He was a little more patient. He swung at some pitches in the strike zone. He?s a strong young man. The ball comes off his bat really well.
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I felt good yesterday, ... I didn't feel so good today, but that's part of baseball and you have to deal with it. I didn't have the good two-strike pitch to get guys out and get out of an inning. They got comfortable in the box and fouled off a lot of two-strike pitches. I couldn't find anything that worked.
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He's always given me trouble. Mike has so many arm angles and he knows how to spot his pitches. He can set you up with that change-up and then throw a fastball right by you.
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Early on, we made it hard on (Wakefield). He made some real good pitches, stranded some runners, gave himself a chance to settle down.
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Craig is not going to overpower anybody, but he did what we needed and that is to work at least seven innings. He threw close to 120 pitches, and we felt like he was very comfortable in his delivery. Craig is the story of the game.
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I'd rather have a 1-2-3 inning every time but I was fortunate to make some pitches there. I always prided myself in those situations and trying to get out of them. Builds a lot of character.
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This is a game to be savored, not gulped. There's time to discuss everything between pitches or between innings.
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It's about trust. I know what I did last year and know how to get back there. That's all I had to do. Even in Spring Training, I had an idea of taking pitches more. I'm getting the pitches that I want. I either hit them or I'm fouling them off.
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We have such a versatile lineup. We've got speed and power and that produces good at-bats. Everybody in the lineup sees better pitches. Up and down the lineup, we help each other out.
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I think I was trying to do too much with my pitches. I have to trust myself. I was just trying to get guys out, and I didn't do it very well.
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'I would think I drive most hitting coaches crazy. During one single at-bat I used six different stances on six pitches. Oh yeah, I also struck out. So what do I know?'
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Mo's really not getting many pitches to hit. He doesn't have the patience of Barry Bonds .
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