Pitches Quotations | Page 4

He was just dynamite. Had all three pitches working.

He wasn't real sharp today. When he got ahead of hitters, he couldn't finish them off. There were a lot of pitches in the strike zone.

He wasn't getting pitches that I think he thought were strikes, and sometimes he'll let that get to him, and tonight he didn't. I was real impressed with how he kept his composure and made just absolutely great pitches when he had to. ... He went out there and just battled his behind off and did a great job.

He was outstanding. We're hoping for a rehab start next Tuesday or Wednesday. Today he looked good, threw all his pitches (about 65), looked strong.

He was outstanding. I've been hearing about his velocity and all that, but today he did what he needed to do. He showed me a lot. He showed me maturity. He was making his pitches like a No. 1 starter that everybody knows he should be.

He was outstanding. He was consistently ahead of the batters and he mixed his three pitches effectively. It was definitely his best game of the year.

He was pretty tough tonight. He left a couple of pitches up and that was it.

He was pretty impressive. He had a good fastball and curveball the first four innings. Then he found a changeup somewhere and brought that out with him. He had three quality pitches and he was as a good as advertised, I know that.

He was pretty good. He threw a three-hitter and didn't have much more than his fastball. He did a good job of locating it and he made the pitches when he needed.

He was pitching against a team that was very focused and I thought they did a real good job of hitting the pitches where they were thrown. They didn't come out of their shoes on anything and kept a very, very solid base,

He was pinpoint with his heater and his changeup. He didn't leave very many pitches over the middle of the plate.

He was effectively erratic I guess. That was probably the most erratic we've seen him in a while. But the bottom line is he made pitches when he had to make them. Sometimes he may get out of sync, but he has a way of gathering himself when he has to.

He was effective in the lower half of the strike zone. They made plays behind him, and he made good pitches when he needed to.

He was hitting his spots real well and executing his pitches real nicely. I thought he had a great outing, kept them off-balance, and pitched really well for us.

He was good. I know he threw a few too many pitches in the first inning, but he settled in. You know, I think a lot of times the first time in a real stadium other than a Spring Training ballpark gets your hearts started a little more -- maybe throwing through his stuff a little bit -- but I thought he was really good.

He was good. He mixed his pitches up. We kind of handicapped ourselves by giving him all that run support. That gives him the chance to pound the zone even more. They just put us away, plain and simple.

He was struggling with his delivery and his control. His pitches weren't sharp. But I told him it's a great sign because you're going to have 10, 12, 15 games during the season when it just isn't working. A lot of guys give in to that. But he didn't. He kept battling.

He was really locating his pitches well. He was on his game, good stuff.

He was moving his pitches in and out. He had a good split.

He was making pitches over the corners, not over the middle of the plate.

He was making good pitches and really hitting his spots. That's a tough lineup over there. I don't know if he can pitch any better than that.

He's pitched great. Anytime you draft a pitcher and he pitches this well, you're surprised. But he's pitched great.

I actually had a 17-pitch at-bat one time. The problem with long at-bats is that you typically miss pitches you should have hit, so you can't get into a mental game.

He was a dark horse. Nobody expected it. Hopefully, he pitches there for 10 years.

He was a California League All-Star for us last year. He's about 5-foot-7 or 5-8, a left-hander who is just a great athlete and a great competitor. He can change speed on all of his pitches and throws to spots. Nothing is overpowering -- he just pitches.

He was absolutely awesome out there. He was blowing the ball past people at times and at the same time he threw a really smart game. He mixed his pitches well and kept them off balance.

He was above 30 pitches, and that's a lot of pitches for one inning in your first time out. I wanted to protect him. He was underneath the ball a little bit and he didn't have command of his fastball. That's going to happen in his first time out. I just didn't want to make too much of it, get him out and not get him hurt.

He very well could, if he pitches well enough, ... That's been mapped out for him, told him he could have that opportunity.

He usually throws strikes, so when he threw only one strike in his four pitches something was off. That was uncharacteristic, but he settled in and got ahead of the hitters.

He was awesome tonight. We had him with 19 of 23 first pitches for strikes, nine two-strike counts, 41 fastballs for strikes -- he just couldn't have been better.

He did on the mound today what he's been doing all year. He's locked in, pitching very well. He gets ahead of the hitters and makes pitches when he has to. He did a great job today. He pitched a great game.

He could throw two pitches for strikes pretty much whenever he wanted. When you can do that, you'll be pretty effective.

He could throw a no-hitter any day with his stuff but you can't keep walking the leadoff guy, ... You shouldn't be throwing 100 pitches in five or six innings.

