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SOY UN ESPECTRO DE BEISBOL



“In every trade proposal, he’s asking for the other general manager’s first born, plus two pitchers.”


an MLB executive, on new Rangers GM Jon Daniels, who reportedly overvalued his players when negotiating trades (FoxSports.com)



“It takes him two hours to watch 60 Minutes.”


an MLB executive, on the deliberate style of former Orioles co-GM Jim Beattie



“He might not live to see the end of that contract.”


a scout, on 47 year old first baseman Julio Franco, who just signed a two-year deal with the Mets



“If the Mets get Manny Ramirez, he’ll be the first outfielder sponsored by OnStar.”


an AL scout, on Ramirez’ outfield defense in Shea (New York Newsday)



“You sell your soul a little bit.”


an AL Executive, on what happens when you sign Manny Ramirez



“On Opening Day of ’98, Gary Sheffield, Bobby Bonilla, Craig Counsell, Edgar Renteria and Livan Hernandez were still there to get their rings. Who will be there next April? Dontrelle [Willis], Miguel [Cabrera] and Nate Bump.”


a Miami Sportswriter, on the Florida Fire Sale (Minneapolis Star-Tribune)

PLEASE ALSO TRADE CSI:MIAMI FOR A SHOW TO BE NAMED LATER.



“I love Survivor.”


–Marlins GM Larry Beinfest (Miami Herald)



“I’m happy, and I’m relieved. It’s been a tough two-week stretch now, just sitting and waiting to see if I’m the next one traded.”


–former Marlin Juan Pierre, on being traded to the Cubs during the fire sale



“We went through 11 baseball stadium plan failures. One involved using Saudi Arabian dollars to build next to Joe’s Stone Crab restaurant.”


Rick Horrow, founding director of the Sports Authority in Miami, on how the failed stadium negotiations shouldn’t be taken too seriously



“The White Sox were halfway to St. Petersburg when Chicago’s civic leaders moved back the clock to 11:55 p.m. so they could pass a special bill to meet the deadline. It ain’t over til it’s over.”


–Horrow



“There is no way to guarantee what’s going to happen on the field. We continue to promise a competitive, affordable team that will provide entertainment for our fans.”


–Marlins president David Samson, on the outrage that season ticket holders are feeling



“I played in L.A., which I would call New York Jr. with the media. It’s fine.”


–new Mets catcher Paul LoDuca, on how he’ll handle the media pressure of a big market

“YOU PAY A GREAT DEAL TOO DEAR FOR WHAT’S GIVEN FREELY.”



“I don’t even know how to talk about [going after] free agents. I’ve never really had to do it, quite frankly.”


–A’s GM Billy Beane, joking about his aversion to losing draft picks (MLB.com)



“Don’t go getting all Alexander Haig on me, either.”


–Beane, to assistant David Forst before Beane left the Winter Meetings two days early and told Forst he was in charge



“We never feel any pressure to get something done at these [meetings]. It’s early December. The offseason doesn’t end when we hand in our room keys.”


–Beane



“The weather wasn’t so great, the food was good, the drinks were good, the company was good. And I’m going to get on the plane pretty satisfied after filling a need. What we’re going to do is walk away with a player that I’ve been after for a couple of years.”


–White Sox GM Ken Williams, on acquiring Rob Mackowiak (Chicago Sun-Times)



“We feel good about what we’ve accomplished.”


–Royals GM Allard Baird, during the Winter Meetings (Kansas City Star)

THE LEAST FLEXIBLE COMPONENT OF ANY SYSTEM IS THE PLAYER



“We had $2 million on Tony’s contract. This frees up about $1.1 million for me to reallocate. Hopefully, I’ll use it wisely.”


–Yankees GM Brian Cashman, on trading utility player Tony Womack to the Reds (New York Times)



“I think we’re properly assessing the market; it’s not as strong, especially in our areas of need. We shouldn’t throw money around like drunken sailors at players that may not very well help us. We want to maintain flexibility, so in the event we have to adjust on the run, we’re not locked in to the extreme where our hands are tied.”


–Cashman



“It’s a little different than the way my contract is, but whenever I can be a free agent again, I know how I’ll handle things,” he said. “Don’t think I’m not looking forward to being a free agent again.”


