April 9, 2001

The Week in Quotes

April 2-8

by Derek Zumsteg

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IMPRESSIVE DEBUTS

"I felt pretty good throughout the game. As I was going into the ninth inning, I was not nervous."
--Hideo Nomo, Red Sox pitcher, on throwing a no-hitter in his first Red Sox start

"I wasn't looking for anything. I was just trying to see the ball and hit it."
--Manny Ramirez, Red Sox outfielder, on hitting a home run on the first pitch he saw in his Fenway Park debut

"The minute I saw the ball leave the pitcher's hand I cringed a little bit because that was right in Manny's wheelhouse. The only question was whether he was going to knock the wall down."
--Trot Nixon, Red Sox outfielder, on watching the home run from second base

"I had butterflies in my first at-bat, and then they went away. I came up there with the bases loaded and they came back. Then I hit the home run, and they went away again."
--Daryle Ward, Astros outfielder, on starting and hitting a grand slam on Opening Day

ILL FEELINGS

"I'm surprised how well I did today. I had a good pasta dinner last night. Maybe I walked past somebody with a bug. I'm surprised I was able to pitch. I felt like somebody beat me up for two days."
--David Wells, White Sox pitcher, on being sick the day he pitched six innings for the win against the Indians

"This is my responsibility, and I stunk. I just feel bad for the other guys. They played so well, the fans got excited, and I go out and blow it."
--Todd Jones, Tigers pitcher, on blowing his first save chance of the year

"That ball [Tony] Batista hit, I believe his bat is corked. He hit that ball almost 450 feet and broke the bat. I've given up a lot of homers. That is the first one I've seen like that."
--Ken Hill, Devil Rays pitcher, on Tony Batista's estimated 417-foot home run

"There are better days ahead for us."
--Lloyd McClendon, Pirates manager, on his injury-depleted staff

"The old adage 'That's the way the ball bounces sometimes.' It didn't bounce for us."
--McClendon

"They outpitched us, outplayed us, outmanaged us, outcompeted us. They outdid us in every area."
--Tony La Russa, Cardinals manager, on losing to the Rockies

THE REST

"Telly gave me the ball. That's special. That means a lot to me."
--Larry Bowa, Phillies manager, on getting the last ball from Amaury Telemaco following Bowa's first win as Phillies manager

"He said, 'Give me the ball.' It was important to him."
--Amaury Telemaco

"We were aiming but we couldn't hit his toe. He looked the same to me."
--John Boles, Marlins manager, on facing Greg Maddux, who hurt a toe in his final spring training game

"[I'm] wondering always. Because this is the elite level, because this is for all the peanut butter in the world."
--Shea Hillenbrand, Red Sox infielder, after his debut, about his major-league future.

"I make one mistake and it's a home run. I made a couple of good pitches and then make another mistake, and it was another home run. I just wasn't able to get away with anything."
--Steve Trachsel, Mets pitcher, on allowing ten runs in a start against Montreal

"Tom Goodwin understands that he needs to keep the ball on the ground. It's not about average, it's about on-base percentage."
--Jim Tracy, Dodgers manager

"That's awesome for short, fat guys. It will look like I can jump."
--Brian Giles, Pirates outfielder, on PNC Park's six-foot wall in left field

"It was a stupid thing to say. It was just that it had been a frustrating season overall, with all the injuries and everything. But it was a stupid thing to say. I don't need to be comparing our players to food products."
--Kevin Towers, Padres general manager, apologizing for comparing his infield to Swiss cheese

If you would like to submit a quote, please email Derek and be sure to include both the quote itself and a URL pointing to the quote.