Ryan Freel Quotations

We're making strides in the right direction. I don't think you can ask for more.

He wants to win. What more can you ask for? I think it's all you can really expect from a general manager. I think those guys are leading us down the right path. I guess we'll know more when the season starts and what adjustments we need to make. They're slowly but surely doing it. What more can you say?

I think it's a great signing. He has all the respect of the players and I think he's done a heck of a job since he's been here and I think he deserves this position.

I think it's a situation where I'm trying to hard to go to the next level, and that's to get a starting position. I think for the most part, I've been pressing too much. Nobody here is labeled as a second baseman right now. That being said, I know that I had a real legitimate chance of making it.

I was able to get a good jump and sneak in there.

It hasn't really sunk in. It doesn't seem real right now.

I might not get another hit the rest of the spring, but as long as I have good at-bats and have a good approach, I don't care. If I can stay with that, I'm going to get my hits. I've done it for three years now.

We have a lot of guys with a lot of heart on this team. It's going to take us a long way. We have guys that can hit the ball out of the ballpark at will. When you have guys like that in the lineup, you really give yourself a chance.

We never gave up. When you have this much hitting in the lineup and guys that can swing the bat, we're not giving at-bats away. We're battling our butts off, and we've shown we can score five, six runs in an inning. There's no reason to drop your head and give up.

We played all-around good baseball today, ... That's what happens when you do the little things. This is something to build on. We played small-ball today. The little things have to happen for us to win.

We played all-around good ball today. That's what happens when you do all the little things. We showed ourselves we can finish up strong and build for next year.

Those four runs were the key to the game. We have so much hitting. We don't give away at-bats. There's no reason to hang your head and give up.

You hate to see anybody get hurt, but mostly that's what has to happen for me to play a lot.

I've been a utility guy for three years, and when I'm healthy, I'm out there pretty much all the time. I'll get my fair share of at-bats and playing time. I took trading for Tony as a good thing. He'll bring a lot to the table.

That should get me 10 more right there.

This game is so mental. If you can get into a pitcher's head, even a little bit, get him off his game this much (he holds his thumb and forefinger up to show a tiny gap), to get him to just miss, we've got guys like Griffey and (Adam) Dunn coming up.

Absolutely. For the most part, we played good under Jerry.

It's not just that we're making them throw pitches. We're not swinging at pitches we can't handle. If you do that, you're going to make the pitcher work and he's going to get tired and eventually you're going to get into their bullpen. That's what you want to do. I think that's where our success is coming from.

It showed a lot of character. That's what we're all about. We battled back and didn't give up. We gave ourselves a chance, and that's the key.

It's unfortunate Kearns got hurt, but I was able to fill-in and play some right field Thursday. And there I was in center (Friday).

It just shows we don't have to hit home runs to win games, either. We've shown we can score five or six runs an inning. With this lineup, there's no reason to drop your head and give up.

I learned more in 15 minutes with Billy than I learned in 13 years in pro ball.

I learned more in 15 minutes of talking to him than I have in 13 years of pro ball.

I made up my mind at that point I was going to tag. I thought it was going to have to be a perfect throw to get me out. It was pretty close to a perfect throw but I was able to sneak in and get the front part of the plate.

I know all of the players respect him. He's been around for a while. He knows what he's doing. Nothing against Miley, he did everything he could, but the communication level wasn't there and nobody know what was going on, nobody could get an answer. On the flip side, Jerry will tell you straight-up whether you like it or not and that's all a player can ask for.

I don?t think they want to give me a job at one position. I can benefit the team more playing multiple positions.

He pitched a great game, and he kept us off balance. He kept them in the game, but we had Claussen on our side. I think that was the key for us.