WHEELING AND DEALING
“I deemed it more important for us, right now, to make every effort to get this thing done here and now. Rather than continuously be looking down the road where we’re ‘Prospects ‘R Us,’ selling hope and hoping we catch lightning in a bottle with our young players.”
—Kenny Williams, White Sox general manager, on the team’s recent trades (AP)
“Quite frankly, it’s very difficult to dream about going deep in the postseason with players who haven’t been battle-tested.”
–Williams
“I came from a team in last place and now I’m with a team in first place… now I’m in second place… or now I’m in third place… I don’t know what it is. I know it’s three [games] back.”
—Roberto Alomar, White Sox infielder, on being traded from New York to Chicago (Chicago Tribune)
“Alomar and Everett-can you ask for anything more? …I think I’m going to have a heart attack, or go bald.”
—Torii Hunter, Twins outfielder, on the White Sox acquisitions (Chicago Tribune)
THE MID-SUMMER CLASSIC
“Albert Pujols, he’s having a good year but he has no position. Can’t vote for him… I would like to, but where am I going to put him? Left field? First base? Third base? I don’t know.”
—Andruw Jones, Braves center fielder, on Albert Pujols (AP)
“Was it neat voting for myself? No, it felt kind of dumb… But I was the last one, and it didn’t say you couldn’t do it.”
—Mike Mussina, Yankees pitcher (AP)
“I went pretty much with straight stats… But if a veteran and a young guy were even, I picked the veteran. A young guy might have more chances to get there, but with a veteran, he’s been doing it for a longer period of time and might not get another chance to play in an All-Star game.”
—Pat Hentgen, Orioles pitcher, on how he voted (AP)
“It depends on who is having a better year. It’s not a popularity contest. It’s based on guys putting in the work, putting up the numbers and deserving to be rewarded for it.”
—Gary Sheffield, Braves outfielder, on how he voted (AP)
BY THE NUMBERS (OR NOT)
“Now, if you look at a guy’s batting average, people look at you like, ‘What’s the matter with you? Don’t you know that went out with flannel uniforms?'”
—Joe Garagiola Jr., Diamondbacks general manager (Denver Post)
“I think if you continue to make yourself aware of what’s available to you in regards to grading or evaluating players, then statistical analysis has its place… But the other day, one of those guys came to me with this new stat and I’m like, ‘Whoa.’ All the sudden the male ego has gotten to the point where so many of these SABR guys are trying to come up with The One stat.”
—Clint Hurdle, Rockies manager (Denver Post)
“I’m a big believer in black-and-white statistics more than I am potential… I hate that word, potential. That word gets people fired. It gets managers fired, it gets GMs fired, it gets scouts fired. I’d rather see stats. I want to see what he’s done. Don’t show me what he maybe can do.”
—Mark Grace, Diamondbacks infielder (Denver Post)
“Unfortunately, statistics only tell you what a guy’s done in the past, not what he’s likely to do in the future… That’s where baseball experience and using your eyes and knowing what you’re looking for is probably a more important tool than strictly numbers. If you strictly go by the numbers, that eliminates players like Craig Counsell and a long list of guys who contribute a lot more to winning baseball games than the numbers show.”
—Bob Brenly, Diamondbacks manager (Denver Post)
SWEET LOU
“I’ve said many times, we lose a lot of these games because we’re inexperienced. … A lot of these guys are learning on the job. I know it’s frustrating, but that’s how you learn. … We battle, we compete, but we fall short. I can’t fault my players, I really can’t. They’re giving us all they’ve got.”
—Lou Piniella, Devil Rays manager (AP)
“You know what will make me look younger? More wins… That’s what will make me look younger. And more important, feel younger.”
–Piniella, after dying his hair blonde to celebrate the team’s three-game win-streak
“I don’t want this to be a distraction. When this came about, it was more of a good-natured rib with the ballclub. But it’s gotten a little too much attention. I don’t think that’s good. Let it die down and let’s just focus on the players, the way it should be-on the team.”
–Piniella
“So I’m pleased. Until we can get this thing to the point where we have a nice 7-3 homestand, I’m never going to be satisfied. But that’ll come. Now what we need to do, more than anything else, is improve our road record… You start winning with a little more consistency on the road, it becomes a little easier to win at home.”
–Piniella
THE SCORE
“I didn’t realize your pitching was that bad over here at Boston that you would try to add on a 16-run lead in the seventh inning.”
—Jack McKeon, Marlins manager, complaining after losing the Red Sox 25-8 (AP)
“We had our hitting shoes on… We weren’t trying to run up the score. It’s hard to ask guys to stop hitting and scoring.”
–McKeon, after beating the Braves 20-1 the following week
THE REST
“I’m not going to second-guess myself, and neither should Miggy… We’re both aggressive hitters, and we’re not going to change that.”
—Eric Chavez, A’s third baseman, after he and Miguel Tejada both made first-pitch bases-loaded outs against the Mariners, effectively ending the A’s rally (Oakland Tribune)
“[I]f we have that situation [today], he’ll get the ball. When you have your closer in the game, you rely on him, and he’s been pretty darn good for us.”
—Lloyd McClendon, Pirates manager, on Mike Williams and his 6.29 ERA (AP)
“Do I look insane? Do I look like I want to be tortured?”
—Frank Robinson, Expos manager, when asked if he would give Sun-Woo Kim another start (Montreal Gazette)
“For all I care, he can go home.”
–Robinson, when asked if Kim would be sent back to the minors
“We feel like this move will give us a better chance to win… He wants to win. He wants to do whatever the ballclub asks. By making this move, we feel like we’ve got some depth.”
—Grady Little, Red Sox manager, on moving Byung-Hyun Kim to the bullpen (AP)
“Right now as a team, they want me to go to the bullpen… I’m ready. This is another way to grow. It’s a good thing.”
—Byung-Hyun Kim, Red Sox reliever, on being moved to the bullpen (AP)
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