Ron Gardenhire Bench Quotations

Jason needs to get consistent, everyday at-bats instead of sitting on the bench here with us. We brought him up here from spring training to see where he's at, and we're happy with his progress.

It didn't feel good, so that's a little scary. A groin muscle can last who knows how many days. He's one of the guys we count on off the bench to pinch-run, and that is our speed guy off the bench. We don't really have much off the bench as speed guys go, besides him.

That was good enough for me. He wants to play. It's frustrating for him not to play. It was driving him crazy. On the bench in Chicago, he was going nuts. Hopefully, we can get him healthy and keep him on the field.

A presence like his can only help. He's a pretty classy man. We've always watched him and enjoyed the way he has played the game. We would expect him to come over and get some hits off the bench for us and do some spot playing.

I'm going to start him, too. I'm going to try to get him at-bats. You can't be a good hitter off the bench unless you get at-bats and get a good feel for it. You can't just sit there and get one at-bat a week or every three days.

Being on the bench for these games won't help them get ready for season. We are thin at the infield spots, so we are very happy to have these guys stay here.

If he starts ripping the cover off the ball, that always puts a thought in your mind to keep him. Playing everyday in the outfield is a better thing for him right now, so one thing I don't want is him here coming off the bench and being a pinch-hitter.

You can't be a good hitter off the bench unless you get some at-bats. You can't just sit there and get one at-bat a week or one at-bat every three days. He's been on a lot of different avenues in the big leagues and done a lot of different jobs with a lot of different teams, and he knows how to handle himself.