Another day, another closed door meeting with a pitcher, McTaggart explains:
Sampson wouldn't get into specifics of what the two talked about, but Cooper said following Monday's game, in which Sampson gave up three runs in two innings, that he was concerned about the right-hander.
"I'm not going to get into what we walked about," Sampson said. "It's between he and I, but I made sure we were on the same page and we cleared the air and moved on. Everything's cool."
Coop:
"I think Chris understands that in certain situations, he's forced to go two innings. I'd like him to go in the fifth, in the sixth, and one inning, if possible. When he's in that scenario, he's usually pretty effective. Sometimes we've had to push him to two innings and things happened. Chris has been up in the zone. I haven't lost confidence in Chris. He's not getting it done like he was getting it done. It's not a case of me not having confidence in Chris."
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Also read that Berkman won't be in until Thursday at the earliest. Coop:
"We can't afford to put him in a game and him really exert himself and maybe if he has to do it in a game and gets hurt, because then we're realy behind the eight ball. We need to get him out pre-game and see if he can really push it. If he's OK, then there's a possibility it could happen as early as Thursday."
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And Yorman Bazardo won't be your SP tomorrow night. Hampton is wearing Gumpian braces on both knees, and it doesn't bother him when he goes through his delivery. Apparently.
We didn't come out here to play tiddlywinks, son.
-Hal Smith
