Mark Shapiro
Mark Shapiro
deal lead
Will all those lead to us getting a deal done? I don't know.
coming ecstatic guy keeps leadership light
He's a cornerstone guy. He's come a long way, defensively. From a leadership standpoint, he's a guy that's come light years and keeps coming every day. We're ecstatic about who he is and how he plays.
coming contending expectation games leading record yankees
To say we're contending with the Yankees and the A's was not our expectation coming into the season. If you told us our record would be 14, 15 games over .500, I would have said we'd be leading our division.
building committed game help lead players sustaining talented team today
We are committed to building and sustaining a championship team and Grady -- as one of the most talented young players in the game today -- is the kind of player and person that can help lead us to that goal.
ability communication desire good help identify leadership teach team thirst turn tying understanding youth
I think youth is not a panacea. In Eric's case, he had an understanding of what we're tying to do. He has good communication skills, an ability to understand and identify problems, an ability to teach and develop. Finally, he has a thirst and desire to not only manage, but to be part of a leadership team to help turn things around.
backup best catching compete definitely good hits leader minor prospects ready
He's one of the best catching prospects in the minor leagues. A good receiver, with an above-average arm, he's a leader and he hits with power. He'll come in and compete (with light-hitting Einar Diaz) for the backup catcher's role, but he's definitely major-league ready right now.
brings energy leadership positive
He brings a positive energy and leadership qualities, even when he's off the field.
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.
finished good improve left product swing
There's some things left in his swing that he could still improve upon, but nothing dramatic. He's not a finished product right now. But he's going to be a good player.
backward boston depth extremely farm good impressive period pitching players point productive run short small step system
Boston is positioned extremely well for the future. They have a good farm system with upper-level players and a depth of pitching talent. They've rebuilt the farm system from a dilapidated system to a productive one. If they take a small step backward this year, at some point they will go on a run that will be an impressive run. They're a short period away.
good question
Brandon Phillips is going to be a good major-leaguer. The question is when and where.