Dave Duncan Good Quotations

Nobody has eliminated themselves from anything. They both looked good today, and so has Adam Wainwright.

Looper is important to our bullpen. Can it be a good bullpen? Yes, if somebody else steps up if he isn't what we expect him to be right away. The key is getting him to do the things he needs to be doing.

He did a good job. He came into a tough situation, kept his composure and made some pitches.

He's been very impressive. I didn't know anything about him really, but he's done a good job.

If I remember correctly, we had some questions leaving camp last year. No matter how good you are - and we have to prove we're good - there are going to be questions.

He had a good set of eyes to watch guys in the bullpen. His biggest strength was always his consistency. He could throw a ball for a strike pretty much anytime he wanted to.

He had a good, solid year. I'm happy the organization recognized it. It will be a good experience for him to spend some time here and see what it's all about. This is one of the steps that is part of the process of establishing yourself as a player.

I'm sure by the time the playoffs get here, Ray King will be fine. Because we're going to give him as many opportunities as we can to pitch in those situations, and he's good enough to get the job done.

I think he's getting there. He made a lot of good pitches today. The ball was down for the most part. He got the ball in on the right-handers when he needed to and he got his split-finger over the plate.

It has a lot to do with mental strength. He prepares as good as you can prepare. He doesn't let anything distract him, whether it's a bad call by an umpire, a call that he thinks is bad, an error, or whatever else might go on. He stays focused on what he wants to do and doesn't let anything distract him from that purpose.

I think we have the makings of a good bullpen. It always takes a certain amount of time when you have new people to figure out exactly how they're going to fit in best with your club. We've played six games. I don't think that's quite enough time to have it figured out yet.

It could be a good pitch for him if he can gain control of it to the point where he doesn't make mistakes that are hit. If his mistakes are down, OK. If he makes mistakes up ... I don't think he wants to walk off the field after getting beat on a changeup. But he can find places to use it.

We want to keep Marquis live, ... It's a possibility, a good possibility. It's an idea we've played with.

We're going to try and do that as often as we can between now and the end. He had a good day (Monday), and that's a positive. Confidence comes from succeeding. He can build confidence this way.

I like our staff a lot if we get out of spring healthy. No matter how good you think you are, that's always the big question.

It was a natural progression. It was good for the pitchers to know how much importance we placed on defense. We're always adjusting ... defense as well as pitching strategy.

It's hard to identify who's No. 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5. Because at different times, each one of those guys gets on a roll. And at that particular time, he's the No. 1 guy for us. ... Every one of them has had their periods of time when they threw as good as anybody.

He's got a lot of talent. He's from Los Angeles, so hopefully that will be a good situation for him.