June 27, 2011

The Week in Quotes

June 20-26

by Alex Carnevale

HIS PERSONALITY WOULD HAVE MESHED PERFECTLY WITH BRYCE'S, THOUGH

"When I signed this contract a couple years ago, I made it very clear that we all know this is a ridiculous contract. I have no choice but to sign it, it's unfair, it's disrespectful, we know it's not right. And I was told you're right, it is a bad contract, and when the time is right we'll fix it. And it just appeared that the time was never gonna be right, and the determination was made that we'll get through this year and then you probably won't be with us anyway."
-former Nationals manager Jim Riggleman on stepping down from the job after general manager Mike Rizzo refused to discuss a contract extension.

"Whatever the reason is, when you resign from a job—especially this job—it takes a lot of guts and thinking. I think it's easier to get fired than to resign. You resign, you have a lot of explanation, a lot of talking, you get fired, you say people don't like me, that's it."
-White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen.

"It's not something you see every day in this business."
-Yankees manager Joe Girardi.

"The manager needs love too, you know? You know, look, I'm a single man, and you've got to let them college girls get a look at you now and then, you know?"
-Riggleman, on his post-resignation appearance at a Maryland sports bar.

"Managers [don't] have the power to make that decision, [the front office can say], 'You don't want to be here, then we'll get rid of you and we'll sign somebody cheaper.' It's not the same with the players, players win games, that's the reason they make all the money. The only thing a manager does is lose games."
-Guillen.

"It just didn't have a feel that I was the person they were going to move forward with. The first opportunity to not have me, it began to feel that that's what was going to happen."
-Riggleman. (Jon Heyman, Sports Illustrated)

THE REAL VILLAIN: REVEALED!

"I read the papers. I read that nonsense Tom Boswell writes, and I'll say this: Tom Boswell has tried to be the impetus behind me not being the manager here for a long time. He is a master of the half-truth. A half-truth can be more dangerous than a lie. He prints just enough nonsense that can paint a picture."
-Jim Riggleman, on Washington Post columnist Thomas Boswell.

"He's become such a snake and such an impetus to have me out of there. He's just written so many snide remarks. That type of stuff from such a well-respected columnist throughout the country, to get away with that nonsense, I'm just bringing it to your attention, that that's the kind of stuff that gets written that is totally false."
-Riggleman.

"I think that the people who buy the Post and read it, you know, they see some of that stuff. And there's just enough truth in there to get somebody's attention, but he never tells the full story. He's never interviewed me, he never talks to me and asks me these questions. He just writes negativity."
-Riggleman.

"And in his own words, he grew up at the knee of the great Earl Weaver. And nobody respected Earl Weaver more than I did. I'm a Marylander, I loved the Orioles and Earl Weaver. And he loves Earl Weaver, he thinks Earl Weaver invented the game, and that the Oriole Way is the way to go, and let's get an Oriole in here. Never mind Jim Riggleman. He never thought I was the right guy for the job, and he likes to think he was the impetus of me not being here. But his opinion is so non-respected around that ballpark that I shouldn't even be mentioning his name."
-Riggleman. (Dan Steinberg, Washington Post)

BORN FOR THE JOB

"I was getting bored. I was sitting watching three, four games each day on TV. You manage every game. I figured maybe there'll be another chance, but people look at my age and I figured it was probably the end of the line."
-Marlins interim manager Jack McKeon on replacing Edwin Rodriguez at the age of 80.

"I told Dontrelle, 'Make sure to tell him not to stay in this too long.' There are a lot of us young guys who would like to get major-league jobs."
-Louisville Bats manager Rick Sweet on his desire to ensure McKeon's prompt retirement.

"I think it's quite a departure from what's been here this year. He's outspoken, he's not afraid to tell it like it is. It might be a good change for these guys."
-Fox Sports analyst Jeff Conine.

"Giving 'Twitter' a rest. Slow him down a little. Calm him down. Relax him... It's a guy who's got some talent. But it's just like a lot of these young guys. They're going to have to try to be better. So many of these young guys, they're going to have to try to be better. So many take for granted, 'I'm here. Just show up. It's automatically going to happen.'"
-McKeon, who has nicknamed Logan Morrison 'Twitter.' (Clark Spencer, Miami Herald)

IF HE WERE HITTING, THEY WOULD BE A LOT MORE SUPPORTIVE

"I don't know what was going on with Mauer. He never put the sign for breaking ball. Never. Fastball, fastball, fastball. Fastball. Last pitch, I'd like to throw a breaking ball. He said fastball. OK."
-Twins reliever Jose Mijares on a series of pitch calls that led to a Prince Fielder double in a 4-3 loss to the Brewers on Friday.

