Interleague Report: We... (03/31)
The Miguel Cabrera Ext... (03/31)
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March 31, 2014 The Week in QuotesMarch 24-30MIGUEL CABRERA NETS HUGE EXTENSION “I want to finish my career as a Tiger. I want to be here for many years to come.” “When you have a star player, you're much better trying to sign them with two years on the contract rather than one. When you get to that one year away, that lure of free agency becomes very large for a player. Secondly, they get additional pressures to test that market.” “The most important thing for me and my family, and I made this clear to my agents and they agreed, was the years. I’ve always said if the team gave me the years, I would have no problem signing and trying to finish my career with Detroit. I wanted to play till age 40 and finish my career with one team” “I don't have any hitting tips. Aging tips? He takes care of himself. He's in the weight room in the mornings.” “You can go back to (Barry) Bonds, (Ken) Griffey. (Alex Rodriguez), these really exceptional hitters, he’s definitely in that category. Edgar Martinez I thought was in that group. There’s probably about 10 guys, if you sat down pencil to paper, that play in another stratosphere… There’s that 10 guys, I think, and he’s definitely within maybe the top five of the top 10, and that’s a tribute to him.” “Every generation of players says that about that previous generation. They always think the following generation is getting too much money… My take is the market has changed, and has changed consistently since the union was formed, and this is what players are worth, and that's what they should be paid. I don't fault the owners for paying it. I don't fault the players for taking it. It's an entertainment industry. People don't write about what Tom Cruise is making, but I'm sure he's doing pretty well.” “I wish we didn’t have a salary cap. He’s the best player in baseball, and the best players in each sport should be rewarded. It’d be nice to sign a 10-year deal worth $300 million.” MIKE TROUT GETS LOCKED UP “When the owner comes out and puts up these big numbers, like $33 million, it’s hard to turn that down. For security as well, obviously. You never know what can happen.” “When a player comes along of that caliber, you can’t help but want to put a tag on him and keep him here for as long as possible, not only from an organizational standpoint but looking at Trout's standpoint. To be 22 years old, have a six-year deal, no-trade clause, more money than he’ll ever spend—that's quite a security blanket for a kid like that.” “I really believe it’s a fair deal for both sides. They were very, very happy. We met in the middle.” “You can’t say enough good things about him. I’ve probably seen more Mike Trout at-bats than anyone else. He's come a long way. He deserves everything.” “I have the pleasure and privilege of watching Mike Trout play every night. I think he’s a very special cup of tea, for which he is deserving of a completely different brew. While few, I definitely consider Bryce Harper as part of the next generation of elite brand of teas. Certainly as a studied connoisseur, I may hold a differing opinion as to the availability, demand and value of tea futures.” CITY OF MONTREAL, BLUE JAYS HONOR GARY CARTER “The city always embraced Gary, and us as a family. I really felt that tonight. We made it our home and felt privileged to be here for 11 years.” “He was a great teammate, a great player, a great competitor. Him and Andre Dawson taught me the meaning of playing the game. If I didn't listen to him, Andre Dawson would slap me upside the head.” “It brought back a bunch of memories for me. My first road trip in the big leagues was to Montreal, my first home run was in Montreal, so it was nice today to reminisce as bit.” PINEDA WINS STARTING JOB “Everybody is excited because they know I’ve been working hard for the last two years and I want to go back to the majors. Today is a big day for me.” “My preference is just to help the team win. Whatever role they need me, I’m willing to do. Like I’ve been saying from Day One, it’s a matter of going and getting outs and helping this team win another championship.” “Watching him throw his bullpens, I kept saying the ball was coming out easy. He looked really good. I’m not surprised the way he’s pitched from what I saw five or six weeks ago.” “When I’m on the mound I’m not thinking about my shoulder; I feel ready to go. The only thing I think about on the mound is making a good pitch and getting an out. I’m not thinking nothing about my shoulder. I’m putting everything in the past. I want to continue my career and I want to be here for a long time.”
