Dusty Baker Quotes on Winter (10 Quotes)

It's not easy. We've been looking for that guy all winter. How easy was it to find a right-handed hitter to back up D-Lee at first base this off-season You can't envision much playing time. That's what was difficult. It's probably a little easier now.

This guy is in great shape -- this is the best shape I've seen him in. Our trainers went down and checked on him. They saw him this winter. He's doing pretty good. He hasn't played baseball for awhile so we still have to break him in slowly.

We've got guys studying video on Patterson, and there's things you see. It's just that there are things you have to enact and put into play. Of all the things I see, they're beating him with the fastball and sometimes he doesn't track the ball. These are things we can work on in the winter.

It's better now than later. He's been working out real hard on his lower half all winter, so fortunately this is the time of year when he shouldn't be set back too far.

He's been working with Tony Gwynn in the winter and you can't find a better guy than that to work with. He works hard, he appears to be an outstanding teammate. I think he'll be an excellent catch for us.

Woody is a competitor. He wanted to go out on a positive note for next year. He couldn't wait to get out there, and I was anxious to see him out there. In the winter, what you remember is how you finish.

You can sort of tell that teams are here, or teams are improved. Watch the winter deals they make the maturity of the young players.

I've known guys who go home early and, especially when you don't go to the postseason, it makes for a long, long winter, ... That extra month at home, you start getting ready to go back in December.

You would think over the course of a winter -- actually three winters, two winters -- that guys would come back strong and healthy, which hasn't been the case. Woody had a little setback with his knee, but his arm is doing well. He's throwing the ball great. Hopefully, Woody will be ready soon. How soon we don't know. We have Wade Miller coming on pretty strong. We just have to pull our belts a little tighter and do what we have to do.

We want to get him in the position to give him the best chance to make the club. He worked hard last winter. We know he can help this club. I can tell he's helping some of the young guys and the veteran guys about how to go about their business and how to play this game.