The way I figure is we win as a team and we lose as a team, but I've got to figure out some way where I can have a better April and help the team get off to a better start. I normally heat up when it gets warm, but it would be nice to come out of April and everybody is chasing you.
Going to a new team is like going to a new high school. Nobody knows you. It's a chance to rebuild your image.
If (Mike) Hargrove was his own man, I would have been picked (for the 1998 All-Star team). He is another person who doesn't appreciate what I did for him.
What we should have done is kept the same team that played in the '95 World Series. Those trades (Eddie Murray & Carlos Baerga) caused a lot of chaos in the organization. I didn't feel like we were moving in the right direction.
Back in 1987 when they drafted me. The Indians were the only team interested in taking a chance on Albert Belle, and I made the most of it. Hopefully, they got as much from me as I got from them.
Leaving wasn't a personal thing where I intentionally wanted to stick it to management or anyone. This is business. I felt I should have been rewarded for helping the Indians turn around a half century of losing. It was a shame they decided to treat me that way, after all I did for them. I helped this team go from one-hundred six losses to basically one-hundred six wins and into the World Series. And what do I get for it? Nothing.
We need to start acting like a team, focus on winning and not worry about all of the other stuff that goes on. We lost our focus last year. We worried about who was being hired, who was being fired. That's got to change. We don't need any more finger pointing. We need to act like a team.
People tried to test me (in 1999) and I came up with some pretty good throws. Everybody on the team calls me 'Bazooka' now. That's kind of like a nickname I gave myself.
