Those media training programs sure do pay off.
Now, obviously this falls squarely in the “well, what are they supposed to say?” or “what do you expect them to say?” line of thinking (unless you’re Mark Worrell), but I’ve found it interesting to hear very similar comments from Zack Cox, Ryan Jackson, Jordan Swagerty, Lance Lynn, Tyler Greene, and Matt Carpenter so far at the Winter Warm-Up.
Cox:
“There’s only some things that I can control, some things I can’t. Only thing I can do is show up to camp in shape and come every day ready to work. And wherever they put me is where they put me. If they put me in Springfield, Quad Cities, triple-A it don’t matter, I’m gonna go in there and I’m gonna play hard and see what happens.”
Jackson:
“Whatever helps me get to the big leagues faster, I’m all for that! … Whatever the Cardinals want me to do, you know, I’m all for it.”
Swagerty:
“You know, I just want to go out there and do good in Spring Training and get off to a hot start. When you go to big league camp and work with the big league guys you gotta learn new things and you gotta take it all in and hopefully you take a few things that really help you out and help you excel through the season.
“Whatever they want me to do, I like doing both, I just like being on the mound and facing hitters. If I’m a starter that’s great, if I’m a reliever that’s great, I just want to help teams win.
Lynn:
“I just know that I’m just gonna come in and try to pitch as well as I can to make the team and whatever it may be, you know, I’m just trying to make the team and that’s all I hope for.”
“I just want to pitch.”
Greene:
“…trying to get an opportunity anywhere that’s open. … That’s the goal, just to get out there every day.”
Carpenter:
“I don’t really have any expectations, I’m just going in to camp ready, to go in there healthy and just try to make an impression. You know, obviously everybody’s goal going into Spring Training is to make the team so, you know, that’s obviously my goal and whatever role that may be, I’m just going to go in and try to make a good impression with the coaching staff and give it my best effort.”
Again, clearly the players are not going to overstep bounds or step out of line when responding to questions about where they want to play next year or if they prefer one position or another – clearly they have an idea, a preference, but these youngsters are already well-versed in “whatever helps the organization.” Pleasant and tidy.
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