Jim Bowden Quotes (126 Quotes)

He looks good, totally different guy -- different mechanics, different arm action. I didn't recognize him.

There is no truth that we are in trade discussions with Boston concerning Alfonso Soriano, Nick Johnson or Ryan Church.

We can't watch what we watched all last year at shortstop. If Guzman plays like he did last year, Clayton gives us a viable option. Guzman is our starting shortstop. This gives Clayton an opportunity to compete with Guzman.

If it comes to a point where it's in the best interest of the franchise and we have to do something, we're not putting everything on hold, ... If we feel like decisions need to be made, we will make those.

But we'll trade anybody, ... if a team overwhelms us.

We are very pleased to be able to lock up Nick Johnson, who we view as one of the core players who will take the Nationals to the next level. Nick is a complete player both offensively and defensively, and we appreciate his positive influence in the clubhouse. He is the type of player and person that the Washington Nationals are all about.

If they're going to pay 450 million for the team, ... they should have a voice in those decisions.

It depends on his history. If a guy has a history at all or lack of durability or those kind of problems, we do it, or if we see something in his arm action that says we should do that. We saw every single one of his starts the last couple months, and the player looked healthy.

In time, I think it'll work out. We'll make it work out.

There's just a difference of opinion. There's kind of an agreement to disagree on where he falls.

He always has had a live arm. We thought he would really help us down the stretch when we started getting injuries. We thought we were close to a deal.

He's such a great athlete that he's able to play other positions. He could play center, he could play left. Winning players always care about the name on the front of the jersey more than the name on the back of the jersey. I've had instances before in my career where star players have had to change positions. Players normally like the position that they're playing, and that's understandable. If we decided to move him, it'll be because it's in the best interest of the name on the front of the jersey.

When we drafted him we thought he would be 15 to 20 home runs early on and eventually he would be 25 to 30 and what you saw this spring he might end up being 30 to 40 with a normal ballpark.

The decision might be 10 minutes before game time.

The first thing I did when I came in last November was study all of the reports from all of our scouts, ... Dana, by far, stood out among everyone as a premier evaluator. He has a tremendous ability to evaluate amateurs, and a tremendous ability to evaluate pitchers in general.

I couldn't be more pleased to add one of the best young pitching minds in baseball to our coaching staff. John's high energy, passion, temperament and knowledge will provide invaluable resources for all of our pitchers.

The player refused to take the field, which we believe is a violation of his contract.

It just a matter of making sure that his arm is OK. If he plays four or five days, having no pain, can play back to back and making the throws hard, we will move him to New Orleans, so long as the weather is warm enough.

We don't have a lot of depth. We're already on starting pitcher, what, 10 or 11 What number is it

Our responsibility is to take care of him for the long-term, not just today, tomorrow or the next day. We need him for the long run, the next three, four, five years.

You walk into camp with seven guys who can start, and now you're down to six. Then after Wednesday you're down to five. Starting pitching is a concern. Tony's not really a setback. He's going to be under a pitch count. He's going to get the ball on a regular basis like he would get it here. To be honest, I don't see any effect on that.

Recently, we denied another organization the opportunity to interview Dana because we view him as vital component of this franchise as we build for the future.

We had great discussions. I think it's important to understand where each side is coming from. I think we had an opportunity to look at each other eye-to-eye and go through the issues of the club and the issues of where Alfonso is coming from. We have a lot of respect for Alfonso as a player and as a person. And he understands our situation and where we're coming from.

My preference would be to keep him, you're a much better team with him. But I'll never close the door -- ever -- on an opportunity to make everybody happy.

I do feel bad for how it played out (in spring). But he's been tremendous. ... His speed and power combination is obviously one of the best in baseball. There are not many players capable of hitting 40 (home runs) and stealing 40 (bases). He's certainly one of them.

It's a very sensitive issue with Alfonso. We respect him and we respect his ability as a baseball player. The position change and what's important to the team is something we'll continue to address appropriately. We don't want it to become a soap opera.