He couldn't put up the numbers if he didn't learn to hit. He knows what pitches to lay off and what pitches he can drive. And if he has a weakness or a flaw, he absolutely keys on it until he eliminates it.

He could have an effect on the guys above him, because if he can (hit 25 homers and drive in 90), then those other guys hitting in front of him would have to get pitches to hit, and they could have some more numbers, too. If he produces like we think he can, it gives you four guys in the middle of the lineup, and you can't sneak though it. Somebody is going to get you.

He didn't crack. It was a good outing for him, not having his best stuff and the conditions as they were with the wind, and to keep making pitches through the four innings and put zeros on the board, it was a good outing.

He didn't look good on the pitches he missed, but he made good adjustments and did what it took.

He didn't have his best stuff, but made pitches when he had to. He showed me something.

He didn't have command of his pitches like in other games, but he battled and pitched well in tough situations. It was a hard-fought pitching victory for Donnie. He battled and came through with key outs when we needed it, despite not having real good command of his pitches.

He just threw me a couple of pitches there that I didn't think were strikes, but the umpire didn't see it that way.

He just started to get his pitches up. I thought he pitched well enough to win.

He just makes pitches when he has to. He's got that slider that sometimes looks invisible to hitters, but they'll swing at it. ... We've been calling him Houdini all season long.

He just makes pitches when he has to. He gets himself into trouble, but he's got a slider that seems invisible to hitters.

He just made a couple of mistakes. They weren't good pitches at all. He left a couple up and right down the middle.

He just left a couple of pitches up over the plate, ... I was able to put good wood on it and it went out.

He keeps giving you a chance to win when he fills up the zone with three different pitches for strikes.

He just had a tough time getting pitches where he wanted them and too many walks. It's really tough to spot-start. He's in a tough role right now and was coming off a great game. He's had trouble locating his stuff.

He just didn't make enough pitches today. He was all around the zone but he just missed. He was barely missing, but when you get behind these guys, those types of hitters, that's what happens.

He knows how to pitch. He has the ability to change speeds with all his pitches and locate. He just needs a little more seasoning. Obviously, he was part of a big trade, and the organization has a lot of faith in him. He's a young man, and we just feel he needs a little bit more experience.

He left some pitches up, and they're a good-hitting team. They certainly took advantage of every pitch he didn't hit a spot on. Give them credit. I think they played well. I thought they came out and swung the bats well. I thought we competed. Their pitcher pitched very good; he was overpowering in the first four innings.

He laid off some pitches to get in some hitting counts, and when he got a pitch to hit, he was on it. I think he's got all the tools he needs now. It's going to be a matter of stamina, and maintaining it.

Guys missed some pitches to hit. In the last two weeks, we really haven't. That's gonna happen.

Guys have to look for more pitches and I'm throwing a lot more strikes than I ever have. I just want to throw a lot of innings and show them I can get guys out and see what they want to do with me.

Hal and I really just sat back and started thinking about things, and the way that I need to go about seeing pitches and getting in the right frame of mind, ... I've just been working hard every day to get where I needed to be.

Groff kept making good pitches to get out of jams, and we made some good defensive plays to help her out. She's the kind of a pitcher who can get herself out of a jam with one pitch because she gets so many ground balls, and we're going to turn two when you hit one at somebody.

I was looking for a ball away the entire at-bat. I fouled a couple off, pitches that I could have hit. He kept living out there and left me one up that I could handle.

Kenny was outstanding; he was throwing three pitches for strikes and kept Central off balance. I was real proud of his effort.

Kenny was effective. They've seen Kenny so much. They hit some good pitches for hits. He bent, but he didn't break.

Kevin made good pitches when he had to, but it took a lot out of him. It was a tribute to him that he was able to get through it for five innings and give us a chance there.

Jake has done a good job for us. He's able to spot his pitches and dictate to the hitters instead of letting them dictate to him; he's pretty consistent.

Jake had a great game for us. He was in the zone out there and gave us a tremendous effort. We're going to be hard to beat any time he pitches like that.

Jake did a phenomenal job. Got ahead of hitters, made them hit his pitches and our defense played very well behind him ? typical early-season game where pitchers are dominant. We were very fortunate to get this win.

Jacob threw 84 pitches and gave up one earned run. He's one of those pitchers we're looking at, who can come in and solidify that third spot.

Kelvim just shined in his big innings tonight. He gave us big pitches and strong innings out of the bullpen, and that's why he's down there in the pen.

Jon has really done his part in the second half of the season. Unfortunately it seems like the guys he pitches against are just as tough.

