Brian Schneider Quotations

We've actually talked about that a little bit. That's part of the reason I wanted to start catching him. Any time you catch somebody and you're more familiar with him, it helps, especially with as big as these games are going to be.

We've always said that we were just missing a real small part, and that small part was moving to a new city and having a home. And we got that this year,

We've been in it the whole time. We haven't played our best, but you know what? The rest of the division isn't running away with it.

We're a better team with him, no doubt about it. He is a good guy. He was just put in a real tough situation. I'm just glad he made the decision to go out there and help us out, help us win.

We're a better team with him, no doubt about it.

There is cabin fever already, but the nice thing is it hasn't been ice-cold yet this year. People are still itching to get back out on the water. . . . You get those bluebird days we're having right now, it's just calling you.

Obviously you want to be in there. This is the most important time of the year. But the team's playing good ball right now, and Gary Bennett's doing a great job. And obviously the team's winning. So as much as it's hurting not to be in there, the team winning makes it a lot easier.

Nothing is a guaranteed, but I'm hoping we improve with men in scoring position. Last year, we had a lot of opportunities and we didn't score. How we do that? Hopefully, it just comes with experience. We have to be more disciplined at the plate.

Catchers have to create a relationship with their pitchers, and we have a bunch of new guys. It'll take a little longer in that aspect for me to get ready. Obviously, it's a disruption. But at the same time, it's not a regular thing. This is something that's going to happen just once every four years.

I have a lot of catching up to do. Here it is March 18th and I have six at-bats.

I can't figure out what it was, ... I know after the game, it didn't feel good at all.

I don't think you are going to feel that from us right now because it has the E- word in front of it. It's only an exhibition game. But this rivalry is going to turn into an unbelievable rivalry. It has the potential to be good.

He's been there and done that and he knows the game very well. He can help out the bullpen a lot and give them a lot of advice because he's been there and he was very good at what he did.

We can't get ahead of ourselves. It's just a couple of games.

We need to turn it around. It's two tough opponents coming up, so we'll see what we're made of.

To be a part of history, ... I'll never forget it.

This was a great opportunity for me professionally and personally. I already know several people on this coaching staff and how much they have accomplished here at Iowa State. This is also a great place to raise a family.

When you leave a ball out over the plate to a guy like Andruw Jones, he doesn't miss very many.

We've outgrown the whole 'novelty' thing. It'll be up to us to give fans a reason for coming back and sticking around.

We had a good road trip last time and, hopefully, we'll continue to try to do that. We are seeing two tough opponents and we are going to see what we are made of.

This team is making a lot of money right now. Just put it like that. Revenues are higher than predicted. The good thing is if these guys come up a couple of days late, they still get the experience.

We just need to find a way to win. It doesn't matter how.

There's no doubt that team speed and the fact the players want to get out there and make plays has improved our coverage. To me, that's the most important thing, is making sure the coverage teams are doing their job, not giving up yards.

I've changed some things this year. It has been more mental. I don't think it's mechanical. I'm trying to continue to not chase bad pitches and look more for my pitches on different counts, ... Tom McCraw has gotten to my head enough by saying, 'Until you get two strikes, hit your pitch.' And I'm starting to do that a lot more.

Soriano doesn't just hit the ball. He affects people that are in front of him and behind him, too.

This is the only organization I've been with. This is a great opportunity for baseball in D.C., and I'd love to be a part of that. I've been here since Day One, and I'd like to be here my whole career if possible.

It's the first year. Four years from now a lot of things will be different.

It's frustrating. It's hard not to get caught up in it. But we really can't. We have to worry about on-field stuff, because we're not the ones making the decisions.

It's hard to think he is still only 21 years old. You've got to be impressed with him on the field and off the field the way he handles himself. When a guy comes up like that and he is a good kid and handles himself well you know he is going to have a lot of success in the major leagues.

That'll just give us headaches if we worry about that.

It's very easy to understand the position of general managers and coaches. They just don't want your players to leave spring training.

I'm going to get to catch them the next two weeks and then when I come back I'll have another week, week-and-a-half to catch them. Yeah it's going to affect us a little bit, but we've already started talking about stuff.

I know you hear this a lot, but this is what we're taught: Only worry about what you can control. And all we can control is what's on the field. The stuff that goes on away from the field, you just can't worry about that.

I know the bench was going nuts and I thought he did leave early. I'm glad the right call was made. I had a pretty good angle, from what I saw, he left early.

I'm looking for that thing to come right down the middle. I know he can do it.

I'm just glad he made the decision to go out there and help us out, help us win.

I had no idea what he was going to do. It's a great thing, because we need him to play. We need him in the lineup. ... It could have turned into a big distraction.

I'm very honored. Just to represent your country and play with these guys as my teammates is amazing.

If you give him the ball, it doesn't matter what you ask him to do -- he's going to go out there and do it. The San Diego game stuck out where it was, 'Here you go. Take the ball and pitch as many innings as you can. Whatever happens, happens. We are short on pitchers right now.' Rauch has a big heart. He is here to win.

If you play a lot at the end of the year and you had a couple of days off here and there in the first half, I'm sure it helps you out a little bit, ... But as long as you continue to play every day, you still are going to get tired. This is first time I've had success in the second half. I'm doing more than I figured.

Hopefully we will come out and do well and open some eyes. It's a change for us compared to the last couple of years.

He's one of those kids. You know when a kid's got talent, but a lot of times you see 'em struggle with new surroundings. In his case, it was the total opposite. He's a kid who, if he doesn't open your eyes, your eyes are shut. He has a chance to be a star in this game.

You could see in the first half how we responded to that. We were in this race.

You want to be the man, you want to drive in runs for the team. To make a long story short, I just didn't get the job done tonight.