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TOO MANY OWIES



“He was just trying to make a catch. Sometimes your glove sticks in the ground, and your wrist is moving in one direction and your glove is moving in the other. It’s only preventable if you go out there and don’t try to make a play. Matsui’s not that type of player.”


–Yankees center fielder Johnny Damon, on the injury to Hideki Matsui (New York Times)



“If everything were easy, it would be easy. Right now is frustrating because I’m not pitching the way I’d like to or even close, and I realize that. Nobody has to tell me that.”


–Master tautologist Randy Johnson, on his struggles



“To me, he looks like a little lost boy. He doesn’t know where to go. We haven’t found that right road yet together. He and I haven’t found the right place to go to get the stuff he needs to get–outs.”


–Yankee pitching coach Ron Guidry, on Randy Johnson



“The baseball gods are testing us right now.”


–Orioles reliever LaTroy Hawkins, on his team’s injury woes (Baltimore Sun)



“We have no players.”


–Orioles infielder Melvin Mora, echoing Hawkins



“It was a pretty rad catch. That was awesome. The repercussions weren’t awesome, but the way he caught the ball, that was awesome.”


–new White Sox center fielder Brian Anderson, on the catch where Aaron Rowand broke his nose (Chicago Sun-Times)



“When I first saw it I was like, that’s odd. Rowand slamming his face into the wall is pretty normal for him. I’m sure he didn’t want the aftereffects of that, but I bet he doesn’t care. He’s probably just like, ‘whatever.'”


–Anderson

“IT IS BETTER FOR YOUR CAREER TO DO NOTHING, THAN TO DO SOMETHING AND ATTRACT CRITICISM.”



“It’s a great achievement. I’m not gonna take anything away from it.”


–Mariner DH Carl Everett, on Bonds chasing Ruth’s record (Seattle Post-Intelligencer)



“The man ain’t got caught doin’ (bleep). Right now he’s guilty through association, period. He’s been innocent, but it’s still ongoing because he’s chasing something.”


–Everett



“People are throwin’ stuff at him, syringes and everything, but nobody’s making a fuss outta that. How can you hate this guy? You don’t even know this guy. ‘Shut up!'”


–Everett



“People are saying there’s no way he’s gonna catch Hank (Aaron). How do you know? He can leave the game on his own (terms). You can’t run him out. He is that good. You can’t even touch this guy.”


–Everett



“Ruth did it with hot dogs. Aaron did it with class. How did you do it?”


a sign in the Philadelphia outfield held up for Barry Bonds to see (Denver Post)



“I look forward to giving somebody the opportunity to better their lifestyle.”


–Giants outfielder Barry Bonds, on whoever catches his record-breaking home run ball



“I understand it’s not the record, but he’s going to pass the great Babe Ruth, any way you look at it. Am I going to call him? Yeah. I can’t wait until he does it. I don’t feel anything tainted about it.”


–Tigers manager Jim Leyland, on Bonds chasing Ruth (Detroit News)



“Nothing–absolutely nothing. In fact, I’m tired of reading about this and that because, and I’m not looking for trouble, but I think they’ve singled Barry out and I think it’s totally unfair.”


–Leyland



“His knee is bothering him. He can’t hit like he did, because it’s hard for him to turn on his leg. I’ve seen him miss a couple of pitches he doesn’t miss. He’s limping. He’s hurting.”


–Leyland



“But I get sick about what’s going on, to be honest with you. Every time I pick up the paper, someone’s knocking him. That makes me mad. I just think it’s ridiculous that (Bonds) has been singled out. You don’t hear talk about anybody else. I think they should just be quiet about this because it’s going to open a big can of worms, in my opinion.”


–Leyland



“Who’s everyone waiting for? He didn’t do anything.”


–reliever Tim Worrell, on the 50-odd reporters waiting for Bonds after a game (New York Times)

WITHOUT PROMOTION SOMETHING TERRIBLE HAPPENS…



“[Scranton/Wilkes-Barre manager John Russell] called me into the office, and I figured, ‘OK, the only reason you get called into the office is to get yelled at or to get good news,’ and I didn’t do anything wrong.”


–Phillies rookie Cole Hamels, after being called up to the majors (MLB.com)



“I’ll tell him to go out and throw about 10 shutouts. From there, I’ll evaluate him. I’ll probably hand him the ball, say, ‘Go get ’em, kid,’ and sit back and watch him pitch for a while.”


–Phillies manager Charlie Manuel, on Hamels



“You just tell a new pitcher that the field isn’t any different here than Triple A. Go one pitch at a time and keep all the clichés straight.”


