Dave Littlefield Quotes (112 Quotes)

To have Jack and Jose together for the next few years gives us a good feeling about the future of our team.

We'll start moving forward on this. I certainly have jotted down my list of candidates, talked to a variety of people and will continue to do that. I just want to find the best guy and will work hard to do that.

We've had problems with these issues in the past. But Jason has performed at a high level on the field, and we felt the timing was right to make this offer.

Brad has to continue to improve as he has in the minors. Specifically, he needs a better understanding of the strike zone, needs to make more contact and needs to improve his defense.

I would consider him for a minor league job, but he just didn't have interest in that.

Jack has done a fine job during his time in a Pittsburgh uniform. Defensively, he's been outstanding.

I think, as he's starting to mature and come into his prime years, he'll do even better offensively. Offensively, I'm confident that he's closer to the player you saw at the end of last season than the one you saw at the beginning.

I think there's probably more enthusiasm, energy and excitement about where we're at. I think there's more hope and enthusiasm with regards to where we're at and where we'll be in the next two to four years.

They're young guys, but you have a better feeling of trust about them because of their composure, their maturity and, obviously, their ability to throw strikes. You don't see those inconsistencies that you see out of most younger players.

There always is some give and take when you're dealing with the schedule. No one is ever completely happy with the one they get.

He's a sharp guy. I've stayed in touch with him over the years and know him fairly well ... we talked about managerial philosophy, his views on staff and players -- things that are always part of the interview process.

So far, it's not been good. He's part of that young group we have, and you've got to continue to watch how they perform. If it goes well, you give more opportunities. If it doesn't, over time, you've got to look at how many performances at a below-average rate he gets.

As much as you hate to have players selected, it made the most sense for us.

He showed some power at the lower minor league levels, but as we got to the time where we had to put him on our roster, he didn't hit many home runs, he showed no power and there were concerns about his defense. We tried him at different positions, but we thought of him more as an American League guy. We didn't see the power that came later. Obviously, we were wrong.

Jack has done a fine job for the club during his time in a Pittsburgh uniform. Not only are the Pirates happy to have him for three more years, the organization is elated to have him and second baseman Jose Castillo playing defense up the middle for years to come.

We feel good about the talent we have. Now we have to push that talented group to achieve more. We have to win more games.

First and foremost, this guy is a very good player. He gave us excellent production and he's a quality guy. I certainly feel we've gotten in position to be a better major-league team.

With the talent that they have, if they can become more consistent with what they do then they have a chance to get back on track to what they once were. Both performed well in the past, and I anticipate that will be what they'll do this coming year.

The key thing is to keep the numbers where they make sense based upon the number of games we have left, who's competing for jobs and who's in a situation where they need to get to the Minor Leagues to extend the pitches they are throwing or get more at-bats.

We're going to wait until we have the evaluation of the second opinion.

He's a very interesting guy. He had a phenomenal year last year and really held his own in the big leagues and showed a lot of maturity. I've got a good feeling about this guy. I'm anxious to see how Spring Training goes for him. He's a big strong guy, he's got a real good arm and throws a lot of strikes. There's a lot of good things to like about him.

He was trying to get back to the bag and he slid a little late.

Right now Kip is in the process of determining if he is going to get a second opinion of what the diagnosis is, and the different options that are available.

What we saw from Shelton was a good hitter who had some defensive challenges. We tried him around at some different places. And, as we made the move to bring him up to Class AA, we really were questioning the kind of power that he was going to show at upper levels. Combined with his defense, we just thought he was more American League-oriented.

We have talked to a lot of people in the industry to gather information. A lot of people are calling and are interested. ... It's good to see there are so many good people out there, a nice, experienced group of guys and up-and-comers like Fredi Gonzalez.

You go all the way back to last winter, and he's never had a chance to really get going.

We understand that we have four pitchers in particular that are works in progress and trying to get established at the Major League level. As far as changing roles, there's a lot of different things we've got for options, but we're basically going to give them a little bit of time to see how things go.

There's a little bit of uncertainty as to where it goes with getting the second opinion and what the options are.

We're probably heading into the season with that plan. I don't look at it like that it's his job to lose, but rather we're just going to give him that opportunity.

You hate to send a guy to the minors who has performed as well as he has. The good news is I'm sure he'll be back soon.

Lloyd's a long-time Pirate and an upstanding guy. He's done a great job for us through the years as a player, as a coach. We certainly appreciate his efforts.

Yeah, absolutely, we'll see where things go after the surgery, depending on the prognosis and how he comes back. He is in a situation where he's still under our control. Certainly, we hope he will be out on the field playing because, based on what we've seen, he's a healthy player.

He's managed winning teams and winning teams in the playoffs. There are a lot of ingredients I think will make him successful here.

Joe gives us more production than we had, some good offense, solid defense, a professional approach and more experience. All these things help strengthen us, especially with a very young club.

Listen, I'm open minded. We're looking for good pitchers.

We'll do nothing for the time being. We've faced a lot of left-handers early on. We'll give them more at-bats and see how things go.

Greg has done an unbelievable job. He has a fantastic commitment to his work and the Pirates. He never looks for attention but always gets the little things done.

Generally you see this irritation situation as a result of guys trying to get started too quickly and do too much too soon. I think that's likely in this situation.

Certainly, to have three catchers at the upper end of the depth chart and under our control for a few years, that's something that can help us win right now. But it also can be an asset if you want to make a trade, as we've seen with our left-handed pitching. I don't know where our catching depth ranks in baseball, but we're happy with it.

He has some left shoulder irritation. We don't anticipate this being any significant problem.

We're in a position where we can look years down the road and plug in other things. I think that gives us hope for a stronger future. Now, they've got to win and perform well and all that stuff, but you've got to get yourself to that point where we are now.

There certainly has been the emphasis -- and has to be the emphasis -- on getting back on track. However, there's no doubt that, in this job, you're evaluated by wins and losses.

Those are some challenges some young guys have to face, even guys as talented as he is. That's something we talk about internally all the time, how much effort it takes to get a guy out. Those 100 pitches in the major leagues are a heck of a lot tougher than those 100 pitches at the minor league level.

I don't think one win-total number defines the season but, at the same time, you want to make strides and improve the record. Getting by .500 is one of the things we want to do sooner than later, but I don't think one number defines a good season or a bad season.

Kip has had some concerns with some fatigue in his arm. Just as a precautionary measure, we have sent him out to see a specialist in St. Louis. They are now doing some further tests.

He was effective. For this time of the year, I thought it was a very, very good outing.

I don't think it's really a pressing issue. I think all of our focus has been on playing better baseball and winning more games.

The end game is not the whether he makes the team April 1. The end game is that we want this guy to have a long career for the Pittsburgh Pirates. We think he can do that. He just needs a little more time to keep building things up and getting sharper after missing the time he did.

Considering this will be his first full season making every start, I'm just looking for a consistent performance. If he learns the major-league scene and experiences a full year healthy, that will be progress.

This injury is something very unfortunate. I feel bad for Sean.