Ned Colletti Players Quotations

If we are healthy, I think we've got a pretty good chance of being a pretty good club. There are some areas that you hope will hold up. Most of them are health related. But I would say that we've done a decent job of filling in some of the gaps. I'm really pleased with the type of players we've brought in here.

I saw a franchise that needed its confidence restored. It had a decent nucleus of veteran players that needed some support.

Every successful team has true baseball players with the makeup, drive and desire of Bill Mueller. His ability to hit from both sides of the plate will give (manager Grady Little) additional maneuverability.

You can't diminish the importance (of postseason experience). When you get to mid-September, it's almost like the postseason. Guys who have been through that year after year have an advantage. When things go south, those players can steady the ship. I think it's got great value.

To me, he's got Hall of Fame credentials. He's as competitive as anyone. You look at his last 10 years and he plays a lot, plays hurt, plays through just about everything. I think he's one of the best players on the club.

You're talking about two players who met every expectation. In some ways, they were even better than I had thought they would be. Mike hit a lot better than he had in past. He's becoming a better and better hitter. My only regret with Omar was, if he's this good at 38, what was he like at 28? He was tremendous.

I want the best players and the best people. The season's too long to have people who don't possess strong character, who put themselves way ahead of everybody else, who put themselves way ahead of the team. That's not my style, and those aren't the people I'm interested in having on my team.

I gave him some of my thoughts, he gave me some of his thoughts. He was really amenable to doing whatever we needed him to do. He just wanted to know, as most players do, how to prepare.

It's great to be here. It's great to be down here and see the players and put faces and ability with names.

I told the players ... I could only guarantee them one thing: My effort will always be honest, full of integrity and relentless.

We felt we needed pitchers who could throw strikes. The two players we sent out were not throwing strikes. Carter admitted he's never had a stretch like this where he couldn't throw strikes.

It's about getting their feet wet. That's why you want players who have a chance to win a job next year, guys who can start learning the routines at this level.