It's a really good sign that he's hitting. He left hitting the ball pretty good. He was hitting it long ... and far.

Adrian wanted to talk about his hands, and I wanted to discuss his legs. Really, this was a situation where he needed greater movement off his back hip. This spring, he regained control and direction of his swing and body movement, and you see the difference.

We're very good friends. But essentially I learned a long time ago, you need to do things your way. If it happens, so be it. If it doesn't, they'll probably bring in another guy.

Rome can't be built in a day and I know there's been a lot of good people here before. It's a challenge for me certainly. Hopefully, I can help and I can make a difference.

They talk about his defense, but what I saw offensively was not a weak shortstop. He's got more strength than I was led to believe. Anybody can do the drills when the ball is coming at you at 50 miles an hour (in batting practice), but I like what I see early.

We spent a lot of time on communicating with one another, getting a feel for one another, and understanding that the best thing that happened for him in 2005 was that he got his first year in the big leagues under him.