April 27, 2009

The Week in Quotes

April 20-26

by Alex Carnevale

THEY SHOULD PLAY SIX INNINGS, LIKE IN LITTLE LEAGUE

"Long games, a lot of pitching changes, a lot of runs, a lot of commercials. This certainly would age you. There's that many pitches thrown, and it seems like every one of them is of consequence. It drains you."
—Red Sox manager Terry Francona, on the overlong Yankee-Red Sox series this weekend at Fenway Park.

"I didn't slow down the game, and I should have. I should have stepped off and rethought everything, rethought who was up, and maybe a different result comes from that."
—Yankees starter A.J. Burnett, on his Saturday outing against the Red Sox in which he allowed eight runs to score.

"He was rolling. It was amazing. For three innings, it was really fun. A.J. was tremendous. He really was."
—Yankees manager Joe Girardi, finding a silver lining in Burnett's performance.

"But I was in such a good groove with Jorge, and he did an outstanding job back there today, so I was going with him. But that's not him, that's me. I have the ball. I'm throwing it, not him."
—Burnett

"You can expect that he's going to [hold a 6-0 lead] most of the time. You really can. It just didn't happen today, for whatever reason."
—Girardi (Alex Speier, WEEI.com)

"It's a tough game to watch today, especially when you feel like you can help. But the guys in the bullpen are very capable of putting up zeros. Somebody's going to step up, and I don't think we'll miss a beat."
—Yankees reliever Brian Bruney, out with an injury. The Yankees bullpen would allow eight more runs to score.

ACE

"The issue he had to deal with and how he dealt with it speaks volumes for the kid. He took a private issue and had to work it out in a very public environment. How he handled it was always amazing to me."
—Red Sox assistant to the general manager Allard Baird, on Royals hurler Zack Greinke's overcoming a mental illness.

"This game is about personal and business, but business usually wins out. In this case, the personal stuff won out. He was able to work out the personal things, and look what he's done as a pitcher."
—Baird

"He's a unique kid. People will say that some kid reminds them of Zack Greinke someday."
—Baird (Nick Cafardo, Boston Globe)

OBVIOUSLY THIS ONE DID NOT TAKE NOLAN RYAN'S GRIT AND MOXIE TO HEART

"Honestly, I was doing my thing in Oklahoma City. I was pitching out of the bullpen, and I just didn't think it was right for me. So I walked into the manager's office and said, 'I want to be a starter.' The very next day, I got called in and he said I'd been traded back to Boston. I was so happy."
—Former Red Sox starter Kason Gabbard, sold by the Rangers this week back to the Red Sox.

"I was so spoiled coming up through the Red Sox organization and the way they treated me and did things."
—Gabbard, on the differences between the two organizations.

"Yeah, it's huge. I don't want to talk about those things. I think player-wise—the players, coaches, managers—they're awesome. The way they ran some things... but that's all in the past now. I'm just trying to get myself strong again and pick up where I left off. I'm just excited to be back in this atmosphere again, and anxious to get back."
—Gabbard

HIS LUNCH SUGGESTIONS HAVE DONE WONDERS FOR OUR CONFIDENCE

"He prepares us more than anyone I've ever seen. It's something we didn't have last year. We weren't as prepared."
—Pirates reliever Sean Burnett, on new pitching coach Joe Kerrigan.

"He's got charts and spreadsheets. You don't have a sense of panic or wonder of what pitch to throw. You know exactly how to attack each guy, and that information is priceless."
—Pirates starter Zach Duke

"These guys throw the ball. I just give them the information. My job is easy; they do the tough part."
—Pirates pitching coach Joe Kerrigan (John Grupp, Pittsburgh Tribune-Review)

HE REALLY DID GET PAID MORE THAN BOBBY ABREU

"I'm tired of being told 'somebody wrote this about you' when that person has never even come in here and talked to me. You can't write articles and consider yourself a legitimate, credible reporter when your information is based on nothing. It's not you in particular. This is anybody."
—Cubs outfielder Milton Bradley

"Basically, for me, I talk to people I like. I don't particularly like the media, and the media doesn't like me. So let's not pretend we're buddies or you're trying to do anything for me. If anything, you hurt me more than help. So I don't see any benefit of really talking to the media. That's just how I feel. That's how I've always felt."
—Bradley

"I can see already I'm going to be 'that guy' that since nothing else is going on in here, 'We're going to harp on Bradley all year and see if we can get him to snap.' I'm not going to go for it. You can't get a good story if I don't talk to [the media]. You'll make something up, like you always do."
—Bradley, on the challenges of playing in Chicago.

"A meeting is a meeting. When I've got to have a meeting, it's never good. So he did all the talking, and I said, 'OK,' and I left. That's about it."
—Bradley

"All I can do is just keep working. My plan coming here was that I did all the work in the offseason, and continued to do work throughout the spring, and to try to be healthy and be on the field to help the team win. That's my only focus and my only goal. And not being able to be healthy and go out there and do what I'm capable of doing, it's bothersome."
—Bradley (Gordon Wittenmyer, Chicago Sun-Times)

THE REST

"I hope that everyone in this country is in a better situation months from now than they are right now. It's a tough time. The players are out there working their tails off, and hopefully the fans will continue to support us. Unfortunately, if there's no disposable income, they're not going to come. Let's just hope that changes soon."
—Yankees slugger Mark Teixeira, who signed a contract for $180 million this offseason. (Peter Abraham, The Journal News)

"I hope so. It'll be a source of pride for me to hear them cheering for me. I spent three years there and feel like the fans sort of adored me."
—Cubs infield reserve Aaron Miles, on returning to Busch Stadium. (Paul Sullivan, Chicago Tribune)

"I've been here for three years now, I can control my emotions. No one likes to be embarrassed. But I don't throw things, even if it would make a good press conference."
—Nationals manager Manny Acta (Filip Bondy, New York Daily News)

"There's no pressure. It's like everybody knows we'll win. We were mad we lost that one game. The chemistry is great."
—Yankees reliever Dave Robertson, on the Scranton Yankees, the team's Triple-A club that he left recently for the majors. (Peter Abraham, LoHud Yankees Blog)

"I have thrown quite a bit. It's my fault, and I have to make corrections."
—Yankees reliever Brian Bruney, on why and how he injured himself. (George A. King III, New York Post)

"Our goals are no longer financial."
—Angels owner Arte Moreno (Matthew Craft, Forbes Magazine)

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Alex Carnevale is a contributor to Baseball Prospectus.