Quotes by Allard Baird

Andre understands our organizational hitting philosophy. He has worked with a number of our young players, as well as some veteran players that came up through the organization.

He's not going to overpower you. He's got to have command of the fastball. His ability to create ground balls last year was a real plus for us.

He's one of the good guys. I'm happy for him.

I feel confident about all our other drafts and this gives us a chance, obviously, to get an outstanding player two years in a row. And that adds depth to your system and we're finally at a point where we do have some depth.

I'd still like to find a starter and improve the outfield situation as well.

If he left March 15, that would be a different story. We haven't played a game yet. No pitcher has pitched a pitch yet in a game, so to me that does not factor in. The most important thing for us right now really is for him to take care of the personal matter. Everything else is secondary.

He's low in the strike zone with his fastball and has an out pitch with his change up. He's worked hard on the command of his fastball. I think he's made improvement.

He's underrated as an outfielder -- his readings are good and he knows when to take a chance and when not to.

He's progressing nicely at this point. He sounds happy, but there is still no official timetable for when he will return.

But he improved his release time last year.