Charlie Dowd Quotations

Frankly, it wasn't a conscious choice to go after big leaguers. They became available to us and they're good guys who can play well. One of the things that we've always done here I've always built a team for playoffs in April. Part of that is having players with experience and the guile to get it done when it's (crunch) time. That's what we're looking for.

We wanted to maintain control of our roster and control of our success. We think that certainly impacts our business. I don't know if there was a comfort level that that would be the same.

We always have the deal that they can leave up until Opening Day. It's a little frustrating. But I'm used to it and the fact that we had Luther who was ready to close. ... He just steps right in and makes it a little more palatable.

The staff felt that starters were set. Eddy Ramos is more suited for the closer role and I thought with all the managers down here and all the administrators there's a better chance to get Timmy a job. So rather than continuing and have him throw (Monday) we just said let's make a move now.

This is a rebuilding project almost. We have to get back to where people recognize us as a great place for entertainment for families. It's inexpensive. It's fun. It's clean. We're working hard on a lot of those things.

It just wasn't fun. The pending sale was a fairly long, drawn-out process. There was a lot of uncertainty as to, frankly, who was going to buy the team for some time and what the structure would be. So the first part of the winter was challenging and then once the new ownership group came in, we were really going at it full-steam.

There were a number of questions along those lines, and I don't know if all the answers were ready. I wanted to keep the baseball in-house.

There's a whole bunch of names out there. I'd like to get one more power bat if possible.

He's in good condition, but the league has just stepped up that much. You look around these fields and usually the response is 'holy (cow).' It's that good.

He's in the Dominican. I don't know what his status is exactly. We've talked. He's interested. He says he's in shape. Who knows what kind of travel situations and everything else might be involved.