January 9, 2006

The Week in Quotes

January 3-8

by John Erhardt

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"There will be no trade. I'm staying in Boston, where I'm familiar with the system and where I have a lot of friends, especially David Ortiz."
--Red Sox left fielder Manny Ramirez, on how his desire to leave Boston is gone (MLB.com)

"If Boston is able to work out a trade with Baltimore or another team, Manny is still open to making a move."
--Ramirez's agent Greg Genske, on his client

"I know the American League system. That's one reason I don't want to go to the National League. I also want to play for a contender, and I think with Boston, I'm assured of that."
--Ramirez, to ESPNdeportes.com, on not wanting to play in the NL

"He told me that this has been bothering him since he said it and he felt bad about this. He said that all he wanted was for this team to improve. He said, 'I want to stay and I don't want you guys to trade me.' "
--Orioles VP Jim Duquette, on Miguel Tejada's on-again, off-again trade demands (Baltimore Sun)

"I'm done with that. I really want to stay, you know. I don't want to have this thing bothering my mind. I want to be relaxed. I don't want to hear people saying things about me. If [the Orioles] don't want to make a good team, I'll wait till they get rid of me."
--Orioles shortstop Miguel Tejada

"I'm not going to ask them. I'm going to keep playing my game, keep playing hard. I'll try to wait until we win, do the same thing every year."
--Tejada

"He said he was upset at the time, and what he said was wrong. I told him, 'Miggy, we understand. That's why everyone loves you because you want to win. But we cannot win without you.' I told him that he better hurry up [rescinding his demand] because they are going to trade you."
--Tejada's teammate and friend Melvin Mora

"One thing I can tell you is that ... if you want to be Baltimore, [Mr. Angelos] will do everything for you, but if you don't, he's not going to force you to stay here. That's the way it's supposed to be."
--Mora

"I know I'm really angry because they have not made a better team than we had last year, but that's their thing. I'm an employee there. I only work there. I will keep working the way I work. I'll put my head down and do my job."
--Tejada

AND YOU'RE NEVER GONNA SURVIVE, UNLESS SOMEONE IS A LITTLE CRAZY

"That's crazy that they came after me two years in a row. A lot of things change, but they still wanted me."
--new Pirates right fielder Jeromy Burnitz, on being courted by Pittsburgh two years in a row (Pittsburgh Post-Gazette)

"Aw, come on, I'm not going to complain. I chartered the planes, and I got a new team now. It wasn't that bad."
--Burnitz, on his whirlwind day in Pittsburgh that saw him leave CA late, take a physical in PA, sign his contract, and fly back to CA

"I don't really care that much about the dimensions or the short porch, to be honest. I'll take singles with runners on base when it counts. I'll take doubles to that big gap in left-center."
--Burnitz, on how PNC Park's dimensions may boost his home run power

"I'm over homers. They're great, but I've got plenty of 'em."
--Burnitz

"Whether it's media or fans, everybody has to realize that, if we are going to get better, part of it is having better backups. Through ownership, we've been able to increase payroll, so you're going to have the opportunity to have quality backups. Craig brings things that we need. He has power, gets on base and has versatility in the field. To me, that piece makes a lot of sense for us."
--Pirates GM Dave Littlefield, on how the Burnitz signing means Craig Wilson has no position

"My feeling is we had an agreement. Obviously, the agent didn't feel we did. My personal feeling is it sets a bad precedent when that's allowed to happen."
--Orioles VP of baseball operations Jim Duquette, on how Burnitz backed out of a two-year deal with Baltimore to sign with Pittsburgh (St. Petersburg Times)

"That's how Peter plays general manager. He uses medical reasons to kill or change a deal if he doesn't like it."
--Frank Wren, who was the Orioles GM in 1999, on Peter Angelos and the rumored Jeromy Burnitz deal (New York Times)

