Gerry Hunsicker Quotations
-
Baseball Quotes
I can't remember a year when there's been this much parity in baseball, when so many teams are still in contention. This could be one of those unique years where everyone stays in contention until the end of September. But, chances are, as we get into the middle of August, some teams will start to fall to the wayside.
-
Anywhere Quotes
We have a chance to do some things here that quite frankly don't exist anywhere else in baseball, ... Namely, the support of an owner that has the trust and confidence in us to say you guys tell me, you guys chart the course, you guys tell us where we need to go and how we need to get there. That's exciting. It's like having a blank canvas if you're an artist and letting your imagination run wild.
-
Baseball Quotes
This past year I had an opportunity to sit on the sideline and reflect on where I was in my life and my career. You really wonder what the next chapter might hold. I knew the competitive juices were still there. I knew I wanted to get back into baseball. But I wanted to make sure I got back into baseball for the right reasons.
-
Field Quotes
It took a number of years for us to feel like we had any home-field advantage. For the first three years we didn't play well at home. I think that it was all still a work in progress, a transition. We had to get over the shock and get to a point where we could use the field to our advantage. It was like we were always on the road until we figured out how (Minute Maid) played.
-
Acquiring Quotes
This is like acquiring a major free agent. This is a grand slam home run for us as far as the development of our international program. Nobody had produced the kind of talent he has over the past decade. It immediately gives our efforts credibility and in my eyes it assures that the Devil Rays will be a force in international scouting and player development in years to come.
-
Hockey Quotes
Baseball doesn't seem very important on a day like this...When you live in the United States and you think it's the greatest country in the world, you feel somewhat protected and immune. You read about [terrorism] happening in other parts of the world. A day like this makes you rethink. A lot of us really have a false sense of what the world is really like.
-
Arms Quotes
This is a classic case of a trade between two teams with very different objectives. I understand that today there will be a lot of questions about the closer role in 2006. That will resolve itself in the coming weeks between now and Opening Day. We've got some good arms in our bullpen to choose from. We obviously don't have an experienced closer. But I'm confident that we'll be OK there. That wasn't the objective of this trade for us.
-
Build Quotes
The goal is not trying to mix match for one year and then spend the next three years in last place trying to pick up the pieces. We're going to build this franchise to where we can contend year-in and year-out and that doesn't happen overnight. Sometimes you've got to sacrifice present for the future. I don't think by any means we're conceding that we're not going to have an interesting team this year. We will.
-
Balance Quotes
The challenge for teams like us is you are so dependent on your farm system for long-term success -- and yet nobody really cares about the future in this business, ... You have to balance the two. You can make some trades to jumpstart the club, but you have to be careful about it. That could really set us back long term. It is really a difficult situation to be in.
-
Agreement Quotes
The first major step is that we need to establish operations in, primarily, the Dominican and Venezuela. So, to be able to enter into an agreement where we can begin in an existing facility, and one that is among the finest in the Dominican, gives us a head start on our plan. This allows us to be up and running immediately.