September 6, 2004

The Week in Quotes

August 29-September 5

by Ryan Wilkins

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"If you're going to get hurt playing this game, get hurt playing this game-pull a hamstring diving for a ball or something. But to take yourself out for possibly the rest of the season because of a situation like this is frustrating for us. He's having a good year and we're counting on him. He's missed a lot of time and he's going to miss some more."
--Mike Mussina, Yankees pitcher, on Kevin Brown breaking his hand after punching a wall (N.Y. Daily News)

"I think we've all been frustrated, we've all been upset, we've all said things we wish we could take back...But to physically do something to injure yourself, no, I can't."
--Mussina

"What he's going through right now is punishment enough.... That's not to say that something should or shouldn't be done."
--Joe Torre, Yankees manager, on Brown (N.Y. Daily News)

"It's going to be survivable.... You can't allow yourself to have one person not being available affecting your chances."
--Torre

"You just can't do this...You've got to keep your emotions in check."
--Brian Cashman, Yankees general manager, on Brown (ABCNews.com)

"He's a horse, we all count on him...It's just an unfortunate situation."
--Alex Rodriguez, Yankees third baseman, on Brown (ABCNews.com)

ATHLETIC TURNOVER

"Hopefully I can build some momentum, because it's been pretty much a miserable year for me."
--Bobby Kielty, A's outfielder (San Francisco Chronicle)

"I was watching this field last night on "SportsCenter." Now I'm here. I'm so excited, I don't know what to say. I'm giddy. I'm nervous. I'm scared I'll go out there for the first time and trip over something."
--Nick Swisher, A's outfielder (San Francisco Chronicle)

"To have my father see that...it's something I've worked for my whole life."
--Swisher

"He looked at me and said, 'Did you try to catch that?' and I said, 'Hey, I'm trying to show a little hustle on my first day.'"
--Swisher, after climbing the wall trying to catch a Carlos Delgado home-run ball

"Swish, everyone was ragging him the whole day and he's the guy we rode in spring training-he's a great dude.... It's good to have him up here to help us out."
--Kielty

ON LOSING 100 GAMES...

"It's embarrassing."
--Mike Sweeney, Royals designated hitter (Kansas City Star)

"It's unacceptable."
--Tony Pena, Royals designated hitter (Kansas City Star)

"When you lose 100, it says you stink for six months straight.... We haven't played well. We've played like we stink."
--Desi Relaford, Royals infielder, on losing 100 games (Kansas City Star)

"You're losing every day.... You're not having fun. There are times where you should be winning games, and something different happens every night and you keep getting disappointed. You pretty much know what's going to happen at the end of the day: You'll lose."
--Bobby Higginson, Tigers outfielder (Kansas City Star)

"We can get some of the young kids in there and teach them how to win ballgames.... They still don't know. They haven't figured it out."
--Pena

"We haven't swept anyone yet, have we? That's not good."
--Relaford

"That's why this month is so important to us.... We've still got plenty to learn. We're not just giving up at this point. The number of losses doesn't matter too much to us at this point."
--David DeJesus, Royals center fielder (Kansas City Star)

"It's important not to lose 100 games.... This is different from two years ago. We don't have as many first-year players as we had in 2002. That means we have a lot more players who shouldn't be making first-year mistakes."
--Allard Baird, Royals general manager (Kansas City Star)

DESIRE

"Esteban Loaiza is worse than that.... They need to get him out and never pitch him again at Yankee Stadium."
--John Kruk, ESPN baseball analyst (N.Y. Post)

"He quit on them tonight, quit on the Yankees. That's terrible."
--Kruk, on Loaiza

"No, I never quit...I know John's an ex-ballplayer, but if he was playing the game right now, heh, it's a different story playing in the '80s and the '90s-when he retired."
--Esteban Loaiza, Yankees pitcher, on Kruk (N.Y. Post)

"The kids are stronger and stronger. Nobody wants to give up here or anything like that. I don't give up at all. I don't know why he said that."
--Loaiza

"Sure, we got punished badly last night, but winners never quit and quitters never win. New Yorkers never quit, and we reflect the spirit of New York."
--George Steinbrenner, Yankees owner (N.Y. Post)

YOU SAY GOODBYE, I SAY HELLO

"It's sad to think it could be coming to an end.... I'm relieved from one aspect, because mentally it's been a nightmare the last six weeks. Every time you swing, it hurts. The last month you're watching guys play, going, I can't do that anymore."
--Tim Salmon, Angels outfielder, on the possibility of retiring (L.A. Daily News)

"I've been doing a lot of reflecting at home, fans saying they miss you. I've had a chance to absorb it and realize how fortunate I've been."
--Salmon

"I feel strong...I feel fine. I'm very positive. I know I'm not going to play every day, but baseball is in my blood. I love this game so much. Even from the bench, I'll try to help my teammates."
--Andres Galarraga, Angels first baseman, on returning to MLB (MLB.com)

"Believe me, I was really positive about coming back.... In '99, I felt like I would die the next day. But this time they had the medicine. After June, when the doctors said I could play, I tried to find a way to get two homers for 400 with somebody. I want to say thank you to the Angels. I'm very excited."
--Galarraga

"Baseball is in my blood.... There's very little opportunity with this lineup, but I'll stay positive and do my best. I feel like a rookie now here, too."
--Galarraga (L.A. Daily News)

THE REST

"Then I got home and made a list of pros and cons, and I decided that it would be best for me to just suck up my pride and work hard to get back."
--Shane Halter, Angels infielder, after being designated for assignment by Anaheim (MLB.com)

"I'm excited now because I feel like I made the right decision.... A lot of people might not have done what I did. I worked hard and they called me back up."
--Halter