June 7, 1999

The Week in Quotes

May 31-June 6

by Dennis Cleary

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UNREST IN NEW YORK

``I don't have to be told anything. I know I am not doing my job as good as I should be. I don't need a message when we are one game under .500 with a $70 million payroll. We're not doing the job we need to do.''

-- Bobby Valentine, Mets manager

``We have a $70 million investment in this team and we are not giving up at this stage in the year. We still have time to recover and get back on track.''

-- Steve Phillips, Mets GM

``Do I want to stay here? Ask me if I care. They can ship me to Alaska if they want. They can send me home tomorrow if they like. I'll watch the boys play from my house. I might even buy a season ticket.''

-- Bobby Bonilla, Mets outfielder, angered that the team placed Brian McRae on waivers

INSTANT REPLAY

``Most guys make history by hitting two grand slams in a game or something. I make history by hitting a ball that's reviewed on instant replay.''

-- Cliff Floyd, Marlins outfielder

``Use of the video replay is not an acceptable practice. Part of the beauty of baseball is that it is imperfect. Players make errors. Managers are constantly second-guessed. But the game is played and determined by two teams between the white lines.''

-- Len Coleman, NL president

THE DRAFT

``I worked toward just being drafted my whole life. But being the first pick is an honor. There are a lot of great players. I'm just excited that Tampa Bay thinks of me being the best player in the country.''

-- Josh Hamilton, drafted #1 by the Devil Rays

``He can run. He can field. He can throw. He can hit. And he can hit with power.... And if you had to add a sixth tool to it, it would be intangibles.''

-- Chuck LaMar, Devil Rays GM, on Josh Hamilton

``I ain't done nothing yet. But I think one day, I'll live up to all of that. If someone told me different, I'd call them a liar. I think I'm going to be better than all those guys.''

-- Josh Beckett, drafted #2 by the Marlins, referring to Roger Clemens and Nolan Ryan

``I hadn't heard too much from the Giants lately, so it was a big shock. I was at home with my family, and we found out on the Internet.''

-- Kurt Ainsworth, drafted #24 by the Giants

HITTING

``For a young guy out of Triple-A, [Carlos] Lee's a very advanced professional hitter.''

-- Jerry Manuel, White Sox manager

``Watching our hitters hit, it's just a lot of fun as a pitcher.''

-- Randy Johnson, Diamondbacks pitcher

``[Derek] Jeter's on the sun and we're on the earth. He's hotter than a pistol.''

-- Roger Clemens, Yankees pitcher

``If he is corking the bat, as strong as he is, he'd have a lot more than 14 homers. Manny doesn't cheat. Manny doesn't need to cheat. Plain and simple.''

-- Mike Hargrove, Indians manager, on accusations of Manny Ramirez using a corked bat

``I don't care if he's in an 0-for-90 slump; we don't want anybody else up there, as many times as he's come through for us.''

-- Tom Goodwin, Rangers outfielder, on Juan Gonzalez

THE REST

``Anytime you win nine in a row, it's a good feeling. Everything's going our way right now.''

-- Rafael Palmeiro, Rangers infielder

``You never know when it's going to head south so you've got to enjoy it while it lasts.''

-- Steve Finley, Diamondbacks outfielder

``It's been a while. It feels good. You play the game to win. You pitch to pitch well. It's been a tough stretch. Hopefully, this is the start of something good.''

-- Greg Maddux, Braves pitcher, on breaking his 3-game losing streak

``It's going to be sore, and if it gets too bad I'm not going to play. Right now I feel I can do it. It's better to get out there and play than to sit and watch.''

-- Shawn Green, Blue Jays outfielder, on his broken wrist

``Instead of trying to move [Ron] Gant, I think we should try to get him to hit. I don't think we want him to hit .228 all season, but he still does things to help this ballclub.''

-- Terry Francona, Phillies manager

``He was in there every day for almost three weeks. I think that's a good look.''

-- Ray Miller, Orioles manager, on designating Willie Otanez for assignment

``I'm a fan like everyone else when it comes to him. Five or six of us went out to watch. It's fun to watch the superstars. The ball sounds different off their bats.''

-- Frank Catalanotto, Tigers infielder, on watching Mark McGwire during batting practice

``I've had so many big years when I've played at first, and Jerry [Manuel] told me we win when I'm there, so that's what we're going to do.''

-- Frank Thomas, White Sox infielder, on playing first base instead of DH

``We're struggling right now but, as bad as it is, it's going to be unbelievably good at some point. We're going bad right now but we'll get really hot.''

-- Eric Karros, Dodgers infielder

``I've never seen these guys so happy after a game. I don't know if they're happy because we won, or happy because they get to go home and get some sleep.''

-- Dusty Baker, Giants manager, on beating the A's in 15 innings