LIMA TIME

"Frankly, that would make us look like buffoons."
--Padres GM Kevin Towers, on the rumor that Jose Lima signed with San Diego (Kansas City Star)

"I don't think it hurts. I hope not."
--Jose Lima's agent Joe Klein, on creating a market for his client where it doesn't exist

"He's fun. He's sincere. He really is a good guy. He'll show up to every charity event. He signs autographs."
--Klein, on Lima

"You can't give up on a guy who, at one point in his career, won 21 games. He's shown he can."
--Klein

"I see guys who have signed two-year deals and know I'm better than that guy. I know I can get guys out. I believe in myself. I know I'll go to spring training, bust my (rear) and make a team."
--Jose Lima

"It's always Lima Time. What you see from Lima is what you get."
--Lima

"And remember this. He's only 33."
--Klein

NOW RAISE YOUR GOBLET OF ROCK!

"If things change, maybe at some point it would be possible for me to return to the Red Sox."
--former Red Sox GM Theo Epstein, on the possibility of returning to the Boston front office (Boston Herald

"That's personal between me and the Red Sox, but thank you for your interest."
--Epstein, when asked what would have to change

"I'd be going about it pretty much exactly the same way."
--Epstein, on how the Boston roster would look if he were still in charge

"Not really. I was wondering about that beforehand, but it's the same old friends, the same old familiar faces. None of us are really here in our professional capacities--especially me, because I don't have one. But we're just here to make money for a great cause and work together. It's a great event and that's what happened."
--Epstein, on any awkwardness during the Hot Stove/Cool Music fundraiser for the Jimmy Fund (MLB.com)

"This whole offseason, I've been playing small shows in different places. Mohegan Sun, Plymouth Memorial Hall. I'm just having a good time playing shows, and I'll get to the seriousness of baseball real soon."
--Red Sox pitcher Bronson Arroyo, on his offseason

"I think musicians have a much harder life than we do. They're constantly on the road, eating pizza and Taco Bell. But we get a chance to come every day to the ballpark, get massages and feel good."
--Arroyo

"We threw this together in about three weeks back in 2000. We had no idea what it was going to be. There was a band called Carlton Fisk from New York, and there was a band from Boston called Thurman Munson and they had a fistfight in the dressing room during the concert. That was the last appearance form Thurman Munson. Thank God, because they were terrible."
--ESPN writer Peter Gammons, on the history of the event

"No. I remember when I was little, seeing Terry Bradshaw's CD and seeing how brutal that thing was, and right then and there I realized, no matter how much I might think I can string a few chords together, I'll never make that mistake, although I reserve the right to change my mind."
--Epstein, on whether he'll change to a music career

THE REST

"I finally convinced the New York writers to say hello to me when they passed my locker. I said it didn't matter that I wasn't pitching, they could still talk to me. My problem is I talk too much."
--former Met reliever Danny Graves, on his time in NY last year (Cleveland Plain Dealer)

"If two future Hall of Famers like Alex Rodriguez and Derek Jeter can figure it out, then I'm sure the Diamondbacks, with Drew and Upton, will make it work, too."
--Diamondbacks VP of Scouting Operations Mike Rizzo, on having two top-tier shortstop prospects in the same organization in Stephen Drew and Justin Upton (Arizona Republic)

"One year you're up, the next year you're down. I never know. One year no, then yes. I don't know how they do it."
-- Hall of Famer Tony Perez, on the BBWAA voting process (New York Times)

"I would freak."
--former Boston GM Theo Epstein, on the prospect of seeing one of his pitchers compete in the WBC in March (Boston Herald)

"We look forward to the Florida Marlins sending a high-powered delegation here."
--Drew Mahalic, CEO of the Oregon Sports Authority, on special visitors to Portland (South Florida Sun-Sentinel)

If you have a quotation you'd like to submit, email John, and be sure to include the URL where you found it.

John Erhardt is an author of Baseball Prospectus. 
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