“I have to get over my own fears of being out there. Do I belong here? Once that happens, I feel like I can be part of this team and rely on these guys to win games. I think a new guy always has an advantage. Once they adjust to me, it will be my adjustment back to this league that will determine my future success.”
“I didn't want to stir anything up. When we went in, we went in. I was just more aware what we were doing. Once I went through the lineup, hopefully they knew I wasn't going inside and trying to hit anybody. Hopefully it would cool off.”
“They took a leap of faith to put me in the rotation right away. It's a compliment and I'm just trying to take advantage of it, like I did in spring training. It's one of those things I've got to get over my own fears of being out there. Once that happens, I feel like I can be a part of this team and really just rely on these guys to win games.”
“It's a knack, it's a gift, and there's also a lot of hard work that goes into it. There's a reason you have a .700 career winning percentage. He always gives his team a chance. When he gets on the mound, everybody just has a faith in him. That's the best thing you can do as a starting pitcher: give your team a belief they're going to win that night.”
“I think you add 40,000 fans and it changes things a little bit. All of a sudden, you're in a situation where there are tons of people, it's on TV, and people are analyzing everything you're doing. Now it's for real. Everything counts. For any young guy, it's something you have to adapt to.”