Josh relied heavily on his fastball because he couldn't get his other pitches across the plate. Fortunately we gave him a lot of run support.

I swung at a lot of bad pitches last year. Last year, I didn't take a walk. This year, I will be more patient. I'm going to be aggressive and look for my pitch.

I take my hat off to Erickson. He's a polished high school pitcher who has command of three pitches and moves the ball in and out. It's impressive.

I think it is a product of having real good at-bats. He can handle a lot of different pitches and he can handle pitches in different locations.

I think it's great and should have been done years ago. It's just common sense for safety alone. I've had a couple of girls get hit by pitches in the face, and the safety of the kids is the bottom line.

I throw the ball very well. That's what I say to you. I know I threw a couple bad pitches tonight, but I threw a lot of good pitches, and they hit it.

I threw too many pitches but I guess it was solid for my first outing.

I threw some good pitches and they got some good swings.

I threw some 80-something pitches and was feeling good all the time. That was a good time for me.

I threw good my last outing. At least today we got to stretch it out to the amount of pitches we wanted. We got a lot of first-pitch outs, so that helped me go through more innings.

I threw a lot of pitches early. You've got to put them away when you're ahead. I wasn't as good as I expected to be.

I threw a lot of pitches early, a lot of 2-2 counts, a lot of 3-2 counts. You've got to put them away when you get ahead.

I threw all right. I felt I was a little wild early. I was up and outside a bunch of time with my fastball, but I made some pitches when I was behind and was able to get through it.

I threw all my pitches that were ready today. The split's always the last pitch to come around for me. My fastball command was good, and that's key for me.

I threw all my pitches that were ready today. My fastball command was good, and that's key for me.

I threw a couple of pitches down the middle that he normally would've hit out.

I threw 90 pitches and felt good the whole time. I felt great, there were no problems out there today at all, and I feel good about the arm and should be able to go longer next time out.

I threw 72 pitches and every one of them was strong. I'm right where I want to be. I had runners in scoring position but made some good pitches. I was able to minimize the damage.

I thought he did a nice job; he battled and made some good pitches when he had to.

(Lackey) wasn't as sharp as we've seen him, ... He threw a lot of pitches early, and then he settled in. I thought he kept his composure, and he pitched. You look at the linescore and see seven scoreless innings and say he breezed, but it wasn't easy.

I was cruising along and I felt like I was throwing the ball well, and got there in the seventh and all of a sudden I started getting some balls up and it got away from me. No matter who you face, you're going to give up hits if you don't execute pitches down in the zone.

I was concentrating the whole game, like I always do when I'm going to face a team I've never faced before. I just wanted to get ahead, and I think I was doing that. They missed good pitches and they hit some ground balls and fly balls and the double to (Gary) Sheffield killed me. You always want to get the first hitter.

I was concentrating all the time. I left some pitches in the middle and they hit it well. That happens when you make a mistake and don't locate your pitches.

I thought we didn't choose very good pitches to swing at. We were anxious to hit and didn't make good choices at the plate.

I thought we didn't play well on defense. The game starts and ends with pitching. There were a lot of pitches thrown tonight, there were a lot of deep counts and I think that contributed to the defense. Its harder for the guys to concentrate and stay in the game.

I thought we passed up a lot of good pitches to hit. We're just not playing with any fire in our eyes.

I thought Tyler pitched very well. He's experienced a little tightness in his arm and it's been a long year. He's thrown a lot of innings, but he made some tough pitches tonight. We need to take care of him a little bit. He's a little tired. We have to make sure we have him at full strength going down the stretch.

I thought that she pitched better in the first game than the second. She looked like she was steering her pitches a little bit (in the second game) and getting behind hitters. She's going to help us, but she has to improve.

I thought Steven was a little empty. He was at 106 pitches and Frost was getting good swings off of him. Steven was getting a little tired and we had all the faith in Rich to get the job done.

I think we have the potential to score more runs (than last year). We looked at too many pitches early in the counts (today).

I thought pitching would be a strong point this season, but it's being hindered by the errors. Since we're making so many we're having to throw more pitches than we should be throwing.

I think we were trying to spot pitches early in the count instead of trying to get ahead. But it's early. I was really happy with how the guys threw.

I think we were jumping at the plate a little bit. We were chasing some bad pitches and just weren't able to get a lot of base runners.

I think batting ninth really gives me a chance to see everything that the pitches has. I've probably seen him throw all his pitches to the first eight hitters.

It gives me more room to throw my pitches with confidence. I felt more confident out there (with the lead).