May 4, 1998

The Week in Quotes

April 27-May 3

by Dennis Cleary

HITTING ...

"Tonight we were making up for the first month. Even when we were up by 10, you still wanted to beat the ball up."
-- Bobby Higginson, Tigers outfielder

"Hitters have got to be hitters first -- homers will take care of themselves. I'm a line-drive hitter with home-run pop. I'm not a home-run hitter."
-- Mo Vaughn, Red Sox infielder

"The one thing you can't give the guys as hitting instructor is courage and heart. You can give them all the training, but ultimately it is up to them, once they get up to the plate, to perform."
-- Gary Matthews, Blue Jays hitting coach

... AND PITCHING

"I'm the happiest guy on the team. They gave me an opportunity to pitch and I don't want to lose it. I'm pitching to every batter like it's the last batter of the season, and it's fun. I'm really enjoying this."
-- Jose Lima, Astros pitcher

"You live and die with it, and hopefully, you don't die too much."
-- Dennis Springer, Devil Rays pitcher, on his knuckleball

"It's nice to have a healthy year and put up some innings and shut some people up."
-- Jamie Moyer, Mariners pitcher

"I said the other day that either [Pedro] Astacio or [Darryl] Kile, one of those guys, has to get us started on a roll. Astacio gave us a good start at home and Darryl picked it up on the road. One of those guys has to give us the momentum so we can start winning games."
-- Don Baylor, Rockies manager

"Last night, I was thinking that I was the guy who started the losing streak. So I thought I'd start the winning streak."
-- Rolando Arrojo, Devil Rays pitcher, on his first major league shutout

MONEY

"I have no regrets about having pitched when salaries were far lower. That was my time and I loved it. There is too much talk today about the money in baseball."
-- Sandy Koufax, former player

"I've said the ultimate mistake in baseball is to have a payroll between $35 million and $40 million. There's no sense in it. You will not win and you will lose money."
-- Claude Brochu, Expos owner

"I have no problems in my life. I have a beautiful family. I still got my parents. I love life. I especially like playing baseball and getting paid."
-- Vinny Castilla, Rockies infielder

THE REST

"Everyone goes through slumps in this game. I'm not the first guy this has happened to, and I won't be the last. All you can do is remain focused and keep working through it."
-- Todd Hollandsworth, Dodgers outfielder

"There's no pressure now. I'm just having a lot of fun. That's the key. Every time I get an opportunity to play, I try to make the best of it. We have a pretty good team that understands the game."
-- Darryl Strawberry, Yankees outfielder

"I missed it, I missed it, I missed it. I wish I could tell you the sun was in my eyes or I lost it in the lights. I must have had a set of demons play with my glove."
-- Jermaine Allensworth, Pirates outfielder

"This kid can catch and throw with anybody, and he calls a good game. It's funny, but everybody I've talked to on the coaching staff thinks Charlie [Greene] will probably hit better on the big-league level than the minors because they throw more strikes."
-- Ray Miller, Orioles manager

"If you get a player who helps you win and the player you trade helps the other team win, fine. Everybody's happy and it's easier to make a trade the next time."
-- Kevin Towers, Padres GM

"When you've been in the game as long as I have, you just know. I had a feeling for a long time it was going to happen. I'm disappointed because I wanted to play here all year, but I couldn't. I think I played good for them here. I don't have any regrets. It's just part of the game."
-- Ozzie Guillen, on being released by the Orioles

"My big goal is to stay healthy. This team has got places to go, and I want to be a part of it."
-- Russ Davis, Mariners infielder

"Now if you question them they've got to cuss at you, seems like. I think the league or somebody's got to do something about the way the umpires are nowadays -- it's getting out of hand."
-- Rickey Henderson, A's outfielder

"First base was once seen only as an offensive position. The old school was wrong and Wally [Joyner] helped prove that to me."
-- Rob Picciolo, Padres bench coach

"I think [Edgar Renteria] has unbelievable concentration in big situations, the best concentration I've seen."
-- Jim Leyland, Marlins manager

"It doesn't hurt to run. It doesn't hurt to throw. It only hurts when I sneeze. I sneezed last night in my condo, and I wanted to jump off the balcony."
-- Norm Charlton, Orioles pitcher, on his broken nose

"Yeah, this is going to be a different year as far as stolen bases go. Like I'm telling Royce [Clayton], stolen bases are not really the most important thing with [Mark] McGwire and Ray [Lankford] coming up."
-- Delino DeShields, Cardinals infielder

"From my past three seasons, I've come to understand that it's a long year. And at the end of the year, that's the final result. Who remembers what you did in April? You don't judge a season by April."
-- Charles Johnson, Marlins catcher

"It's a nice rumor that Toronto wants me, and it'd be nice to play in front of Canadian fans, but I'm staying in Oakland, and I'll try to stay here until they kick me out of baseball."
-- Matt Stairs, A's outfielder

"There's no use rehashing what went on last year. I'm not looking back. I'm looking forward."
-- Kevin Brown, Padres pitcher

"I think we're a little more mature, we're a year older than we were, and we should be playing better no matter what league we're playing in."
-- Phil Garner, Brewers manager