Under The Knife: Casca... (08/21)
0 comments have been left for this article. BP Comment Quick Links
| |
|
|
August 21, 2006 The Week in QuotesAugust 14-20WHERE ARE YOU GOING, HOW HAVE YOU BEANE?
"I've been saying this for years, and some people might not agree with it, but for me, good team chemistry is about winning. The result of winning is good team chemistry."
"That was no genius on my part. That was all Frank. We looked at the medical records and saw that he was healing, and Frank convinced us he was going to keep healing and get better. I have to admit, that was a time when I probably went more with my gut than what I had in front of me in terms of medical and scouting reports. But Frank sold me."
I think he just gives us that added dimension. The guy causes fear just standing at the on-deck circle."
GUILLEN, FOR THE PEOPLE
"Like Rauch, he went down to the minor leagues after he pitched for us and told the minor-league manager and coaches, 'I was hurt when Ozzie pitched me.' What? He goes out there and loses games and doesn't tell me he was hurt? All he had to do was tell me his elbow hurt, or whatever. We'll replace you. But to not report to me what is wrong and then use an excuse you are hurt? You [bleepin'] put me in a position like that? I don't need those types of people. That's why his ass was out of here."
"[Henry] made some comment about us cheating? He doesn't even know what a field looks like."
"[Cardinals starter Mark] Mulder wouldn't even make my team. He couldn't start for us, and he's not better than [Neal] Cotts or [Matt] Thornton in our bullpen."
"When you play [expletive] [Johan] Santana, [Brad] Radke, [Francisco] Liriano, the guy from Cleveland ... [C.C.] Sabathia, all the other guys ... ah, [expletive]. If we played National League teams, the Central Division, we might win 150 games in that [expletive] league."
"They think I cheat? We faced two [expletive] good pitchers in the National League Central. Our division, they have to face [the Tigers' starting staff], then you go to the White Sox and face all our guys? When you're going to go to another team, you're going to go, 'Whew, where is Randy Johnson?' The American League Central? That's baseball right here. Go hard one after another."
"Good, I hope [they keep accusing us]. What happened in the playoffs and World Series? We won 1-0, 2-1. We won so many one-run games, more than anyone in baseball last year. You look at our No. 3, 4 and 5 [hitters], they are the best in baseball. If we're cheating, how come we [don't] help Brian Anderson or [Juan] Uribe?"
"We're cheating on the mound? Our pitching staff gets beat up once in awhile. They're mad. They can't admit that a Latino kicked their ass."
"That's why I love the guy next door. He doesn't give a [expletive]. He doesn't worry about this and that. You win, you kicked our butt. When they clinched in 2004, I was the first one to go over there and congratulate them because they beat us."
"'Oh, no, I don't like you because you kicked my ass?' Please. That's competition."
"That's why I don't get along with too many managers. Because they hate my [expletive] ass, because I don't kiss their ass, and I didn't kiss anyone's ass to get this job."
"Then they have a Mexican win the World Series in two years. And they're saying he doesn't have experience, he never managed in baseball before. Well, too [expletive] bad."
"What's the difference? No one knows the difference anyway."
WELCOME TO THE CRUEL WORLD / HOPE YOU FIND YOUR WAY
"Who should it be harder for in September--Justin Verlander or Randy Johnson, who's 40-something years old? If you can't pitch the innings, then you don't belong in the big leagues. Now, do I try to take care of them? Yes. Am I conscious about trying to not get somebody hurt? Absolutely. But I can't live in this shelter that says, 'Oh, I'm afraid to pitch my guy, because if he throws too many pitches, the general manager or the fans are going to be ticked off.'"
"It's a long season, and it's going to be taxing on your arm."
"I'm really critical of everything right now, just because I don't know. When I'm sore, I'm like, Oooh, is that all right? So I go to the training room, and they tell me that it's fine, I'm sore, yadda, yadda, yadda."
"I'm in uncharted territory. I don't know what's going to happen at 160, 170, 180, 200 innings. I know a lot of times, people don't like rookies to go that far. But for me, as long as I feel good, I don't think it's an issue."
"It's great to be mentioned in the same sentence as Whitey Ford, that's for sure. You don't go into things thinking you can do something like that."
"How can you get better than what he's doing? If there's seven innings pitched, he's throwing up six zeros all the time and that's really hard to do."
NO WESTVLETEREN 12 FOR YOU
"That's why this organization has been horse [expletive]. They've done horse [expletive] things from the beginning. And we've got 15 days left here [before rosters expand] and they've got to get a look at somebody. Orvella, he's been here before. They know what they're getting with him. It's a horse [expletive] excuse for them, and that's the way I feel about it."
"I'm tired of keeping my mouth shut and saying they're doing the right things over here. I don't know if they're doing the right things or not, to be honest with you."
"I don't want to be back up here. I don't want any part of this … I don't want any part of it. I'm disappointed. Like I said, I definitely didn't expect it to come here, being as far out of it as we are with 15 days left before rosters expand. Unnecessary."
"IT IS A PITY THAT, AS ONE GRADUALLY GAINS EXPERIENCE, ONE LOSES ONE'S YOUTH."
"I think a lot of the steady players who have been in the game are making their way out. The door is open for younger players to come in. It's just a case where younger players are getting an opportunity to play right away and step right into a role instead of progressing into the big leagues and making a transition over a couple of years."
"The evil side of the game: money. Sometimes it's a little cheaper to have a younger guy for two or three years than go get a veteran guy. So they'll platoon two rookies to one big-name guy and take their chances going that way. That's part of the whole scheme of things going on."
"If a rookie can perform to the same level or right below [as a veteran], from a business standpoint that's a wise investment. Anytime you can put $5 in and get almost the same back, then you're fine."
THE REST
"We don't have a lot of good history [against Randy Johnson]. If we're going by history, we might not have a lineup. We don't have a lot of good numbers."
"I thought we were going to have to go to smoke signals."
"I just know my text-messaging holds 75, and I had to erase them three times. I don't know how much my voicemail holds, but I emptied that three times too."
"He should pay our ass for winning the Cy Young. He should send us the [expletive] trophy."
"I'm gonna be mad at Santana because of that? No. He shoves it up our ass, that's the way it is."
"Everything. What can you get for us?"
John Erhardt is an author of Baseball Prospectus.
|
