Tony Russa
Tony Russa
definitely face great guy knows type
When you face a guy who's been such a great teammate, and we have experienced so much together, it makes it a lot more personal. We know him, he knows us. It's definitely a different type of game.
again couple definitely environment good himself nobody september sharper spring training weeks winning wins
He's been in good situations. Nobody wins by themselves, but he definitely contributes to a winning environment on and off the field. The first couple of weeks of September was like spring training all over again for him. Little by little, he got sharper and sharper, and now he's himself again.
consistent definitely five seen tools year
He definitely has five tools and every year I've seen a more consistent guy.
balls blocking calling catcher definitely gold
The arm, I don't think it's the most important part of a catcher when it comes to the Gold Glove. It's definitely a factor, but it's calling a game, receiving, blocking balls.
date definite
He's improving, more and more, but there's no definite date yet.
totally
It's something he should have. It's totally different from his cutter and his fastball,
almost category playing
Eckstein is playing so well, it's almost in the category of, what's new?
best change grind trying wins
The best way to keep yourself competitive is not to change anything. Right now we're trying to grind out wins and win the division.
albert ball balls gone hit track warning
The ball Albert hit would've gone out anywhere. There weren't balls that were hit to the warning track that did not go out that would have gone out in other ballparks. I think it's going to play like the other one.
al credit gets guys miss soon sounds speak step sure win
I want to make sure Al Reyes gets the credit he deserves, but you don't want to speak so much about that and pretty soon it sounds like we can't win without him, ... That's an important miss for us, but we have other guys who can step up.
hear needed ready team whatever
not what I wanted to hear. I would've wanted to hear him say he was ready to do whatever the team needed him to do in this situation.
neck sore
The neck where he had the whiplash, that's what's sore -- more sore.
ready team unhappy whatever
It's not about him; it's about the team, ... I told him, 'If you're going to be unhappy and pouting, then I can't put you out there to pitch.' He said he was unhappy, but he was ready to do whatever the team needs. I'm comfortable that's how he really feels.
closer days move protect risk smart
It's really a smart move on his part because once you're in that closer role, there are days you just got to go, you got to risk it. But here we can protect him better. For him and for us it makes a lot of sense.