Don Cooper Quotations | Page 2

I don't look at it as AL vs. NL. I look it as the team that's opposing us.

He became that guy in the second half.

All I know is if my family isn't there, I'm not the same guy. And I don't have to throw a pitch.

The guy wasn't dogmeat before this year. He was just young and he wasn't ready to give the things that everybody expected. When a player comes to the big leagues and kicks butt and the rest is history, that's the exception to the rule. The norm is what happened with Jon. You give a few beatings and you take a few beatings, but you get to where you want to go.

The level of competition in Cuba isn't the same as it is in the major leagues. It's about Triple-A. Contreras went (to New York) and was expected to win right away and that wasn't realistic.