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October 8, 2013 The Week in QuotesSeptember 30-October 6PIRATES ADJUSTING TO POSTSEASON ACTION “You just feel like there's a flow. It's almost like when you're shooting free throws and you find your touch. It just feels like, 'I got it.' And after you sink the free throw, you can move back to the three-point line and keep draining it." “To get to where you're trying to get and push toward the World Series, you're going to have to beat the best teams. You're going to have to beat the best organizations. St. Louis has been the model for that for many, many years.” “There were no lines for food. I've never been to a sporting event where there weren't lines for food because nobody wanted to leave their seat and miss any action of the game. There were just no lines. Nobody was moving.” “It's going to be a lot of fun. It's two great ballclubs going at it and a great atmosphere in Pittsburgh. We're looking forward to it. We're ready to have some good ballgames in Pittsburgh.” “Well, you know, you can do research—I haven't been able to talk to a real pirate lately. But in the movies that I've watched and the books that I've read, there seems to be a spirit of I really don't care what anybody thinks anymore. 'I'm crossing the line. I'm going to become a Pirate. It's not about mom or dad or brother or sister, not about where I used to work. I'm going to be my own man. I'm going to hope to latch on to a bunch of other men who feel the same way, that are like-minded, and try to get something special done.’” ANDRELTON SIMMONS SHINING UNDER NATIONAL SPOTLIGHT “He's got a knack. He's got a clock, court awareness, whatever you want to call it for the game that you can't teach … He's just a special guy defensively. Here's a guy, somebody asks me what is the best play you've ever seen him make? My patent answer is the next one because you just never know.” “From my seat, from where I'm at every single night, this guy is by far the … I mean, I don't want to get crazy, but what he does on the field defensively is a huge reason that we won as many games as we did.” “I've gotten a lot wiser. I'm getting better jumps. I'm getting better reads off of swings. I'm trying to make better decisions. I feel like I've gotten smarter, and in time, I think I'm going to get better.” OAKLAND BATTERYMATES COME THROUGH TO KNOT UP ALDS “It's the moment that every kid dreams of. I remember playing in my front yard with nobody else, imagining hitting a walk-off hit in a playoff game. It's everything you could dream of and more.” “It's our free agency. It's when I get to be Steinbrenner.” “We knew we wanted to come through for him. That was the talk. 'Let's get him a win. Let's get him a win.” “There's no time to mess around with that lineup, and Sonny was awesome. The 'W' goes to Sonny tonight. He was the man, the MVP, whatever you want to call him. ... He couldn't have done any better.” “We came to Sacramento together and threw all year there, so it was nice to have him back there tonight. Stephen just knows my strengths and those are the fingers he puts down.” A-GON PROVES TO BE VALUABLE ASSET OFF THE FIELD “When I first started looking at video, I did a lot of stuff that normal people do, where they just look at their own swing and try to break down their swing so they can make adjustments on their swing. But then I realized that I don't need video to know my swing. I know my swing. So I'm better off putting that time into getting to know the pitcher and catcher.” “I take time and make sure to study every pitcher. I don't just study the starter. I study every bullpen guy, every guy I might face each and every day. I know what that pitcher is trying to do against everybody. So they come to me because they know I've already done all the homework and I can just give them a quick little rundown of what this guy is going to try to do. And nine out of 10 times that's exactly what they do.” “He's probably going to be a hitting coach one day. That's how valuable he is to our team.” “He's such a pro with the way he does everything. The way he's trying to help the other guys, the way he's preparing himself, the way he would take a loss or the way he handles wins -- all of that is such a solid approach for a big league player.” “Adrian is probably the smartest hitter I've ever played with.” RED SOX SOAR, RAYS SWOON IN ALDS “Yeah I mean, maybe it took a little bit creativity to maybe piece together a few innings and match up a little bit. Ultimately I think success in the postseason is going to come down to guys making pitches. You’re not going to go out there with your best stuff every time, but when the game is on the line being able to make pitches is likely going to be the difference between winning and losing.” “I tell Salty all the time, ‘Hey bro, trust me, the more I play, the more we’re gonna stink.’” “It's just the way the game goes sometimes. You can't force things, and sometimes you can't control how the ball bounces and different things. We just haven't gotten the breaks that we wanted to in the first two games.” "He knows how I've pitched to him for the last probably year and a half, two years. He steps in the bucket and hits a homer, and he stares at it to see if it's fair or foul. I'm sure that's what he'd say. But as soon as he hit it, I saw it, I knew it was fair. Run." “Definitely not my finest moment.” “Boston this time of the year is kind of lovely, and I'm looking forward to coming back in a few days.” “Look at what this team's been through. The super-long game [18 innings] against the Orioles, extra innings versus Texas, going to two other teams' house and knocking them out. I mean, we're prepared and equipped for whatever's thrown at us.”
—Pete Rose had something to say after the Pirates beat the Reds in the NL wild card play-in game. THE REST “Julio Teheran came in as our no. 5 this year, and he's one of our best starters. He has dominant stuff. He could be an ace." “Mainly disappointed, upset, [ticked off]—every negative emotion you can probably have … I'm not blind to my numbers. I know what they are. But at the same time, I know what I've done in my career, and I still know what I'm capable of doing. So I was kind of blindsided by [getting left off the Braves' NLDS roster].” “It’s an advantage to the pitchers, all those extra days off. You can’t replicate the intensity offensively during workouts; we had some good swings, but you could see the timing wasn’t there. Timing is difficult with extra days of rest.” “They actually forced their way down here after eight innings of squirming in their seats with their mother. They proceeded to mark up all of Bob's advanced-report cards. It got us a run, which I know Bob will trade for.” “The last 15 pitches indicate how your outing goes. The wheels could have come flying off, but I thought I kept my composure. Like I said, those last 15 pitches mean a lot — and when you can do it in the post-season, that means even more.” “His fastball is 91-92 m.p.h. but he can get it to 95-96 if he wants. His slider is so late and sharp and it arrives at 87-88. But the pitch he can do so much with is the change-up. He can throw it hard, between 88-90, and it acts like a splitter because it’s got so much movement (a split-finger fastball drops at the last minute).” “I tried to get in his head. It didn’t work. Good pitching will beat good hitting any day and you saw both sides.” “He’s been one of my favorite players growing up, watching him play. I remember my first spring training facing him when he was with the Angels. He had a line drive up the middle and almost took my head off.” “You sleep in the offseason.” “You know that guy in New York is going to get paid. Not by us, but he’s going to get paid. Hey, when you’re a superstar, you get paid.” “I think he likes it here. I’m not speaking for Joe, but I think if you’re good at what you do, you’ll have opportunities to stay. He’s definitely going to have that. We’re going to give him a real good reason to stay.” “I have beliefs and values and thoughts. I’m not going to do something to get out of my beliefs. We’ve been here 30 years, for gosh sakes. Gardy’s been here 30 years, I’ve been here for 30 years. Maybe people think we’re stale. I don’t think we’re stale.” “In a small way, I feel like we’ve won the World Series.” “It's like the Odd Couple, him and Uribe get along so well. It doesn't make any sense to me.”
Nick Bacarella is an author of Baseball Prospectus. 1 comment has been left for this article.
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Presumably, Hurdle was in the dugout managing the game, so how would he know how long the lines were at the concession stands?