"It's easy to say that now. I thought that was his best chance. He threw a couple good fastballs before that, but if you look at the tape, he didn't mean to throw it right down the middle."
-Twins catcher Joe Mauer on the criticism from his pitcher.

"[Fielder's] numbers are huge against righthanders. His numbers aren't bad against lefthanders either, but the power numbers are way different. And Baker was close to 100 pitches, and you've got a lefthander for that reason. A lefthander's gotta come in and hopefully spin some pitches. If you just throw fastballs—I could leave a righthander in to throw fastballs. That's the way I look at it."
-Twins manager Ron Gardenhire. (Joe Christensen, Minneapolis Star-Tribune)

HANGING OUT

"Everything is gone. When I came back last year, I talked to Brian and I saw the Steinbrenner family last year when they had that tribute to George. It's very comfortable for me. With my new job now, I'm here a lot because I spend a lot of time in New York. I'm enjoying coming here and feeling free to go in the clubhouse."
-former Yankees manager Joe Torre on the ease of returning to the Bronx for Sunday's Old-Timers' Day.

"I think they probably wanted to do something else. I think it became uncomfortable on both sides on how to separate. Unfortunately it wasn't pretty."
-Torre on his departure from the organization.

"I had it scheduled perfectly. I was in Chicago and Cincinnati. He wasn't. Hopefully when he does come back, I'll be able to do that."
-Torre on being in attendance for Derek Jeter's 3,000th hit. (Brian Heyman, LoHud Yankees Blog)

THEN KEVIN TOWERS TOUCHED HIM AND HE TURNED TO GOLD

"My off-field exploits and the people I was hanging around with got the best of me. That kind of became my life. When I was growing up and my first few seasons in the big leagues, I kind of ate, drank and slept baseball. Then after awhile, I don't know if the business side took over or worrying about producing, worrying about living up to expectations. It really got in my head."
-Diamondbacks minor leaguer Sean Burroughs on his first departure from MLB.

"I kind of came to the field kind of wanting to get the game over with, not wanting to play. I was looking forward to calling my so-called friends after the game and going out and doing my thing. I can remember sometimes thinking, 'Let's get this over with. I've got people to meet up with and places to go.'"
-Burroughs on his approach to baseball before his comeback.

"I'm not a pessimist but I'm also a realist. I know how things go in this game. I know nothing is given to anyone, in life, not just in baseball. You have to earn respect, earn trust again, and I had to do that. I knew it was going to take time."
-Burroughs. (Chris Gabel, Reno Gazette-Journal)

THE REST

"It doesn't sadden me. It makes me happy to know that they have the choices."
-former Dodgers starter Don Newcombe on opportunities for African-Americans in sports. (Kevin Baxter, Los Angeles Times)

"I've never worn contact lenses in my life, and I really would like to see the ball in the daytime, so therefore I'm trying any means possible to do that. I actually care, and I want to be better, and I don't want to suck in the day."
-Rangers outfielder Josh Hamilton on fixing his .239/.310/.413 performance during day games by wearing shaded contact lenses. (Richard Durrett, ESPN.com)

"I'm concerned that if something happened to somebody, you can't go back. In theory, it sounds great, and I'm excited by having David and Gonzy both in the lineup, but if [Gonzalez] went out there and did something, I can't call time out and undo it. It's a little bit of an anxiety. Everybody would love to see the at-bats in the lineup. We're all together on that, but there are some ramifications, and we're all in it together. I told Theo, 'Until I'm sure, I'm not doing it,' and I think he's completely on board with that."
-Red Sox manager Terry Francona on the idea of playing Adrian Gonzalez in right field and David Ortiz at first during the team's series against the Pirates. (Nick Cafardo, Boston Globe)

"I was not aware of his story, and the first time I heard it, we were talking about mental toughness. I just kind of had to drop it after that."
-Pirates manager Clint Hurdle on team bullpen coach Euclides Rojas' journey from Cuba to the United States. (John Grupp, Pittsburgh Tribune-Review)

"This may sound a bit crazy, but Rosenblatt had that smell. Old ballpark, the food, smoke going everywhere from the tailgating. It's a little harder to do here. It smells new. It doesn't smell like Rosenblatt."
-South Carolina coach Ray Tanner on the new site of the College World Series, TD Ameritrade Park Omaha. (Pat Borzi, The New York Times)

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Alex Carnevale is a contributor to Baseball Prospectus.