Bob Apodaca Quotations

He showed me his slider was his command pitch. I told him, 'You get behind in the count, throw it anyway.' He started throwing the breaking ball with the fastball.

He's a very good guy, he's a great teammate. He's good in the bullpen with the younger guys and he's free with his advice and he speaks his mind and sometimes it isn't always a kind remark. To be a true teammate, something needs to be said when it needs to be said. He's the type of person who will do that.

He's going to be a Major League pitcher -- we caught lightning in a bottle when we acquired this guy.

This was not so much about his stuff but how well he commanded the strike zone, that he had no discomfort and that he got his pitch count up. The answers were yes, yes and yes. . . . He earned an opportunity to really throw his hat in the ring (for the fifth starter spot).

I talked to them (Sunday) and I talked to them (Saturday) and stressed to them that every inning is important. We are not able to coast.

Aaron isn't afraid of confrontations. He has come so far in the last couple years. Before, he seemed to be pitching away from contact, trying to miss bats. That guy has vanished. Now, he pitches with the confidence that the batter can't get to it.

It's hard enough for Zach to be finding himself. To get himself into counts like that is not going to make his job any easier.

He's still very weak. I really don't know when I can get him off a mound, let alone in a game. So the clock is ticking, and it's not going to stop. It's going on nine or 10 days since he's pitched a game. These are all the things you can't make up for. All you can do is, first and foremost, get him healthy.

He throws 10 pitches (during the game), and then he's in the conditioning room for an hour and he's just rolling in to the clubhouse when the game is over. He's put in that much work to maintain his body. He doesn't take his body for granted. That's why he's so good. That's why he's had longevity.

The bullpen is something we have talked about since I've been here. Last year, we went with younger arms and it showed.

Throwing on the side doesn't equate to spring training. There's just not the same intensity. There's nobody with a bat in his hands telling you that you just made a mistake.