Emptying My Notebook: Quotes of Note from Tigers’ Bruce Rondon, and about Reds’ Tony Cingrani
By MiLB.com
I have had two stories on MiLB.com this week. Below are significant quotes that did not make it into either story.
Story: “Prospect Q&A: Inside Rondon’s head”
Quotes:
Bruce Rondon on his interactions with ex-Tigers closer/current free agent Jose Valverde: “He has been like a father to me. When I was in the Minors, he reached out to me, he would take me out to places. He became like a motivation to me. He would tell me that I could do it. He would tell me that he wanted me to be like him, to get to the big leagues like him. He wanted me to establish myself. And wherever he is now, I’d really like to thank him for that, for giving me that confidence and that good advice because it was really great on his part.
On the Valverde-inspired key to being a good closer: “Confidence. More than anything, confidence. If you don’t have confidence, you will not get anywhere.
On being counted on to save the game: “When I come out, everyone has that confidence in me. If they said I’m the one closing out the game, then they confided in me and that’s when I get going and tell myself I’m the best.”
Story: “Odorizzi, Cingrani make it look easy”
Quotes:
Tom Brown, Tony Cingrani’s Double-A Pensacola pitching coach, on Cingrani’s pickoff move: “His pickoff move is very good because his mechanics are a little bit different, his delivery is a little bit different and his delivery to the plate and to first are very similar, so it’s tough for a guy to read. He’s got to learn when to throw over and when not to, but he’s going to pick guys off just because of his athletic ability and funny delivery. … He does step at a 45 degree, but his move is perfectly legal. He deceives the runner because he’s got a long arm delivery and a lot of bounce and movement in his delivery and, as he bounces and moves, he actually moves toward the plate, [so] it looks like [that] to the guy at first base. Then he plants his foot at 45 and is right on the money.”
On Cingrani’s athleticism: He’s a real good athlete. Nobody is in the weight room more, no one runs more, he’s really athletic and no one is better conditioned. That plays an important role in having such strong legs and quick reactions.”
On Cingrani’s work ethic: “He came in polished in a lot of ways, but he’s basically just a really hardworking, dedicated player. I’ve been [coaching] for over 25 years, and he’s about as dedicated and hardworking as anyone I’ve ever seen.”
