May 10, 1999

The Week in Quotes

May 3-9

by Dennis Cleary

TELL US ABOUT IT, SKIP

``Basically the whole series, we got outmanaged, outplayed, outhustled, outpitched and everything else. You can't play dumb baseball.''

-- Jim Leyland, Rockies manager, on being swept by the Phillies

``Every time we swing, nothing good happens.''

-- Tom Kelly, Twins manager

``It's hard to win six or seven in a row without deep pitching.''

-- Terry Collins, Angels manager

``Sure you expect to win the series when you're the world champions. The game is not that easy. [The Royals] deserved everything they got. They kept hitting homers. To get a split, that's got to be a feather in their cap.''

-- Don Zimmer, Yankees manager

``Jose [Santiago] made one mistake, Joe [Randa] made one mistake and [Johnny] Damon made one mistake. Other than that, it was a heck of a game.''

-- Tony Muser, Royals manager

``We're just not getting things done. I can understand striking out against Pedro Martinez. But eight times today [against Juan Pena], that's ridiculous.''

-- Terry Collins, Angels manager

``We just can't seem to get any men home. I don't know. Jesse Jackson, maybe he can get some guys home. We're last in the league. I'll give him a call or something.''

-- Jerry Manuel, White Sox manager

``I think his numbers speak volumes. He's one of the elite in the major leagues right now.''

-- Jerry Manuel, on John Snyder and his 1.64 ERA

INJURIES

``The biggest thing is being able to differentiate between a little pain and being hurt. You have some in your elbow and your shoulder all the time. Being a power pitcher, you deal with it. I know I can pitch with this.''

-- Roger Clemens, Yankees pitcher

``I feel good. I think I need to face some hitters and get back in the game. Right now, I'm a little lacking in arm strength, but that comes with pitching. I'm ready to go.''

-- Tom Gordon, Red Sox pitcher

``I can pitch through a lot of pain because I've had surgery before, and I know what I can and can't do. I can't do it right now. The pain is intolerable.''

-- Donovan Osborne, Cardinals pitcher, on going on the DL

PERSON FOR SPOLJARIC

``Maybe we overevaluated or overprojected him. We tried to get something out of him and it just didn't work out.''

-- Ed Wade, Phillies GM, on Paul Spoljaric

``I feel bitter about the fact that I didn't get a chance to mess up as a closer.''

-- Robert Person, Phillies pitcher

THE REST

``The biggest thing is just getting out there and having success -- whether it's throwing on the side or in a simulated game -- and getting my confidence built up to where it was.''

-- Mark Wohlers, Reds pitcher

``The value of sports franchises to their owners has ballooned in recent years. One would think some of that giant revenue windfall might trickle down and be used to help finance new ballparks and stadiums.''

-- Arlan Specter, senator

``What happened last year is not going to happen again in my lifetime. I don't know why everyone expects it to.''

-- Mark McGwire, Cardinals infielder

``I didn't hit anybody. I got thrown out of the game for not hitting somebody, and I wasn't trying to hit anybody.''

-- Kent Mercker, Cardinals pitcher, on throwing behind Andruw Jones

``It's frustrating to come in every day and see the loss column keeps getting worse. I go places and hope people don't recognize me.''

-- Matt Mantei, Marlins pitcher

``From what I've been told. I'm probably not going to go over 100 pitches for quite some time. But that's fine.''

-- Jeff Weaver, Tigers pitcher

``That's the beauty of this game. You can always redeem yourself.''

-- Butch Huskey, Mariners outfielder

``It's different. I've never finished a game. Coming in in the top of the ninth, I probably didn't think as much as I usually do.''

-- Tim Wakefield, Red Sox pitcher, on his first major league save

``You never want to get behind early. But there's no sense of urgency. We've been able to come back before, so we're confident we can do it again.''

-- Rich Aurilia, Giants infielder

``It feels nice to throw a game in the majors again. I think it was a very good day.''

-- Hideo Nomo, Brewers pitcher, on beating the Giants in his season debut

``I know it's going to end sooner or later, but it's fun while it lasts.''

-- Luis Gonzalez, Diamondbacks outfielder, on his 22-game hitting streak

``You're never as bad as you really look and you're never as good as you appear to be.''

-- Eric Karros, Dodgers infielder

``You keep hearing my on-base percentage is the lowest in the league for a leadoff hitter, but my main thing is, when I get on base, you're either going to catch me stealing or I'm going to steal a base.''

-- Brian Hunter, Mariners outfielder