The Week in Quotes

The Week In Quotes, February 18-March 3, 2002

by Derek Zumsteg

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STEERING THE SHIP, ONLY NOT

"I know during the controversy in Boston there were people saying that 'Bud wants his pals in there.' That wasn't true. That franchise is so critical. And I knew that in the hands of John Henry, Tom Werner, and Larry Lucchino, you were putting it in the hands of people you know would do the job that needs to be done. They have a wonderful track record. Five years from now, you'll thank me because these guys are the right choice."
--Bud Selig, Commissioner of baseball, seemingly arguing with himself over his role in the sale of the Red Sox

FRONT OFFICE LEADERSHIP

"Philadelphia is the sixth-largest market in the game, and I feel that for the last however long, the organization has not acted like it. There's a lack of commitment to what I think is right. I'm not seeing that their No. 1 goal is to put a winning team on the field. That's my No. 1 goal, and that's why I put on a uniform every day."
--Scott Rolen, Phillies infiedler

"I guess there's one point that Scott made that I agree with. He indicated he's an idiot for not signing with us."
--Dave Montgomery, Phillies President

"What we have is a 28-year-old, very athletic guy with two Gold Gloves under his belt. When you're 28 years old and you've played five seasons in the big leagues, most players have shown you what they are."
--Dave Littlefield, Pirates GM, on signing infielder Pokey Reese

"We have the capability of scoring 950 runs. Teams that do that generally find themselves in the playoffs. When you get to that level all you need is decent pitching. Just decent. I'm a big believer, especially in this league, of getting guys on base and getting them in."
--Ken Williams, White Sox GM

ON-FIELD COACHING

"As a young player, he probably feels the clock is ticking and some of his best years are slipping away one at a time. He's a young player who obviously has tremendous talent swinging the bat. It's hard for him to understand why he didn't play every day. I'm trying to do what's best for the team."
--Bob Brenly, Diamondbacks manager, on bench player Erubiel Durazo

"We built C.C. up slowly last year. Ninety-six pitches? That's nothing. Some people throw 96 pitches in two or three innings. I'll never overwork a pitcher. I'd like to build C.C. up to about 120 pitches this season."
--Charlie Manuel, Indians manager, on pitcher C.C. Sabathia's workload last year

"We are trying to teach him not to swing at the rosin bag when they throw it up there. I'd like him to spend some time with pitch selection and being comfortable at the plate. "
--Don Baylor, Cubs manager, on outfielder Corey Patterson

"If he can do that, he'll hit .330. Young guys see the press clippings that they're going to be a home run hitter, but not before their time. J.D. Drew, he bunts. Mickey Mantle bunted too."
--Baylor, on his desire to see Patterson bunt more frequently

"I'm really looking forward to having some of the players puke for me during wind sprints."
--Jay Buhner, Mariners coach

"He's not going to the plate looking for a walk. He's got too much talent to just take a base on balls."
--Rick Down, Yankees hitting coach, on infielder Alfonso Soriano

"In God we trust, all others must have data."
--Rick Peterson, A's pitching coach

FINALE OF "DOGPILE ON GRIFFEY" WEEK

"He'll throw his accomplishments in your face, asking 'how much money do you make, how many home runs have you hit?' I didn't know it was about that."
--Dmitri Young, Tigers outfielder, on Reds outfielder Ken Griffey Jr.

"I know he's going to come running over to me, wanting to hug me like he's my good buddy, and I'm not even going to talk to him or shake his hand. I have a lot of good friends over there, but he's not one of them."
--Young

PROBLEM PLAYERS IN GENERAL

"The bottom line is, you say, 'Adios, man,' and go find somebody else. You can't have people linger and then someone blame it on the coaches. That's an insult. I can't do anything when you give a man X amount of dollars. You gave it to him, I didn't. So don't blame me, and say, 'Harp, you got to get him to the ballpark.'"
--Tommy Harper, Red Sox first-base coach

"They say you need Tommy Harper for this guy or that guy. No, you don't. You need good people, who have character, who have pride, and they will police themselves. They know what is right and what is wrong. They don't need me to tell 'em."
--Harper

"You know why Nomar is on time? Because Nomar wants to be on time. You know why he observes the rules? Because he wants to observe them, because he wants to be part of the team. He doesn't have to, he's a superstar, he could be a pain in the butt, but he's not.'"
--Harper

THE REST

"He's maturing."
--Bobby Cox, Braves manager, on infielder Rafael Furcal's jump in age from 21 to 23

"I don't care if it's a contract year or if I'm playing for free. I've been given a locker, a glove and a uniform. That's all the motivation I need."
--Jeff Kent, Giants infielder

"Aaron would be a great wife if he were a woman."
--Adam Dunn, Reds outfielder and Aaron Boone's spring-training roommate

"The way I look at it, I can't get any worse. The only way for me to go is up."
--Eddie Taubensee, Indians catcher, on his poor performance in throwing out baserunners

"I'm not a five-tool guy. I'm a guy who kind of grows on you after a while. My thing is to play a lot of different positions and do a lot of little things."
--F.P. Santangelo, Yankees infielder, on his chances for a roster spot

"Pitching in the ALCS Game 4 against the Yankees last year, I felt I was in control all the way."
--Paul Abbott, Mariners pitcher, on his five-inning, eight-walk start

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.