Bob Apodaca Quotes (6 Quotes)

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.

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.

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.

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 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.

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).