April 19, 1999

The Week in Quotes

April 12-18

by Dennis Cleary

DARRYL STRAWBERRY...

``He asked several times if there was anything that we could do to change this situation, because this was going to ruin his career.''

-- Marc Hamlin, arresting officer

``I'm just devastated. It's just awful news for him and his family. I just hope it's not as bad as it seems.''

-- David Cone, Yankees pitcher

``I hope it's a mistake. This guy has done some great things for this club in 2 1/2 years.''

-- Don Zimmer, acting Yankees manager

MARK WOHLERS...

``I just think, for personal and professional reasons, that it's best for me to get a new start.''

-- Mark Wohlers, Reds pitcher

``We're completely satisfied that physically he's fine. It's mental, period.''

-- Jim Bowden, Reds GM

``I've never met him, but I think I know how he feels. There's nothing worse than standing on a big-league mound, putting a ball in your hand and having it feel like a foreign object.''

-- Bruce Ruffin, former player

``Mark is suffering from broken heart diease. Where he is now is a molehill compared to the mountain he tried to climb last year.''

-- Seth Levinson, agent

``Obviously Mark was a big part of our success. He showed in spring training he has a chance to recapture some of his outstanding major league capabilities. We were hopeful he'd do it with us. As everybody who watched our team the other night realized, we had no choice but to make a move. Our bullpen was not going to survive.''

-- John Shuerholz, Braves GM

... AND OTHER BAD STARTS

``I am a firm believer it will get better; it can't get much worse. We are not this bad.''

-- Johnny Oates, Rangers manager

``Jose was shocked, probably because he's been here for two years now. But I told him he needs to go down and start playing like Jose Guillen can play.''

-- Gene Lamont, Pirates manager, on the demotion

``I think we've played real well. I don't think anything's wrong except for me.''

-- Gregg Olson, Diamondbacks pitcher, after blowing three saves

``I have a bad superstition about facial hair. If this keeps up, you might see me without any body hair. I might even shave my head.''

-- Joey Hamilton, Blue Jays pitcher, on shaving off his beard and mustache after losing his first two starts

MEMORABLE NIGHTS

``It's not easy to get this many RBIs in one game. Sometimes you can't get this many RBIs in a week. So this is very nice and very enjoyable. It was a great night.''

-- Ivan Rodriguez, Rangers catcher, on driving in 9 runs against the Mariners

``If I wasn't injured so much in my career I would be looking at 500. I'll need to hit 500 home runs to reach the Hall of Fame.''

-- Jose Canseco, Devil Rays outfielder, on hitting his 400th home run

``The first of many Mets celebrations this year.''

-- John Franco, Mets pitcher, on his 400th save

``I guess I'm the 43rd guy or something to have that many. Obviously, I have too many losses. But that's a lot of hard work, by a lot of players, and I appreciate that.''

-- Jim Leyland, Rockies manager, on his 1,000th win

TEMPER, TEMPER

``I didn't land a punch, but I did try to hurt him. He can say 'Hi' to me, and I'll try to slap him. I just don't like him.''

-- Charlie Hayes, Giants infielder, on Todd Stottlemyre

``He missed me all night at the plate and he missed me on the mound.''

-- Todd Stottlemyre, Diamondbacks pitcher

THE REST

``[Paul] Konerko is an AL player. He can hit, but that's it. He's a DH. [Mike] Cameron is a five-tool player and all we have to do is get it out of him.''

-- Jack McKeon, Reds manager

``I'm not trading [Jeff] Fassero and I don't want [Hideki] Irabu. I've got enough problems.''

-- Woody Woodward, Mariners GM

``The objective is to get the ball over the plate. Unfortunately, I got a couple of balls up, and one went over the fence and another off the wall. But I would have been more angry if I started walking guys.''

-- Mark Portugal, Red Sox pitcher

``I'm seeing the ball a lot better now. Even when I strike out, I'm seeing the ball good. The contacts have really helped. Before, I couldn't see the ball.''

-- Jorge Fabregas, Marlins catcher

``It's got to be a little discouraging for an opposing pitcher to look at our lineup before a game.''

-- Richie Sexson, Indians outfielder

``This is the game of baseball; it's not a home run game. I do what I can to help the ballclub. If I don't hit any home runs, it's no big deal.''

-- Mark McGwire, Cardinals infielder

``I never thought that would happen. I almost tripped at third base when the coach said keep going.''

-- Carlos Febles, Royals infielder, on hitting an inside-the-park home run

``A lot of guys put the ball in play, and we were getting runs with outs. And that's what you have to do to open up the lead.''

-- Terry Collins, Angels manager

``When somebody makes a mistake, these guys are like piranhas.''

-- Ray Miller, Orioles manager, on the Yankees

``Well, I imagine everybody's going to panic now. I remember it happened last year, too.''

-- Joe Girardi, Yankees catcher, on being swept by the Tigers