Clint Hurdle Bat Quotations

He made nice strides this spring. He just needs to keep making the strides that he made. There was a point in time last season where we were having trouble throwing the ball around the infield. Now he threw the ball accurately, his release times were quick and efficient. I think he swung the bat efficiently. He's using his off-gap again from both sides. He had a good spring.

(Defensively), he's been outstanding. To his credit he hasn't taken his bat onto the field for one inning. That's why he's a pro.

I told my guys in the meeting today, man, it's like a snake. If somebody tells me it's dead, I'm going to run over it three times before I believe it. You tell me he's not swinging the bat good, I'll believe it when he's left here and we've been able to handle him.

Initially we stuck him in there because we had run out of options. He is a big kid who has some power and we thought maybe we can find a guy to pick up some run support when they didn't want to pitch to Helton. Obviously he took that opportunity and ran with it. He is a legitimate fourth bat in the lineup. He is not just hitting behind Helton any more.

He's swinging the bat very well. He's got some barrel down there to drive in some runs. There are some things we've talked to him about we want him to focus on and take into the season, but I'm just looking forward to watching him play in that role and getting more opportunities to help us be productive offensively as well as defensively.