- On his transition to the Double-A level-
Our club's got a lot of the same guys that I played with down in the Florida State League, but you see a lot of older guys up here at the higher levels and guys that have a little bit better of an idea of what they're doing out there up at the plate. You know, a lot more consistency throughout the whole game.
- On the progression of lefty pitching prospect Jesse Biddle, who Rupp has caught at three different levels-
He's been unbelievable. He's grown so much. You know, out on the mound, he's grown up. He understands how to control his emotions. His stuff is, it was good when we were in Lakewood, it was good last year, this year it's- it's getting better every year. He's done a lot of good things for us. He keeps us in ballgames, he comes out and works hard, he pounds the zone a lot and that's all you can ask for.
- On what he works on and how he makes sure he's improving at each level of the minors-
Just being consistent. On the field, behind the plate, in the batters box, just being consistent. You're gonna have your days where you go 0-for-4, you're gonna have your weeks where you don't get a hit, but you take the same approach as when you go 3-for-4 when you're seeing the ball really well, and continue to go out every day and give what you've got. Just, you know, you gotta have fun doing it and that's one of the big things, as long as you're having fun and you're consistent you're gonna love the game.
- On being around rehabbing big leaguers-
So far, the guys that have come through, last year (in Clearwater) we had Thome, Nix, Halladay threw for us, Utley. Last year we had a bunch of guys come through and they've been awesome. They've worked with us, talked game, sat down, watched TV with us, even Thome went out and had dinner with us one night. It was awesome. They've been in our shoes, so they understand just like we do and they get up there and they're still the same guys. You know, it's really special.
- On his time spent in big league camp during spring training-
The older guys, they went about it a little differently than some of the younger guys did. I just tried to soak in being up in a big league club house and seeing the guys and watching the games and trying to learn. I just thought it was an unbelievable experience. You get to see how the game is at the highest level that's played and being around those guys you get to learn every aspect of the game. And you can pick more than just one guy's (brain)...and being able to pick their brains, there's no one else better to learn from.
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