Tim Purpura Quotes (147 Quotes)

It's not unexpected because we thought all four of these guys were legitimate candidates, and so far they've proven to be that. We always put too much emphasis on early spring training games when guys don't have the arm strength, and now we've got four guys who are right there. It's always nice in this game to have some depth and have some pitching.

The issue that he's having has really been resolved from the surgery. He's got great extension now. By getting extension back 100 percent, he'll also be able to build his strength easier. I think he's now less of a liability from an injury point of view now than he would have been before.

He and I had a conversation in January, when we had some workouts going on. I said, 'You're going to play, and get a chance to play every day here.' We just had a conversation and he told me that made him feel so good.

We've given Roger the freedom to have the opportunity to be with his family, and travel apart form the club. That's something that, from what I understand, other clubs are not offering and we are.

We would love to have a healthy Jeff Bagwell. If we can't have that, we have to consider all of our options.

When you sign a player, you hope he gets to the big leagues with you, but if not, you hope he gets to the big leagues with someone else.

He went through the lab, he had X-rays, he met with Dr. Andrews. There's no further information.

Preston is a proven run producer who will make an immediate impact for our club.

We haven't even thought about it or talked about it, ... After the 18-inning game, he might have said, 'See you later guys.'

The fact that it's not getting worse in one area, not being a medical person, I would imagine that's a positive.

There are no issues at all that we're aware of. Our hope is to get the roof open by tomorrow to hopefully get some sun on the field -- if there's any sun to be had.

We've got another goal in mind for next year and the year's after but we could not have done this without (the fans). You stayed with us in April and May when we struggled. You stayed with us in June, July and August. And, now you are here to celebrate with us today. You're a big part of why we have been successful,

That's what makes the decision a little more difficult he feels good about both of them and either one of them could help.

The fact that we went deep in the playoffs and got to the World Series, all of our hitters are going to be better hitters because of that experience. Jason Lane's a better hitter. I was watching the World Series video over the weekend. Jason's at-bats in the World Series were pretty impressive. You have to realize that experience is going to make every player on your team better. They're experienced World Series players.

We've had two great years, and they were special years. The fact of the matter is Roger's 43 years old. ... We're not talking about somebody in the middle of a great career. We're talking about somebody who's at the end of a great career.

I think there's a full understanding of why we have to make our decision at this point. He's going to be with us in some form or another. ... We certainly have cherished our time with him.

I would hope so, unless something dramatic happens.

It's good for him, with him having a chance to play some games, and it's good for us, too. It gives him a good opportunity.

He's a good man. He's helped a lot of our pitchers over the years. A guy like Charley is one of the reasons we've had such a productive pitching program.

He's making progress. We thought he could maybe play catch today. He's one I'd really like to get here, get him on the mound for a bullpen to test the quad. The quad is like a rib-cage muscle. It takes a long time to heal.

We've been in the process of talking to other clubs. Just because the holidays are here, we're going to try to keep working to improve this club, but we have to do it in a way where we're not going to mortgage our future and hurt ourselves long-term.

There's nothing conclusive. We're going to do the MRI (today) and should know a little bit better. He's got a problem with the shoulder, but we don't know the extent of it now.

It all revolves around what Roger wants to do, what his interest level is and what he's comfortable with.

Reid was on a walkie-talkie and says, 'Hey, Dad, Tim says that Roy's going back to Kissimmee tomorrow,' ... You hear silence and then you hear Nolan, 'Sounds like I need to make a phone call' Then I made the phone call and told Gerry, and he said, 'Well, you can't send him back down there.'

Roy's not the established pitcher that Roger and Andy are. He's making his way in the game, but go analyze his numbers. Go project his numbers. If he stays healthy, he'll be Roger and Andy in several years. There's no doubt in my mind.

We said, 'Of course,' ... If he's got (extra sensory perception), I'm glad he does. It's worked.

It's nice to not have to worry about that spot. Catching is the hardest thing to find quality. You look at clubs tying up their catchers -- the Reds with Jason LaRue, us with Ausmus -- clubs are trying to hold onto those guys. They're quality guys and they're dependable.

Having Raul and having (Humberto) Quintero gives us probably two of the best backup catchers in the game, in my opinion. They're both outstanding defensive catchers and have great arms.

I think he's a key member of our team. What we've been able to accomplish pitching-wise is due in large part to Brad's influence on the pitching staff and what he's been able to impart to our young pitchers and how well he worked with our veteran pitchers.

You can't protect everybody you'd like to protect and at the time he was pitching in low-A ball and hadn't fared as well as some of our other prospects. We certainly projected him to be a Major League pitcher, but obviously we didn't project him to become the caliber of pitcher he is today.

We have to go about our business. Certainly, we'd love to have Roger aboard. There's no doubt about it. We also understand his thought process, what he's going through to try to make this decision.

I think it gives everybody a chance to just decompress from the night before. We're in the middle of October and physically, I think things begin to take a toll on guys. We had a somewhat leisurely day here ... it gives guys a little bit more of an opportunity to relax, go out to dinner and take a break from it.

What we're going to do is use spring training as sort of a feeling-out process for Phil and Preston and our other outfielders. It gives us a lot of comfort to know that you've got a pure center fielder like Preston. But he's also so athletic, he can come in and play either corner and we'll feel very comfortable with it.

That's when he cemented an impression on me. I thought, 'OK, we got one.' I'll never forget that performance because that showed what his character was and his makeup.

It's just a matter of, does he want to do it at that point of his life, and that point of his career Certainly, he's the guy that's been a big part of the organization for a number of years. From my point of view, I'd love to have him back, if that's of interest to him.

The health is not an issue. It's the willingness of Roger to play, and we just don't know that. To tie up resources for that long of a period of time would really hurt our ability to move forward.

It's heroic, ... He understands the meaning of duty. His mother taught him about duty.

Brad has been a huge part of our success the past few years. We are all real proud of the success he's had.

I've run out of words to describe him. It looks like he's doing it with ease. But I know he's gutting it out, running it out. ... He's conquered the mental side of it as good as anybody I've ever seen.

His meniscus looked good, and his ACL looked outstanding.

I saw him earlier today, and he gave me a little wink. He said, 'I got a few in me,' ... I didn't think it would be that many. He's mythic, in my mind.

Two years ago, he was on course, and then had some injury issues the next year that held him back. He had a good year last year, and these days, the key to this coming season is to build on what he started last year.

What he's done with that pain is absolutely mind-blowing. Just to be able to put the bat on the ball, to the extent that he did ... To me, you look at the X-ray, you think, 'How's he doing this' It is sheer will.

You fans have been so important to us and everything we've done this year, ... We love you, fans.

I'm not counting him out until he says he can't go. I expect him to walk out to the bullpen and begin warming up for Game 5.

As we're in a contending position, we're going to bring up guys with major-league experience who can help our club, ... That's our No. 1 priority.

We wanted to introduce a little more offense into the equation by trying to find someone like Munson who's more offensive-oriented. It's just a matter of what you get defensively because that's the strong suit of Raul Chavez and Humberto Quintero.