Before the game yesterday, I talked to Miguel Tejada. I explained to him what was going on. He said, 'You have to take care of your family first.' I want to be there, but I have to take care of business here. |
He broke a couple of bats with the cutter. I hadn't caught him in a long time but he looked great to me. He was putting the ball in the right spots. For me, what I see, he looked tough on the hitters. |
He's an energy guy on the mound. I'm real excited [about] catching him. |
Here, the hitting coach said see the ball and hit it, and swing how you want to. That's what I'm doing now. |
I feel bad for my country, and all my friends, that I'm not playing. But my situation here, with all the pitchers, I feel I should be here. I know the Dominican team wanted me to be there, and I want to be there. |
I have all of my confidence back. The manager gives me an opportunity to play. He trusts me. I feel like I'm part of the team. I feel so comfortable. I needed something. I needed new faces, a new team. I'm glad I'm here. |
I have to relax and wait for the ball to come to me. |
I know I can hit and play defense. You have to let the game come to you. |
I missed the sign, it was my fault, |
I think that's the farthest home run I'd ever seen as a catcher. |
I try not to think about the future, |
I'm happy, proud of myself for what I've done here. I came here and didn't know the pitching staff. Everybody's been great to me, helping me. I really appreciate the team and the people. |
I'm just seeing the ball better. I'm getting comfortable. I'm not trying to do too much. |
I've known Ramon since we were in Oakland together after I signed with the A's, |
If we play in the season like we've played in Spring Training, we're going to surprise a lot of people. The thing is, we hustle. We're ready to play. We don't want to embarrass South Florida. We're going to show the people everything that we have. |