–Phillies catcher Sal Fasano, on what he’ll tell Hamels (Philadelphia Inquirer



“I remember I came in to face one hitter in Shea Stadium, Rico Brogna. I came in and stood on the mound and I saw Jeff Bagwell, Jeff Kent and Craig Biggio, and I’m saying, ‘Oh, my God.’ The first pitch I threw was a strike, and it was like the greatest relief I’ve ever had. ‘Ah, I threw a strike.’ ”


–Mets reliever Billy Wagner, recalling his big-league debut

WHAT HAPPENED TO US? (JUSQU’A LA FIN) / SOON IT WILL BE GONE FOREVER



“Yeah, this (season) is it for me and I think if I have any complications from here on out with the knee and if it sets me back, I don’t think there’s any reason why they should keep me aboard. I think they should, if I have to go on another DL and rehab the knee again, then, you know what, let Lenny (DiNardo) stay up here and let him work every five days and give the kid an opportunity to pitch in the big leagues for a while.”


–Red Sox pitcher David Wells, on how this season is his last (Boston Herald)



“I think my career has been good, it’s been fun. I’m not ashamed of anything that I’ve done. It’s a pretty long career. To me, if I don’t make it (back to the Red Sox rotation), at least I can walk out with my head up and that, to me, is the most important thing.”


–Wells



“Right now I’m hated in New York and hated in Boston. I’m in a no-win situation. I’m going out there for myself and my teammates. That’s fine. If they want to continue that, that’s not going to affect me in any way, shape, or form.”


–Wells (Boston Herald)



“I’ve always respected him, even when he talked about me or anyone else. If anyone says, ‘How did you deal with it?’ I say, ‘Deal with it like a man, don’t run, talk back at him, prove him wrong.’ I think you’ve got to win the respect because he can be tough to take. If you can overcome all the jabs that he throws, then you’ve got him in your hip pocket.”


–Wells, on George Steinbrenner



“I think he cares about what’s said about him in the paper instead of in one ear, out the other. Because these New York writers, they’re tough.”


–Wells, on A-Rod



“It’s a new era, it’s a different ballgame. He’s entitled to pass it because he’s put in the time.”


–Wells, on Bonds chasing Ruth



“With the whole scandal with Barry and the steroids, I don’t think a lot of people want anything to do with it. But you can’t overlook what he’s done, steroids or no steroids, he’s still got to hit the ball.”


–Wells, on how Ruth’s descendents don’t want anything to do with the celebration

THE REST



“I just can’t believe a guy is that lucky. I don’t know how that even works.”


–Albuquerque Isotopes infielder Jason Wood, after a fan won his second car of the year in a team contest (Albuquerque Tribune)



“They trust me. I guess they trust all of this gray hair.”


–Giants manager Felipe Alou, when asked if management and ownership instructed him on how to handle Bonds as he chases Ruth (New York Times)



“They were able to pitch and they were able to hit better. How are you going to win the game like that?”


–Orioles infielder Melvin Mora, on a loss to the Red Sox (Baltimore Sun)



“It’s pretty early to be saying they are for real. They have a good team, but every year it seems to happen where someone like Pittsburgh or Cincinnati gets hot, then they aren’t there at the end.”


–Giants pitcher Jason Schmidt, on the Rockies Denver Post)



“There’s probably a better chance than normal that the Rookie of the Year will come from this team because we have so many rookies. In order to be Rookie of the Year, you have to get the opportunity, get the at-bats, and that’s something most of us are getting.”


–Marlins second baseman Dan Uggla, on the young Marlin team (Miami Herald)



“A bunch of my buddies came over to the house. We took lighter fluid and lit this ball. The lighter fluid ran down my arm and lit it.”


–Marlins reliever Logan Kensing, on how he tried to recreate the “Kerry Wood holds a flaming baseball” picture from Sports Illustrated when he was a kid



“I’m in a situation where, shoot, I’d like to beat anybody.”


–Twins pitcher Brad Radke, on facing the White Sox



“It looks to me, from my meteorological background, that we’re in for a long next three or four days.”


–Red Sox manager Terry Francona, on the weather forecast for the weekend (Boston Herald)



“I’ve played in front of bigger crowds in the minor leagues.”


–Marlins reliever Randy Messenger, on the home crowds in Florida (Palm Beach Post)



“Eric is very valuable. He can play a position [anywhere on the diamond]. [With his ability to play anywhere,] he might be our best player.”


–Astros manager Phil Garner, on utilityman Eric Bruntlett (MLB.com)



“If we had nothing or if [Jose Lima and Jeremi Gonzalez] had proven they couldn’t do it, then maybe we’d think about Aaron [Heilman]. But not now. To me, that would be drastic, and we’re not where we have to do anything drastic. We’ll give the guys some starts and see what happens. Who knows, maybe they’ll both go 5-0.”


–Mets manager Willie Randolph, on his rotation now that Victor Zambrano is out for the year (MLB.com)


“George Clooney! You been reading about all that? You been seeing that? He’s up there with, um… He’s up there with the Congress. He’s trying to get everybody to go over there and solve that thing.”

–ESPN announcer Rick Sutcliffe, during an impromtu invite on the air after he had imbibed some spirits with Bill Murray (via YouTube)


“I’m getting yelled at from Bill Murray in the back, I need to go. I’d much rather hang with you guys than him. He can wait.”

–Sutcliffe

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