–Devil Rays outfielder Carl Crawford, on the contract teammate Rocco Baldelli just signed, despite missing the entire season with injury (St. Petersburg Times)



“I’m not too sure if what happened (to Baldelli) had happened to me, if it would have been handled the same way. I’m just happy to see the organization be generous like that. I hope if I’m injured and out for a year that I get the same kind of treatment.”


–Crawford, wondering how the contract situation would have worked out had he been the one to miss 2005 and not Baldelli



“I’m going to play second base. I don’t think they want me to play the outfield. I think that if they traded for me, it’s to play second base. Obviously I have the control. Of course I’m not going to play the outfield.”


–new Nationals second baseman Alfonso Soriano, on how the Nationals might try to move him to the outfield (Fort Worth Star-Telegram)



“He is a good guy. He’s certainly not a malcontent. [But] they’re going to have a big problem if they try to move him.”


a Rangers official, on moving Soriano to the outfield (Washington Post)

COWBOY ELSEWHERE



“This is the end of it. Officially the end.”


–Red Sox first baseman Kevin Millar, after Boston officially severed ties with him (Boston Globe)



“Usually when a team loses a lot of players, maybe they were a good group of guys but won just 80 or so games. But this team, this group of guys, maybe it wasn’t the best team position by position, but we knew how to win together. It’s strange how quick it’s been dismantled.”


–Millar



“On the flip side, this isn’t like the Florida Marlins blowing up their team because of money. They’re replacing guys with great players like Josh Beckett and Mike Lowell and Mark Loretta, who is phenomenal. This is a team that has the money to replace guys. It’s like a changing of the guard.”


–Millar



“This is the first time I’ve gone through free agency. It’s a situation I don’t know a whole lot about. It’s been slow for me. I had a disappointing season personally for me. I’m working every day, training as hard as I can.”


–Millar



“I’m not a .270 hitter, I’m a .290 hitter. I average 20 home runs, not nine. I hit .300 with runners in scoring position, not .200. Everyone has an off year, and I’m going to do all that I can to get a job, go help somebody else out. I wish I could come back and do it all again, but the past season was a stinker. My job is to get back on track and make somebody proud again.”


–Millar

THE REST



“I know he’s not going to look good in black and gold. But then, I hear black makes a guy look skinny, so maybe he’ll like that. I’m going to miss seeing him every day in the clubhouse. It just won’t be the same without him.”


–Reds first baseman Adam Dunn, on his predecessor Sean Casey being traded to the Pirates (Pittsburgh Post-Gazette)



“Whew, trading pitching to the Braves.”


–Diamondbacks GM Josh Byrnes, after acquiring catcher Johnny Estrada from the Braves for relievers Oscar Villareal and Lance Cormier (Arizona Republic)



“Leo is a good dude. He is funny as [heck]. He’s a pitcher’s pitching coach.”


–new Orioles pitcher LaTroy Hawkins, on working with Leo Mazzone (Baltimore Sun)



“There’s no parallel between those two (Clemens and Ryan). Nolan was still at the peak of his career. He wanted to pitch. Alan and Randy have said to Tim and I several times that Roger is 50-50 or more that he’ll retire. Nolan was ready to negotiate, and Roger is not. Other than both of them being Texans, being two of the best pitchers ever and two great Texans, there’s no parallel.”


–Astros owner Drayton McLane, after the Astros declined to offer arbitration to Roger Clemens (Houston Chronicle)



“It sounds bad, because it is drug abuse. And it is wrong because if you don’t have a prescription for them, it’s wrong. But it’s not as wrong as it may sound like, and guys aren’t ogres for doing it.”


–Houston Astros manager Phil Garner, on amphetamine use in baseball (Denver Post)



“Speaking as someone who played games in continual 104-degree heat in Texas, pitchers should definitely have an advantage in Saturday day games after Friday night games.”


–former Rangers outfielder Billy Sample, on who will have the advantage now that MLB is starting to crack down on amphetamine usage



“Slow day. Only one trade.”


–Marlins GM Larry Beinfest, after trading Paul Lo Duca to the Mets (Miami Herald)



“My game on paper really doesn’t look good, but you appreciate it more if you see it on a daily basis. The things I do don’t really show up in the box
scores or the papers or things that people like to come see at a game.”


–new Chicago Cub Juan Pierre, marketing himself to his new fans (Chicago Sun-Times)

If you have a quotation you’d like to submit, email John, and be sure to include the URL where you found it.

John Erhardt is an editor of Baseball Prospectus. You can contact John by clicking here or click here to see John’s other articles.

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