FIXING A HOLE WHERE THE RAIN GETS IN…
“I’m just happy I have an All-Star catcher in the prime of his career who was dying to come to California…. We feel like we’re getting a guy in the prime of his career who’s really motivated and who’s never played for a team in contention before.”
—Billy Beane, Athletics general manager, on trading pitchers Arthur Rhodes and Mark Redman for Jason Kendall (ESPN.com)
“The formula of one player eating up a significant portion of the payroll just doesn’t work…. The easiest example and most recent is [Alex Rodriguez] in Texas. When one player makes up a significant portion of payroll, it’s not a formula for long-term success.”
—Dave Littlefield, Pirates general manager, on former Pirate Jason Kendall who’s slated to make roughly $36 million over the next three seasons (ESPN.com)
“We’ll appreciate Kendall when he’s gone, playing for as well as he did for as long as he did…. But to get to where we want to go, we need more players and some financial flexibility.”
–Littlefield
“Look at Florida in 2003, we were coming off a .500 season and no one was expecting much…. Anything can happen. If the Pirates can go out and do well, maybe by midsummer we’ll put some pressure on Dave Littlefield to get some guys over there [for the stretch drive].”
—Mark Redman, Pirates starter (ESPN.com)
…TO KEEP MY MIND FROM WANDERING
“Baseball is about our way of life…. It’s about opportunity. And now with the Nationals, it’s about our nation’s capital.”
—Anthony Williams, Washington D.C. mayor, on the naming of the “Nationals” (MSNBC.com)
“The team name and colors not only represent our new home but symbolize the joining together of Washington’s baseball past and its future.”
—Charlie Brotman, former Washington Senators public address announcer, at renaming ceremony for the Washington Nationals (MSNBC.com)
“The mayor was on the Grays. Bud was on Senators…. And I think you see a compromise candidate. But I don’t want to sell it as that. I think it’s a great name.”
—Tony Tavares, Nationals team president (MSNBC.com)
“I don’t think we’re done yet. We’re looking to get better and better and not just sneak in the back door of Washington, D.C., but charge into the division and play competitive baseball.”
–Tavares
SECOND HAND NEWS
“We’re open to other possibilities, but knowing Carl’s personality and having had discussions with him, he’s looking for more of a home…. A contract of at least four years would give him a sense of being part of a team, and part of a team’s plan to win.”
—Scott Shapiro, player agent, on client Carl Pavano (Seattle Times)
“Maybe Omar feels that with him there, Sammy will come back and have a couple of good years…. There’s a little bit of risk getting too close to a player, looking past what is really logical and putting your heart into it, instead of maybe a little objectivity.”
—Tom Grieve, former Rangers general manager, on Mets GM Omar Minaya’s pursuit of Sammy Sosa (Newsday)
“It gets to the point where you say, with the free-agent market available, and with the clubs that have shown interest in Al, from both sides, we said, look these are options that we have to review…. I have to review what is the best way to put the club together and Al has to review what is in his best interests.”
—Omar Minaya, Mets general manager, on pitcher Al Leiter (N.Y. Post)
THE REST
“Bud Selig is a horse-[bleep] commissioner.”
—Hank Bauer, former Yankees outfielder and manager, on the current commissioner of MLB (Waterloo-Cedar Falls Courier)
“It was widely accepted within the organization that he played a major role in Sammy’s signing and then, along the way, in his development…. I don’t know if ‘father figure’ was the right term, but there was guidance along the way.”
–Grieve, on Minaya’s role in the development of Sammy Sosa (Newsday)
“Looking back at it, we knew there was a great risk involved…. We knew these kids were great players. We thought Sammy would be a guy who could hit .280 to .290, with 25 homers, drive in 85 or 90 runs-100 if he had a great year-steal 30 bases and be a solid right fielder.”
–Grieve
“Anyone who has said they envisioned what happened for Sammy is an incredible liar…. No one could have figured that he would put on 60 pounds and hit balls 500 feet.”
–Grieve
Thank you for reading
This is a free article. If you enjoyed it, consider subscribing to Baseball Prospectus. Subscriptions support ongoing public baseball research and analysis in an increasingly proprietary environment.
Subscribe now