A vote of confidence from Ed Wade for Jeff Keppinger:
"He's been exactly what our scouts saw since he came over here. I had [Lance] Berkman tell me during the season last year that he's very impressed with Keppinger because he's as prepared as any of the guys on our club. He prepares very well for the game. I've said before that with a 12-man pitching staff, you get a short bench, which then to me requires you to have a lot of versatility and have guys like Keppinger who can play all the field positions and pinch-hit and hit-and-run and move runners and those types of things."
Keppinger, on versatility:
"That means it gives me more options to get in a game. If you're stuck in one position and there's only 30 teams, it's tough to break through and get on a team. I spent my time in the Minors trying to do whatever I could to get up here, whether as a backup or starter. I'm happy to be here."
So the question is: Was Keppinger worth trading Drew Sutton for?
We didn't come out here to play tiddlywinks, son.
-Hal Smith
