“THIS IS LIKE DISCOVERING PLUTONIUM … BY ACCIDENT!”
“This is obviously huge for our organization. Carlos Beltran is one of
the most exciting, complete players in our game today…He’s the
prototype we’ve been looking for for a long time. He’s going to be a
very exciting force for us in the middle of our lineup.”
—Gerry Hunsicker, Astros general manager, after
acquiring Carlos Beltran (ESPN.com)
“When you have a chance to get an All-Star like Beltran, you do it,
then you worry about filling in holes. He significantly makes us
better, he is an impact player and will have an effect on our
ballclub.”
–Hunsicker
“I feel pretty good about this. Obviously, it’s bittersweet.”
—Allard Baird, Royals general manager, on the deal (ESPN.com)
“It was obvious we were not going to be able to sign Carlos. But I
think we’ve helped this club and gotten some players that should have
very productive major league careers…I’m going to bring Buck and Wood
to the majors right away.”
–Baird, on acquired minor leaguers John Buck and Mike Wood
“At the time I went to bed it didn’t look like this would get
done…There were other possibilities. To Gerry’s credit, he said, ‘We
have worked so hard on this one. It would be a shame if we don’t get it
done.'”
—Billy Beane, Athletics general manager (ESPN.com)
“It’s not that we had our eye on Dotel. It was a case of finding a guy
in that position and role that’s both available and also affordable.”
–Beane, on acquiring reliever Octavio Dotel
“Face it, it’s hard to find a premier guy at the end of the game that’s
going to be available. There are very few guys who fit that bill.”
–Beane, on Dotel
BAD CHEMISTRY
“We had two starters on this team say that the bullpen needs to step it
up…You shouldn’t say that. You shouldn’t say that. If we lose as a
team, we all lose. If we win as a team, we all win. You can’t have two
starters saying that.”
—Arthur Rhodes, Athletics reliever, on comments made by
Mark Mulder and Tim Hudson (San Francisco Chronicle)
“If you’re not man enough to come to somebody on the field and tell
them to do a better job, don’t say in the paper that we’re doing a bad
job…”
–Rhodes
“It’s one of those things where if they can do better, they can go nine
innings. Let ’em go nine innings.”
–Rhodes
“You start throwing zeroes for two or three months, and what are they
going to say then?” Rhodes said. “They’ll come and kiss our butts and
say we’re so much better.
–Rhodes
“Well, no, you can never forget what was said by your teammates.”
–Rhodes
“But if it comes up again, it’s not going to be a pretty sight…If it
comes up again, I won’t be nice.”
–Rhodes
ABANDON SHIP
“They’ll get a good pitcher. Freddy came into spring training very,
very focused. He has maintained his focus under a very, very tough
situation. There were a lot of rumors. He’s dealt with those well.”
—Bill Bavasi, Mariners general manager, on dealing
Freddy Garcia to the White Sox (CBS Sportsline)
“Ultimately, the decision I had to make was were we better positioned
with Freddy Garcia on our roster or Miguel Olivo on our roster, and not
just this year but hopefully for future years, as we have every
intention of trying to sign Freddy to a long-term deal.”
—Kenny Williams, White Sox general manager, on
receiving Garcia and Ben David in exchange for Jeremy Reed, Miguel
Olivo, and Mike Morse (CBS Sportsline)
“Today we made what we think is a good deal for us…The White Sox made
a good deal. It puts them ahead in their division, as far as personnel
and trying to win that division.”
–Bavasi
SOMEONE UP THERE DOESN’T LIKE ME
“I think that since the days of Jackie Robinson, nothing much has
changed. I know there are a lot of other black pitchers who can pitch
in the majors. I’ve seen them in the minors. Turn on the TV and when
you don’t see that many black pitchers, you wonder what is going on. My
numbers are better than a lot of guys in the big leagues and some are
making four to five million.”
—Willie Banks, Newark Bears pitcher and former
major-leaguer (New Jersey Journal)
“I know I didn’t get released because I stink. I didn’t get released
because I was being hit all over the park, but because of politics.
I’ve done it and proved I can pitch in the majors so this shows me I am
being blackballed or someone doesn’t like me.”
–Banks
THE ETERNAL DEBATE
“Each pitcher is different…I believe that there cannot be a universal
theory on how many pitches guys can throw each game or each year. Some
can handle more than others, plain and simple. I don’t think that in
the big leagues, letting a guy throw a lot of pitches can be linked
with injury.”
—Russ Ortiz, Braves starter, on pitcher workloads
(Arizona Republic)
“When I started in the 1950s, (the norm) was the complete game…But
when you threw a complete game then, it was ‘so what?'”
—Roger Craig, former major league pitcher and manager
(Arizona Republic)
“I screamed to pitch the ninth inning from time to time…Now it’s
‘five (innings) and fly.'”
—Vida Blue, former major league pitcher (Arizona
Republic)
“Hey, I understand the money, but I’m retro…I was watching the A’s
game at Chicago last Saturday on TV, and I couldn’t believe that (Mark)
Mulder came out after eight innings.”
–Blue, on Mulder being removed after eight innings and 123
pitches against the Cubs
THE REST
“That celebration is just the ultimate celebration you can have in
baseball…I can only imagine how it would feel to win a World Series.”
—Carlos Pena, Tigers first baseman, after hitting a
walk-off grand slam to beat the D’backs on Sunday (MLB.com)
“In modern-day baseball, on-base percentage is the thing…And if you
look at his on-base percentage, he’s just been incredible over his
entire career…The way he works pitchers, it seems like every at-bat,
the count is 3-and-2. Bernie’s long at-bats really set the tone for our
lineup.”
—Alex Rodriguez, Yankees third baseman, on teammate
Bernie Williams (Newsday)
“It’s hard for me to focus at times and keep myself motivated…I’ve
got only 39 RBIs right now because I never get to swing the bat. And
when I do swing it’s hard to stay sharp. It’s gotten ridiculous.”
—Barry Bonds, Giants outfielder (MLB.com)
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