November 4, 2013

The Week in Quotes

October 28-November 3

by Nick Bacarella, Andrew Koo, Chris Mosch and Satchel Price

BOSTON CELEBRATES

“I think we all stopped in that moment when 'God Bless America' was sung, and rightfully so. It took us back to the day in which we departed here on April 15. And again, in some ways, to bring a little bit of closure to it in terms of how the baseball season related to the tragedy, it was kind of a unique moment.”
—Red Sox manager John Farrell, reflecting on the Boston marathon bombings and the importance of the Red Sox’s championship to the city’s unity. (Ian Browne, MLB.com)

“I mean, sometimes I can't even believe I'm here.”
—Red Sox infielder Xander Bogaerts, on starting in - and winning - his first World Series. (Alden Gonzalez, MLB.com)

“I actually didn't drive it. I tried, but that was when it wasn't moving.”
—Red Sox designated hitter David Ortiz, on driving (and nearly crashing) one of the duck boats in the team’s victory parade. (Ian Browne, MLB.com)

PROSPECTS SHINE AT FALL STAR GAME

“It's an honor to be a part of this. Some of the guys in there, the Byron Buxtons, the Kris Bryants, those guys are incredible players. Just to be able to be out here and competing with and against them, it's a great experience. It's something I obviously want to keep doing for a long time. Hopefully I can put my name out there and continue to do that.”
—Rangers prospect Brett Nicholas, who went 3-for-4 with two home runs during Saturday’s Arizona Fall League All-Star game and was named the MVP of the game. (Jonathan Mayo, MLB.com)

“Being able to go and throw like this in front of the general manager, you try not to think about that, but it's hard not to. When your general manager is out there, it's in the back of your mind and you want to go out there and perform well. You want to every time, but when he's there watching it, you want it to be a little bit better.”
—Twins pitching prospect Alex Meyer, who threw three scoreless innings during Saturday’s game. Twins GM Terry Ryan was on hand to watch Meyer stifle the East Division’s lineup. (Jonathan Mayo, MLB.com)

“Back picking is fun, trying to get a free out for your pitcher. I had a good opportunity with a lefty up. I like to do it there, because they can't see you as well. I had a good opportunity and almost got him. But it was worth a try.”
—Padres catching prospect Austin Hedges, who threw behind Cardinals prospect James Ramsey in the second inning of Saturday’s game before throwing him out on a steal attempt later in the at bat. Ramsey was the second would-be basestealer that Hedges gunned down on Saturday. (Jonathan Mayo, MLB.com)

“It's just an awesome atmosphere, especially with 6,000 people out here on a Saturday in a Fall League game. I'm from Tucson, so I had a bunch of friends and family members here, so that makes it that much more special.”
—Mariners outfield prospect Stefen Romero, who blasted two home runs in as many trips to the plate on Saturday. (Jonathan Mayo, MLB.com)

BRAD AUSMUS TAKES OVER AS TIGERS MANAGER

“Great mind for the game, and an ability to communicate in layman, Ph.D., management terms. ... Low-energy look, but a fierce competitor, humorous but tough, all lends to an ability to find everyone's button that needs to be pushed.”
—An American League Official, on the many benefits of the Tigers hiring Brad Ausmus as their manager. (Jason Beck, MLB.com)

“We seem to see a trend in baseball towards younger managers. A lot of it I think is your presence, how you impact people around you. A lot of the decision making today is a little more predictable with sabermetrics. ... Certainly, Brad is a very intelligent guy. He's a Dartmouth graduate. I think Brad would be a strong manager.”
—Former Tiger Travis Fryman, on the recent rise of young, highly educated managers around the league.

