Particularly down in the zone. But it was a great camp by him. He left here knowing he'll be back to help us.
fact plays valuable
Part of what makes Peralta even more valuable to us is the fact that he plays up the middle.
average fastball lots major paul pitch
Paul had an average fastball and average curve. He was going to pitch in the major leagues, but there was nothing that would particularly distinguish him from lots of other guys.
eighth moved ninth offense player responsibility rough sixth year
Our offense got going after he moved to third. We moved him from ninth to eighth to sixth to third, which is a rough responsibility for a player in his first year in the big leagues, and he hasn't blinked.
aiming bottom dipping margins pool seen
Our margins need to be better. Bottom line. Now that we're aiming for the families, we should be dipping into a whole other pool that we've never seen before.
davis guys improve money opportunity original plan player playing role rotation saw signing slate spend spot team unable upgrade younger
Our original plan in the off-season was to slate the No. 5 spot in the rotation for a younger player (Jason Davis or Fausto Carmona) and to spend money to upgrade elsewhere. When we were unable to get some other things done, we saw an opportunity to improve the team by signing Jason. The young guys still could end up playing a role for us in 2006.
priority
Our No. 1 priority now is a closer.
I think it was a real shortsighted thing on the part of the legislature.
heck time
That was a heck of a time to go on vacation.
bring good last recognized team
I think they recognized that not only were the very good last year, but they were also very fortunate, and they addressed it. They didn't bring the same team back.