The Week in Quotes

December 17, 2001-January 13, 2002

by Derek Zumsteg

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DIGGING A HOLE

"There was no need to. It was paid."
--Bob DuPuy, MLB executive vice president of administration, to the Minnesota Star-Tribune on why a $3 million loan by a company owned by Twins owner Carl Pohlad to then-acting commissioner and Brewers owner Bud Selig wasn't subject to baseball's Rule 20(c), which requires owner notification and a vote

"There are requirements that loans between clubs get approved. This was short term. There was no owners' meeting in the interim."
--DuPuy

"It depends on the circumstances. I am fully aware of the rules."
--Selig, commissioner of baseball, asked if there were rules that barred loans between owners

"No club or owner, stockholder, officer, director or employee (including manager or player) of a club shall, directly or indirectly, loan money to or become surety or guarantor for any club, officer, employee or umpire of its, his of her league, unless all facts of the transaction shall first have been fully disclosed to all other clubs in that league and also to the commissioner, and the transaction has been approved by them."
--Major League Rule 20 (c)

"I noticed that they both seemed to have forgotten about the $3 million. It's hard to believe that any businessman would forget about $3 million."
--Denny Hocking, Twins' MLBPA representative, on initial comments by Selig and Pohlad that they didn't recall the loan

"'We have a company that does that.'"
--Selig, on Pohlad's response when asked how to set up a bridge loan

"[...] the lawyers then took over and that was the end of the conversation."
--Selig, finishing his Friday recollection of the initial conversation that led to the loan he doesn't recall

IT'S NOT THAT DEEP

"No. We are in the business of lending money. Why the hell would it be a conflict? Every loan stands on its feet."
--Pohlad, Twins owner, who stands to make between $150 million and $250 million if MLB buys his team to eliminate it

"Bud was not in favor of contraction. Number one, he was talked into it. Number two, the clubs voted 28 to 2 [for contraction]. Number three, the teams haven't been selected [for contraction]. There has been no vote on the teams."
--DuPuy, on why there's no conflict of interest

"I have no concerns about the integrity of Bud Selig. I think he's a man of first-rate principle and character."
--Peter Angelos, Orioles owner

"It's such a treacherous thing. It would raise in my mind all sorts of concerns."
--Fay Vincent, former commissioner of baseball

"We have a lot of rules we don't necessarily enforce all the time. What is the big deal? It was for a short time, 45 or 60 days. Everybody would have voted for it had it come up. To me, it's a like a cop sees a guy going 62 in a 55 zone. You let him go. What's the harm?"
--Jerry Reinsdorf, White Sox owner

"It's really horrifying. This is a violation of baseball rules by an owner who is also the commissioner."
--Marvin Miller, former head of the Players Association

WE'RE ALSO DIGGING BACK-UP HOLES

"It was on the private business side. It was arm's length. With an abundance of caution, I cleared it with the commissioner's office. The Colorado Rockies aren't doing any business with Mr. Pohlad. It didn't have anything to do with contraction and it didn't have anything to do with the Minnesota Twins. Mr Pohlad is in that business. He's a banker."
--Jerry McMorris, on a series of loans between a Pohlad-owned firm to McMorris-owned firms

"This is a loan we certainly knew about. It was a loan between individuals. None of the Rockies' assets are at all involved."
--Selig

"I don't recall. It didn't have any reason to be. It was only out of an abundance of precaution that I talked to the commissioner."
--McMorris, if his loan was approved by owners

RICH ALMOST GET RICHER

"The city can recoup its investment and make money every time."
--Rudy Giuliani, outgoing mayor of New York, announcing a deal with the Yankees and Mets to build two stadiums for the teams at a total cost of $1.6 billion

"We were happy to be able to do this for New York."
--George Steinbrenner, Yankees owner

"At the moment, everybody understands that given that the lack of housing, given the lack of school space, given the deficit in the operating budget, it is just not practical this year to go and build stadiums."
--Michael Bloomberg, mayor of New York, nixing the deal

DOOMED TO REPEAT IT

"What we have as a master plan was to see if we could possibly acquire a No. 1 or No. 2 starter, a fourth-place hitter, and a closer. Of which, all three of those positions are essential--especially the latter one."
--Syd Thrift, Orioles vice president of baseball operations

"I'm going to try to focus more on the positive. [...] For some reason when last season started, we all felt uncomfortable. Part of that feeling was due to expectations. And as those losses piled up, we started getting tighter and tighter. "
--Tony Muser, Royals manager, on his plans to be more positive to relax the clubhouse

"I think he's going to be a much better manager this year than he's been in the past simply because he's got more experience."
--David Glass, Royals owner, on Muser

"How could you say I was a bigger bust than Todd Hundley?"
--Derek Bell, Pirates outfielder, on being named the worst free-agent signing of last year by Baseball Weekly

"It's the hope and faith that the fans need to have that their team can successfully compete. Why can't the fans in a Pittsburgh or a Cincinnati or a Kansas City or a Milwaukee have that hope and faith? Let the quality of management take over as opposed to just the amount of money."
--Selig

THE REST

"I don't want an involuntary partnership with the public. I want people spending money in the house who want to spend money in the house. I don't want to confiscate somebody's tax money who isn't a baseball fan and who thinks the money should be spent on education or roads or bridges."
--Donald Watkins, Alabama businessman, on his desire to build a privately-funded stadium if he purchases the Twins

"There's not much that could top this. Only world peace and hopefully that will be accomplished soon."
--Johnny Damon, Red Sox outfielder, on signing with Boston

"When looking at Tino's credentials, we felt that he was the perfect guy to not only help offset the loss of McGwire, but he'll also be someone who will lend valuable leadership to our ballclub."
--Walt Jocketty, Cardinals GM, on signing infielder Tino Martinez

"We've got a winner that's been added to the St. Louis Cardinals."
--Tony La Russa, Cardinals manager

"I saw Andre Dawson. And let me tell you something. There were only two players in my lifetime whose teammates held them in awe. One was Mickey Mantle. The other was Andre Dawson. If you were around, if you saw them play, you know that. But the numbers don't tell you that."
--Jerome Holtzman, old sportswriter, on Andre Dawson's Hall of Fame case

If you would like to submit a quote, please email Derek and be sure to include both the quote itself and a URL pointing to the quote.