—Sean Doolittle knows his basketball. “They keep me humble, man. They're like, 'Hey, it might be a little different this year, but don't take that foot off the gas.' It may be more in the way of responsibility, but I got the feel of that towards the end of the year.” “I'd never come off the bench; never been a non-starter in my career. So, it was very difficult for me to adjust to that role. I thought I'd be better adjusting to it. I was OK coming off the bench for pinch-hits and whatnot. My issue was my starts. Whenever I got a start, it was tough getting back into my routine. When you spend enough time sitting on the bench and not getting into games until the seventh or eighth inning, sometimes it weighs on you. Last year, I let it get to me a bit.” “When I caught him in the big leagues, I was like, 'Who is this?' I know he's still Gerrit, he still had the 100-mph fastball, but then he had a hammer curveball with depth and he had a wipeout slider. Guys don't come here and use the baseballs with the smaller laces and get better, and he did.” “If I pitch like this April 1, then I’ll be happy.” “I think my first year was definitely a challenge for myself because every single ball I threw was magnified. At times it really pushed myself to be game ready at the start of spring. It really caused me to do a lot of extra throwing in the offseason and more working out… Just from talking to guys that have been through it before and figured out the puzzle on what it is like to stay healthy and throw 200 innings. They all say that. It is not a sprint, it is a marathon. You really got to not try change your program from one bad start to the next.” “The last couple of years, everything’s been so negative and nothing’s really gone my way. It’s almost hard to realize what’s going on and hard for it to sink in. I was hoping this was going to be the case and I liked the way things were going. . . . When (Farrell) told me, I just smiled and was ready to move forward.” “His mentality is he doesn't care who you are. If you're taking some good swings against him, he's going to come after you. I don't think that is around the game anymore. If somebody is taking good hacks at you, they would have hit you right away 10-15 years ago. He has that mentality of 10-15 years ago. I think that is going to make him special for a lot of years.” “It didn't seem that the organization was investing in the team, the players or the city. It was very frustrating. I felt that ownership was fine with not competing. But now, it feels like we're all-in. I think the window is definitely now, and they seem to realize it.” “I know I've developed a routine that works for me. Every case is different. But I think a lot of it has to do with how hard guys are working in the offseason, whether they strengthen their body enough to handle the stress we put on our bodies. I don't know if all of them are slacking a bit, but I'm willing to bet some of these guys, if they would have worked a little harder in the offseason, they would be able to decrease the chances of those things happening. That's not all of them. But I'm willing to bet there are a few. Sometimes guys have to go through an injury to realize that. And all of a sudden, you develop a routine that prevents that from happening and never look back. I've tried to do everything I can to hedge that up front and prevent anything from happening.” “It was a great year. You can't expect to go out and duplicate it. Once you have shown the ability to do it, obviously, there is the ability to do it again. But my goal is not to go out and hit 50 home runs again. My goal is to do whatever I have to do to get us to the postseason and be productive.” “Obviously management and Joe wanted to implement an environment where they felt it was comfortable and suitable for guys just to play baseball and not have the stress that usually comes with it. And when you let kids be kids, which we all are, it turns into a fun environment. They're not too demanding, there's not many rules and regulations, they're not nitpicking things here and there. It just allows a bunch of guys to be guys. And have fun.” “He got called up with some injuries, but he was able to play enough where we didn't have to send him down. And then he kept catching so well that he started taking over the duties and just ran with it. He made a big difference for us.” “I figured he’d be fine. We just had to play it out, and see where we were going. We’ll still see how Omar feels. But he’s rebounded really nice the last couple of days, and felt good going into each workout, and each game down there.” “When you run 30, 40 yards to catch a home run and you jump, you're going to hit the wall really high. When you play deep, you see a fly ball and you time it; you get a good jump and you can catch it. It depends who's hitting, where we're playing… When you play 'no doubles,' nothing can be over your head. Everything has to be in front of you.” “Chase [Utley] is a perfect example why we don't worry as much as everybody worries.” “The fact that I was able to come back for two years and pitch for two years after surgery means that the first surgery worked, but I didn't change anything mechanically from what I was doing before the first time. Once I blew out the second time, I wasn't Googling surgeons or anything like that. I was Googling myself, looking at pictures and coming in looking at film of what I was doing mechanically, which I probably should have done the first time around.” “I always knew there was a possibility that I would be going to the Minors. But I definitely am shocked at this decision.” “Joe didn’t come in here and try to pitch poorly. He came in here and did what he can do. He worked hard. He was in the weight room all the time. I have not met the player in my life that goes out with the intention of not performing well. It just didn’t work out here for Joe. That’s the way it goes.” “He played his way into it this spring and from what it is he was able to accomplish last year. And just looking at his overall numbers throughout his career, he’s always been a high on-base guy. And the fact that he’s a switch-hitter, that helps us all.” “It's going to mean everything. My grandma hasn't seen me pitch since I was 14 years old. For sure, it's going to be a special night. But it's special the way it is already. Her being there is going to add more to my personal feelings.” “I’m just extremely excited for the opportunity. Let’s get this season started and let’s get things rolling the right direction. This is definitely not what I expected. It’s unfortunate for Darvish, but... I’m going to go out there and do what I know what to do.”
Nick Bacarella is an author of Baseball Prospectus.
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MIL = Logan Schafer, ATL = Jordan Schafer