Mark Hendrickson Quotations

We have a young team and a lot to prove. It's a good test for us to play the best teams in the American League.

Last year was a struggle, as far as the first half and the second half. There's some areas I just wasn't too happy with it. I wouldn't call it, necessarily, a good year all around.

My goal is we break camp April 3. I may not take the same route as everybody else but I'll be ready for it.

My goal and their goal is on April 3 I'll be ready to go. I'm just taking a different route.

Now we just need to carry it back to the road starting tonight in Boston and do what we can to spoil people's October plans.

I got out there in the second inning and I was more relaxed, felt a lot better.

I'm always seeing how the hip is. And that's where my focus is.

Knowing what they can do, I was just trying to stay focused and make good pitches.

I think when you can limit the amount of transactions, ... get some camaraderie in the clubhouse, I think anybody who has seen us in the first half and the second half can tell we're having a lot more fun. We brought in some guys who added some excitement and some enthusiasm. And we're still learning. ... For us I just think it's a matter of having something to prove and having some fun with it. The results show and it's fun to be a part of this team the second half.

I think the fans have felt somewhat cheated over the years. We have their attention. Now it's up to us to do something about it.

Last year I was scared. I was very scared because I didn't know what it was. This is best for the team.

I went out there and felt good. Everything was going good there for a while. For me to be successful, I have to keep it down, using my height to my advantage. Today, three pitches got up and they made me pay. For the most part, I was in the groove except for those three pitches and two walks to Wilkinson. That's being too fine.

I thought I pitched better than my stat line is going to show, ... We all did what we had to do to win the game. This is a good experience for our team, for a team that hasn't been to the postseason, playing teams that are playing like it's the playoffs.

That was a fastball that was all over the place. But it worked.

That was more the team I'm used to facing. They weren't as aggressive tonight. That's what they normally do. They try to get your pitch count up quickly then get into your bullpen.

Three pitches got up and they made me pay. They score runs in bunches and took advantage of my mistakes.

We need to do what we can to spoil people's October plans.

We have everybody working today, around the clock.

At that point, I kind of reevaluated my approach and really looked hard into what I could do better. I think it was a good wake-up call for me. I've got one more start to finish up strong and that's where my focus is.

I settled down a bit. I was a little more comfortable.

Probably the hardest five innings I've ever pitched. That was probably more the team that I'm used to facing.

Someone who could buy a house four years ago without any government assistance all of a sudden needed $30,000, $40,000, $50,000 of help from somewhere to buy a house.

The bullpen did a good job, came in and settled things down. And we came away with another good victory.

That's what makes their lineup so tough. It's such a fine line between being aggressive with them and not letting them burn you.

There's a little sense of urgency coming towards the end of the season, with everything up in the air contract-wise, ... I think with the importance of every start going in, trying to be a little more focused, I've picked up on a few things that can be helpful.

I tried to get too fine. Derek had a couple of good swings against me. It's that fine line between being aggressive and being picky.

It's always good to get their perspective, a different view point. They're the one's we're competing against.

It's going to be a blessing for me. What I'm finding, because I threw across my body, I never could free up my arm. My pitches have more life to them now than they ever had. And if I do get out of alignment a little bit, I can feel it. It's the best thing that ever happened to me. That's the way I'm looking at it.

It was kind of cut and dry. Three mistakes I made that were up and two walks that hurt me. They took advantage of my mistakes.

It was kind of a wake-up call for me when Lou told the press that if I didn't turn it around, they may find somebody else,

It was more important for me to get stretched out.

It was kind of a cut and dried game. Three mistakes and two walks. That's what hurt me and they're a good team. They score runs in bunches and they took advantage of my mistakes.

That's always been my tendency the first inning of spring.

I hope what he did doesn't get forgotten, because when you shut a team down you're doing something right.

I don't know if it's ever going to go away. It's just something I'm going to have to learn to deal with and adjust my workouts accordingly.

Hopefully, I can keep this going. I've got one more start to finish up strong, and that's where my focus is.

How it looks to a hitter, the movement as it crosses the plate. That could help a pitcher.