November 3, 2008

The Week in Quotes

October 27-November 2

by Alex Carnevale

SCREW THE EAGLES

"I feel like we made history in this city. We expected big things, but this is bigger than anyone could have expected. This used to be a football city, but I think we just took over."
-Phillies starter Brett Myers

"We've got more players than just one. We are a team, and our players give us everything they got."
-Phillies manager Charlie Manuel

"He's meant so much to us. He should have this ball. He's the reason we did this."
-Phillies catcher Carlos Ruiz, on giving manager Charlie Manuel the game ball from the clinching game

"I never felt better to be hit by a big guy like that in my life."
-Phillies closer Brad Lidge after being mauled by Ryan Howard in the dogpile (Ken Gurnick, MLB.com)

PLEASE ANNOUNCE YOUR OFF-SEASON PLANS LOUDER TO EVERYONE-I DON'T THINK MIKE MADDUX HEARD YOU YET

"The possibility of making a deal from the perspective of trading a strength for a strength exists. Pursuing pitching is something we will explore."
-Rangers general manager Jon Daniels

"There have been several inquiries about our catchers. We're still in the process of sorting it all out. We still haven't gotten to the point where we have been made any offers."
-Daniels

"The [meetings] will give us a chance to talk face-to-face and follow up on some things."
-Daniels

HIS ENTIRE CAREER RESTS ON THE IDEA ONLY 50 PEOPLE IN THE WORLD CAN MANAGE A BASEBALL TEAM

"I did. As a matter of fact, I just spoke to Willie Randolph, and he'd like to work again, so I gave him some advice. Last year there were six openings and I didn't get an interview. So this past year I went out to spring training and got myself out there. I spoke to five GMs and a few team presidents, and I made sure they knew I was available and I wanted back in."
-New Brewers manager Ken Macha, on what he did to get back in the game as a manager.

"That's what you've got to do. You've got to make sure people know you want a job again. You have to be persistent."
-Macha

"In all likelihood, Sabathia is going to receive a big-money offer and Sheets is testing the waters. [General manager] Doug [Melvin] said we're going to offer them contracts, and we certainly have a staff of some other pitchers who have performed at a high level in the majors. Certainly one of my concerns is the bullpen, so we need to take care of that."
-Macha (Nick Cafardo, Boston Globe)

PANIC ON THE STREETS OF DETROIT

"We have flexibility to do some things. I don't have flexibility to do tons of things, but I have flexibility to do some things. Sometimes you trade young players for young players. ... We've got plenty of finances that are attributed to our ballclub. Now we just have to make them work better for us."
-Tigers general manager Dave Dombrowski

"As always, Dave was very organized. The scouts were very organized. You re-identify your needs, then you talk about how you're going to attack those needs. This was more of a sparring round to make sure we were aware of our needs to the fullest."
-Tigers manager Jim Leyland

"We're looking to improve our defense, so any consideration will have defensive discussions. They're all intertwined [positionally], but I think it's also one where you look at them independently, too. You look at the best players you can."
-Dombrowski (Jason Beck, MLB.com)

CAN WE COMPROMISE ON SOME HEALTHY MUTUAL DISRESPECT?

"I don't like those guys. I know they don't like us. There are guys that I respect on that team. I respect them, but that doesn't necessarily mean that I'm going to be friends with them. My whole career, I've tried to stay away from that. I'll shake somebody's hand and say hello, but I'm not going to be buddy-buddy with anyone before the game."
-Mets third baseman David Wright

"I'm not a big fan of the teams in our division just because we play them so much. I would hope as a competitor that you would have that edge, that you would have a genuine interest to go out there and beat them by as much as you can."
-Wright

"I think that we can get better in that category. I think that we can get better as far as having that killer instinct, that killer attitude, where when we have a team down, that we put our foot to their throat, and finish them off. I think that was part of the reason for our failure this year was-whether it's offensively or pitching-wise-we couldn't put teams away when we had the opportunity to put teams away."
-Wright

"So I think that's the attitude that we have to go into next year, when we have a lead going into late, instead of just coasting, we have to get the mindset that we have to continue to add on and just finish teams off."
-Wright (David Lennon, Newsday)

THE REST

"They'll try to take care of the catching first, and then see what's out there and explore a guy like [Mark] Teixeira or [Jake] Peavy or [CC] Sabathia or [A.J.] Burnett. They might even explore Prince Fielder because they know the Yankees will. But think about it; they don't have to do a whole lot. They came within a game of going to the World Series."
-Anonymous AL source on what the Red Sox will do this winter. (Nick Cafardo, Boston Globe)

"She's meticulous in her planning, really well-organized. I anticipate a flawless November 8."
-Rays skipper Joe Maddon on getting married.

"Personally, I like Manny. He's one of the greatest hitters in the history of the game. He's a free spirit, for sure, but he knows how to win. We like some of the other guys, too. We just don't know yet."
-Yankees owner Hank Steinbrenner

"Jack has a relentless pursuit of being right. He understands the whole aspect of a player, and that there are many different lenses through which to view a player. One of his first hires [in Milwaukee] was bringing in Tony Blengino, a complete Bill James disciple. Jack brought him into the office not only to educate all the staff, but himself. To him, it's just part of the different brushes that complete a player."
-Snakes scouting director Tom Allison on the new Mariners GM (Larry Stone, Seattle Times)

"Is he done? I wouldn't say that. But he's probably not the guy who hit 50 home runs. He can still play the outfield and he needs to get in shape."
-Anonymous NL scout on Andruw Jones.

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Alex Carnevale is a contributor to Baseball Prospectus.