HOT STOVE SEASON GETS UNDERWAY

“To me, he's the best hitter who has ever come out of Cuba. He’s as accomplished as you can get. He has a fundamentally sound approach, very balanced at the plate, and he's a smart hitter.”
—Agent Bart Hernandez, on Jose Abreu’s potential impact in the majors. Abreu recently signed a six-year deal worth $68 million with the Chicago White Sox. (Phil Rogers, MLB.com)

“Joe has been outstanding, and my expectation is that there are other teams that have a bigger need in the bullpen and can put more resources toward it. We look at it as we have other areas that are a higher priority on how we allocate our resources. We have more candidates in the bullpen than at other positions we need to address. We were up front with them and told them they needed to factor that into their decision.”
—Rangers GM Jon Daniels, on how the organization would have likely attempted to trade closer Joe Nathan had he accepted his 2014 mutual option. Nathan declined the $9 million option on Friday and is likely to seek a multi-year contract, which the Rangers were reluctant to offer. (T.R. Sullivan, MLB.com)

“We're going to look at free agents, but I think this is one of the weaker free-agent markets I've seen in some time, so that might lead us towards looking at trade partners more.”
—Diamondbacks GM Kevin Towers. (Steve Gilbert, MLB.com)

ASTROS PROSPECTS REFLECT ON TRIP TO DOMINICAN REPUBLIC

“There were a lot of things to it. We were trying to get the U.S. players to understand where their Latin brethren are coming from, to see firsthand where the guys come from in the Dominican, to see the complex and understand what they're doing, and also for them to kind of have a feel for what the Latin guys go through when they come to the States.”
—Astros minor leaguer Allen Rowin, on the team’s community outreach trip to the Dominican Republic. The Astros sent 8 minor farmhands and 6 staff members to introduce up-and-coming Dominican players and the intricacies of Major League Baseball, as well as to hold skill lessons for children. (Brian McTaggart, MLB.com)

“I knew the country loved baseball and many great players came out of the Dominican Republic, but I didn't realize that baseball was truly the country's No. 1 sport. It was eye-opening. The priority of the people, which I really liked, was God, family, happiness and then baseball. That's what I took from it. I understand the economical situation is a lot different than the United States, but I like the fact how everyone there was happy.”
—Astros prospect M.P. Cokinos

what's the wedding etiquette when u r going against the groom in Fantasy? Do I shout out scoring updates mid ceromony? @Anthony_Recker

— Justin Turner (@redturn2) November 3, 2013

Random question: if ur Miley Cyrus and you show up to a club and your song is playing...do you dance to it? Does u say "this is my jam!" ?

— Trevor Bauer (@BauerOutage) November 2, 2013

—It's the offseason

THE REST

“There's a couple people running this organization that I've respected from afar for a long time. The Orioles history, it's a fantastic baseball town, it's a great place to be, I know their work ethic, and I know what they do and I know the respect they have in the game… When you get a chance to do that on a stage like Baltimore, I don't think you pass it up. It's been one of those things that has been very intriguing to me.”
—Baseball veteran Dave Wallace, who was recently hired as Baltimore’s pitching coach. (Brittany Ghiroli, MLB.com)

“I thought it was surprising Michael Wacha went 19th overall. I thought he was an amazing talent. I had the opportunity to play with him with Team USA after my sophomore year on the collegiate national team, and he was one of the better pitchers there … It's cool seeing guys like him and Kevin Gausman and some of those guys from the 2012 Draft in the big leagues. It's exciting to see some of my peers and colleagues and friends pitching in the Majors, and hopefully I can be one of those guys in the future.”
—Astros prospect Mark Appel, who was selected no. 8 overall in the 2012 draft before returning to school and being picked first overall by Houston in 2013. (Brian McTaggart, MLB.com)

“This is the reason Madonna and I have never dated.”
—Athletics GM Billy Beane, who found out at a fundraising event last week that his distant relatives include Madonna, Celine Dion, and Hilary Clinton, among others. (Daniel Brown, Oakland Tribune)

Nick Bacarella is an author of Baseball Prospectus. 
Click here to see Nick's other articles. You can contact Nick by clicking here
Andrew Koo is an author of Baseball Prospectus. Follow @akoo
Click here to see Andrew's other articles. You can contact Andrew by clicking here
Chris Mosch is an author of Baseball Prospectus. Follow @chris_mosch
Click here to see Chris's other articles. You can contact Chris by clicking here