Mike Butcher Quotes (20 Quotes)

He's starting to believe in how good he can be. He keeps throwing like that, it's exciting to see that kind of stuff. He's very excited. It's exciting when you see results happen right away. It's positive reinforcement, and he got to see some results happen. Pitched (Monday). Pitched again (Tuesday). It's nice.

Suggestions. That's the best word. I suggest things to them. If they want to run with it, fine.

I just watch guys. It's like, when the student is ready, the teacher will come. That's it.

I like what he's doing, and I really like his work ethic. He has good baseball instincts and he's made a very good impression.

I think I have some ideas. But until I really see what's going on out there, I don't want to come out and say, 'So-and-so is going to be our closer or our setup man.' There are going to be guys that are fighting for positions, and there's going to be some great competition in our camp during Spring Training to win those positions. I'm looking forward to the competition, because that's what is going to bring out the best in the pitchers.

We saw that he was out there. I think as a group we thought that he would be a good pickup for us.

The ball comes nice out of Shinji's hand, a nice smooth delivery. He looked good.

I don't think they're going to see anything early, to be honest. The guys are going out there and getting their work in. There's competition going on. ... I'm just looking for a healthy competition. We're going to go on past history as well. But somebody's going to have to rise up and get it.

He's an exciting kid to watch. He has the arm and the gift to do whatever he wants.

Right now I think it's too early to say if any of the young trio are even out of the mix here. And my thought is if they had to go down to Triple-A or wherever we're going to send these guys, if they come up here, I'd rather them go into the rotation. If they've earned it and they've showed an ability to dominate a level, excel past the level they're at, then they've earned the right to come up here and get into the starting rotation.

I haven't changed anything. Change is a word I can't stand.

He was working hard. I just wanted to give him a breather. He looked good. I was real happy with what he did today.

I'm happy with what he's doing. Obviously the results aren't what we all wanted. But he'll continue to improve and that's what we're looking for.

It's pretty exciting to watch how it's helped. It's has some later life on the ball. When you have a sink like that, you just want him to throw it in there and hope they dig into the ground.

I know what he's doing and I know he feels good. I know he's ready. He has the intangibles. He has a good head on his shoulders. He's athletic. He was brought up the right way. He has a lot of things going for him. You can see that from shaking his hand.

Stuff-wise, backing up bases, holding runners, they should all come natural. They should be ready when they arrive here, ready to step in right away.

It enables you to create balance and direction over the rubber. It freed him to where all his energy was going to home plate. His command today was outstanding. He just nailed a spot over and over and over again.

We're looking for a guy that can step it up.

You can not be afraid when you get to this level to teach. I don't care what level you're at, if you don't teach, you're worthless.

You give them recommendations. You throw different angles at them where, hopefully, they can get something out of it.