Mark Shapiro
Mark Shapiro
focus guys hope level
You just hope to get back to that level and get in. These guys don't need to focus on getting better.
ability guys versatile
We have a lot of versatile players. We have the ability to adjust. We have a lot of guys who could play a lot of positions.
aaron almost batting bunch care fell guys huge titles trying victor won
We have a bunch of young guys who really care about each other, and they were trying too hard, ... Victor Martinez won two batting titles (in the minors). He was going to hit. Aaron Boone fell into a huge hole. He's almost out of it.
bullpen deserve flux guys hopefully middle next safe settle state three
It's safe to say our bullpen is going to be in a state of flux for the next two to three days. We're going to look at some guys and hopefully find some who will settle down the middle of our pen. There are guys down there (in the minors) who deserve an opportunity.
accomplish both club fit franklin good guys largely prospect prospects spring
They will both be guys that you'll see a lot of in Spring Training. That's one of the things we want to accomplish this spring. Guys who fit into our plan, we want to get a good look at. Our Triple-A club is largely going to be a prospect club. Two of those prospects are Franklin and Brad.
guys nice second third
They've all been impressive. It is nice to see that when our second and third tier guys come in, we're better than the other teams' second and third tier guys.
felt guys improved multiple player positions production reasonable retain
There wasn't anything I felt significantly improved the production we're getting at those positions with a player we could retain for multiple years. There weren't that many guys who were a fit, and we weren't able to get those guys for what we thought was a reasonable price.
baseball deep guys healthy stay
Detroit's lineup is as deep as anyone's in baseball if those guys stay healthy and on the field.
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.
calls guys tough
I called to tell him he was going back to Double-A after he'd been in Triple-A. That was one of my first tough calls to a player. I didn't necessarily make those decisions, but I was the one who had to give guys the news.
clean consistent game played turned
We just played consistent in between the tackles and turned out the first downs. It was a pretty clean game for us.
club spring training
We're very comfortable going into spring training with the club we've got right now.
classic context defines espn historical history news proper sports thirsty
ESPN Classic is going through a transition. They're thirsty to put today's news in its proper historical sports context ... History defines sports. Without that context, today's news wouldn't be as grand.
anybody august coming contending last late looking spring team time year
Every time we go through something, it's a young team and we're going through it for the first time, ... Last year, it was contending late in the season, in August and September. This year ... coming out of spring training, it was the first time anybody was looking at us.