Aaron isn't afraid of confrontations. He has come so far in the last couple years. Before, he seemed to be pitching away from contact, trying to miss bats. That guy has vanished. Now, he pitches with the confidence that the batter can't get to it.
He showed me his slider was his command pitch. I told him, 'You get behind in the count, throw it anyway.' He started throwing the breaking ball with the fastball.
He has improved as a person, as a professional. He is so much better prepared. He minimizes mistakes, knows what he has done wrong when he does it. He's essentially become his own pitching coach.
I talked to them (Sunday) and I talked to them (Saturday) and stressed to them that every inning is important. We are not able to coast.
The bullpen is something we have talked about since I've been here. Last year, we went with younger arms and it showed.
He's attacking the strike zone.
One day he was the setup guy, next day he was the closer. There wasn't that analysis of him -- is he going to be able to handle the role?
He's had a closer mentality in his preparation even when he was a middle setup guy.
It wasn't anything I said or we said. If that were the case, I'd say it all the time. I'd call them every afternoon and leave it on their answering machines.
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