Aaron Nieckula Quotations

We ran into a into a guy that was throwing the ball very well ... you've got to tip your cap to that (pitching) staff today, they did an outstanding job of keeping our hitters down.

Shields kept the ball up, out over the plate, fell behind guys. That's crucial. Their guy worked ahead and you saw what happened. Our guy fell behind. It just wasn't his day. We'll see how he rebounds.

(McCormick) never got rattled out there ... I'm not taking anything away from our hitters, but we couldn't make the adjustments, which is what this game is all about.

On paper, we have a pretty good pitching staff.

He did an outstanding job. He made pitches when he needed to, (showed) great mentality and made adjustments when he needed to.

He got a fastball down and in and got a good swing on it. Frank's a young kid and has a lot to learn, but he's swinging the bat well.

He earned an opportunity to go that fifth inning, but we are thinking more long term instead of short term right now. More for the benefit of the team than the individual.

We expect to have a successful year. And to define success, does that necessarily mean winning? No, not necessarily, but keep in mind that the most important thing in minor league baseball is player development.

Going out there I think he was at 76 pitches. I told him he was one over 75, we'll take him up to 80. I told him to work the middle and pitch to contact.

I think they're excited to get out on the road and experience some of the other ballparks and cities. It's nice to get out and experience the road a little bit.

That was nice. I said, 'You want us to get that ball for you?' I'm sure the monkey is lifted off his back. Hopefully this will open up the floodgates for him.

We've got some team speed. We've got guys with baseball savvy out there that are willing and wanting to take the extra base. It just goes to show that you don't need to hit the ball out of the ballpark or hit doubles and triples to score runs. We scored eight runs. It's timely hitting.

Expectations are high. There is a lot of chemistry with this staff, and that's very important.

We got men on base, via walk or an error or the base knock that last inning. We just couldn't do anything with it.

Ronnie came in and threw the ball pretty well ... you can't ask for anything better than giving us a chance to win. Unfortunately we didn't score any runs.

Really from Day 1, the bullpen has done a good job of coming in, whether we're up or we're down, and they've held the door to give our offense a chance to score.

After a few days off, you can get lackadaisical or lethargic in your play. Yeah, our bullpen was healthy, but at the same time, when you don't see live pitching, when you don't see live hitters and you don't see live stuff coming off the bats, it's a lot different.

Submariner like that, you don't see those kinds of guys too often. But that's really no excuse.

That's like a hitter trying to get his first hit of the season. Trying to get that first something off of your back, it kind of alleviates the pressure and opens the door a little bit.

That's like a hitter trying to get his first hit. Anytime you get that first something off your back, it relieves the pressure. Jason has outstanding stuff. All he needs now is to learn how to control that fastball. But, he'll get it down (because) he works hard and has a great attitude.

This a great opportunity to be around the game. Obviously, there will be a little bit more responsibility. As (the) hitting coach (last season), I was kind of lurking in the shadows whereas the manager has to deal with hitters, the pitchers, the front office and the fans. It's a bigger responsibility, but one I accept and look forward to.

There's always been jitters (on Opening Day) ever since I was a little man. It's a little bit different being the manager and running 25 players and four assistants, but it's exciting.

It's nice to ride high after the first two games of the season, now let's see, after a loss, how these young men respond.

They are young men and they have to learn how to respond to tough losses like that.

In my opinion, he's been the most consistent bat in the lineup. He's got a great approach and a great swing.

If he could have given us five innings, that would have been great. He gave us four decent innings. I thought he competed. I thought he worked hard. I thought he kept his composure. Not too bad for his first outing this year.