Andrew Friedman Quotations

We felt it was best to go in a different direction. We felt it was in the best interest of the organization to go forward.

We felt it was best to go in a different direction and in the best interest of organization to move forward. Maybe the change in scenery will do him good.

We're keeping an eye on improving this team at all times.

We're getting really close to obtaining the support we need.

With these young players and the different paces of their maturation processes and with the success we enjoyed in the second half last season, anything can happen. I think there will be improvement over last year and that this will be a very exciting team to watch; the core of that team we expect to have significant continuity for seasons to come.

We're seeing the emergence of a new political culture, and the folks in Washington had better wake up and be responsive to it.

We're happy to come to terms with Toby. He's an instrumental part of what we're trying to do as we develop a young pitching staff.

Shinji Mori is a talented reliever who will add depth to our bullpen. He's had a successful career in Japan, and we look forward to his continued success with the Devil Rays. This is the organization's first agreement with a player from the Japanese leagues, and we hope this will lead to more opportunities in Asia.

Shinji Mori is a talented reliever who will add depth to our bullpen.

One of our concerns with Shields was his being in big league camp for the first time. You know, trying to push it and impress the new staff. But he has a great maturity level and aptitude. He has a good head on his shoulders. He seeks direction.

Next year we are going to have an athletic team that scores runs, so we want to have some good young pitching on the way.

From all the conversations our trainer, Ron Porterfield, has had with Carl we are extremely optimistic that Carl will be ready to go opening day.

For us to be successful, we've got to really broaden our applicant pool of players. We're trying to expand our reach internationally to give ourselves a chance at signing players that all the other teams have access to.

For us, it's not about how we break camp. It's the composition of the team through the season. We expect both those guys to be members of the team this season.

He understands what it takes to make a team successful.

He's confirmed he's the top hombre for the job.

He's a very experienced bullpen arm. The landscape of relief pitchers is fairly inconsistent year to year, but Dan has remained consistent.

He's a tremendous talent and I would never bet against him.

He's been invaluable in our discussions and our planning going forward, and the working relationship has been outstanding.

He's doing well. I think the most difficult thing he faced was preparing to play games on March 7 and trying to rehab at the same time. I think the rest has helped a lot.

I think those two are very good pitching prospects who don't get the recognition they deserve. Both have a tremendous feel for pitching.

Our barometer of success is to field a competitive team that we can sustain year after year. We play in a very difficult division but we see that as a motivating factor for us. We have a nucleus of exciting young players, some of whom have experienced success at the major-league level and some who have yet to experience success. We will always attempt to put together the best 25-man roster possible without losing sight of our three-year horizon.

It doesn't make sense for us to make a trade unless we get a piece or two back to add to our collection of young talent. If we don't get that piece or two, it behooves us to keep the momentum we built in the second half with our young players and build off that.

I thought it went well. I thought it was important to keep the lines of communications open.

I think this is consistent with what we've stated our objectives are in developing and sustaining an exciting team.

We're counting on him to be a productive member of our bullpen.

We are happy to have Harper back in 2006. Travis has been very versatile and durable in his seasons with the Rays. Travis pitched very well down the stretch and we expect him to be a positive contributor.

We were seeing situations when, even after they reported hazardous conditions and violations were issued, nothing would happen. Tenants were going without hot water for months at a time.

With hamstrings, it's tough. We don't want to put a timetable on it.

With hamstring injuries, it's hard to predict. We talked to Rocco this morning and what we said is, 'Let's not set a firm date. Let's do it when you feel good.' We don't want him to keep targeting some specific date.

We just want to continue the development path. Both of them are tremendous young players. They are going to be a big part of this team in the future.

We are very committed to the development process and we can't let things that happen affect that.

We are very committed to helping his assimilation to the American society. We feel that the less of that stuff he can worry about the more he can concentrate on his pitching. We're trying to put him in the best position to succeed at the major-league level.

We think that we're going to become intimately involved with the arbitration process given the nature of how young our roster is. The intent of the hearing is to solve differences that can't be resolved through negotiations. It's not ideal for the team or the player, but sometimes it's necessary.

We think Jason is going to be a big part of our future.

We do not tolerate this type of behavior from anyone in the Devil Rays' organization. It cannot and will not be repeated.

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Convoys are the scariest and most high-risk activity a soldier can participate in. You never know when there is going to be a bomb alongside you or even under your vehicle, ... Also, the guns used in combat in Iraq don't create the kind of wounds a street gun might in America. These guns fire at a much higher velocity, creating a lot more damage.

Folks want Washington to come up with a comprehensive reform that respects contributions from immigrants. This bill is not it.

The stuff that made him rated that high is still there. He still possesses that dominant stuff and we're excited to get him in the organization.

As plastic surgeons, we use our general surgery training to help treat initial trauma in the field to save the patient's life or limb. From there, they are transferred to Germany to help them stabilize, clear the infection and allow the wound to heal a bit,

As we've stated from the beginning, our objective is to add as much pitching as we can. If any deal presents itself that makes sense pitching-wise or otherwise, we're prepared to make a move. If not, we're content with the way the roster is shaping up.

It's definitely in the experimental stage. It's early in the process. He figures in our future no matter where he's playing, but he's more valuable to us and he's more valuable to himself as a third baseman.

It's definitely frustrating. He was someone we were looking to to give us a different look out of the bullpen. Pitchers experience injuries all the time. It's a part of our business that we have to weigh in signing any pitcher. I'm confident he's going to work hard and rehab hard to get back good and healthy. So I think we'll see him pitch in a Devil Ray uniform.

It's definitely frustrating. He was someone we were looking to give us a different look out of the bullpen.

It's hard in this setting to truly determine a winner, but it allows us to solve the impasse in the negotiations in a timely manner so we can focus on what's most important, which is getting ready for the season.

It's definitely not the way we drew it up.

It's better to go with one closer. But you can't force the situation one way or the other. It all depends on your personnel. Looking at our bullpen, it appears that we have a deeper, more diversified bullpen this year.

They diagnosed it as an acute injury, something that happened on that pitch.

In an ideal world, we'd have more time to get these players acclimated to the new staff. But we've worked overtime to get these players ready to play and comfortable with the 2006 approach.

He brings veteran leadership in the bullpen. And he's as good a competitor as there is out there.

This is a classic change-of-scenery trade involving two former No. 1 draft picks that are still young players with tremendous upsides.

The Durham Bulls franchise has been an important member of the Devil Rays family from our very beginning and has become an American baseball icon. We are pleased that this association will continue.