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TAKE IT FROM ME/PITCHERS JUST DON’T UNDERSTAND

“[Bleep] Jose Contreras. Nobody in this organization is more upset or sad than Ozzie Guillen. Nobody.”
White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen, on sending down utility infielder Pablo Ozuna.

“If some of the players didn’t like the move, well, it’s easy to do. Just tell Ozuna to stay here and get them to get the [bleep] out of here and go to the minor leagues.”
–Ozzie

“You don’t want to see that happen and I certainly didn’t want to see that happen on the account of my move. There’s always potential for stuff like that, but we have some older guys that have been around and we feel like the ball is rolling down the hill right now. The vibe here is not a negative one. The vibe here is we can overcome almost every obstacle.”

–White Sox first baseman Paul Konerko

“Two words I can give you about me: I stink.”
–White Sox reliever Scott Linebrink (Joe Cowley, Chicago Sun-Times)

THE FUTURE HAS NO DESIRE TO GO TO BEIJING

“Well, that was the Twins‘ GM. We’re not getting Denard Span.”
–MLB vice president Bob Watson, on assembling Team USA’s roster for the Olympics.

“They’re not in business to help us. They’re in business to win. Especially teams that are on the bubble. They’re not going to let you have David Price. There are some guys I’d love to have, but it ain’t gonna happen.”
–Watson

“‘Don’t try to be Superman,’ is basically what he was saying. Enjoy yourself. Don’t try to take out the catcher or flip over the fence in foul territory to try to catch a ball. Play hard, but don’t do anything crazy.”
Pirates minor leaguer Andrew McCutcheon, on advice from USA manager Davey Johnson before playing in Sunday’s Futures Game. (Lyle Spencer, MLB.com)

“[Hector] Rondon, he hadn’t pitched above Kinston in A-ball, and he comes in today throwing nice and easy about 95. And we’re like, ‘Whoaaah, we could’ve saved this guy for later.’ That’s a pretty good arm right there.”
–World Team coach Larry Parrish (Jason Beck, MLB.com)

“Last year, too many people came here and I said, ‘No, no, no. I can’t speak.’ This year I have to do it. In the big leagues, you do it every single day. I try to know more.”
Phillies minor leaguer Carlos Carrasco, on improving his English. (Matt Gelb, Philadelphia Inquirer)


“He can run, hit, and throw real well. Wilkin is a five-tool guy, but so are a lot of players in this room.”

–World Team manager Tino Martinez, on Wilkin Ramirez

“When we get the morning news, we don’t look at the headlines. We see the transactions to make sure guys didn’t get called up.”
–Bob Watson

YOU MIGHT NOT WANT TO GIVE HIM A REASON TO DEAL YOU, HUSTON

“It’s more an indication that we’ve got a lot of guys injured and we’re selling, not buying. That said, since the beginning of the year, we’ve exceeded expectations, and for the guys remaining, we’re going to work to continue to do that.”

–A’s closer Huston Street, after his general manager traded starter Rich Harden to the Cubs.

“He’s a guy we’ve liked since he’s been in pro ball. He’s a young guy with a heck of an arm.”

–A’s general manager Billy Beane on newly-acquired starter Sean Gallagher


“We’ve got to trust that the team knows what it’s doing, and Billy has
proven himself time and time again.”


–Street

“We feel like we’re playing good baseball and we have a shot. None of us feels like this move is going to keep us from making the playoffs.”

–A’s second baseman Mark Ellis (Susan Slusser, San Francisco Chronicle)

HE HAS ALSO ASKED US TO REFER TO HIM AS ML RATHER THAN AS MATT LAPORTA

“He’s a very good teammate and a good worker who’s dedicated and committed to baseball. And he has very good raw power. He mis-hits balls out of the ballpark.”
Indians assistant general manager Chris Antonetti, on Matt LaPorta. The Indians moved pitcher CC Sabathia for a four-player package including left fielder LaPorta and pitcher Rob Bryson.

“That guy is the mayor of Akron. When the rest of us strike out, we get booed. When he strikes out, he gets golf claps.”

–Indians infielder Wes Hodges, on LaPorta

“When you’re on Wall Street or working on big transactions, you learn tolerance for risk. Sometimes people think of risk as a bad word. As long as you weigh it carefully, risk is necessary in order for your decisions to work out. You just want to set it up to where the potential benefits outweigh the potential risks.”
Rays team president Matt Silverman, on his team’s philosophy.

“That is why Cleveland stands out. Mark (Shapiro) has the complete support of his ownership, so he is comfortable finishing last if it means he can be proactive in moving players and positioning for the future. That is why I absolutely believe Casey Blake and Paul Byrd will both be traded, also.”
–Anonymous AL executive, on the Indians (Anthony Castrovince, MLB.com)

“The Delmon trade really started our transformation because of the areas we were able to address. The first two years, knowing we couldn’t compete, was just collecting as many players as we could irrespective of fit. The pendulum shifted this offseason, and the emphasis became much more about constructing a 25-man roster.”

–Rays general manager Andrew Friedman, on trading Delmon Young for Matt Garza. (John Romano, St. Petersburg Times)

FOCUSING ON WHAT’S IMPORTANT: FAN VOTING!

“It’s a distraction. But it’s worth it. … I was doing five, six, seven [interviews] a day and at the same time trying to figure out how to play baseball. It was kind of tough. You go out there and you want to do so well to make sure that [fans] go vote for you. It’s kind of hard, because you put so much pressure on yourself.”
Brewers outfielder Corey Hart

“You know you’re up against guys like David Wright and Pat Burrell from big cities, so you have to be realistic and muted somehow.”
–Hart

“We wanted to show Corey we were behind him. It’s a big moment for him, and we wanted to show him we’re glad he made it. It’s a credit to the league and the fans for noticing what he’s doing.”

–Brewers third baseman Bill Hall (Adam McCalvy, MLB.com)

HE IS FUELED BY YOUR HATRED OF HIM

“I’m not trying to finagle anything; I don’t have a strategy. What gets me going is the feeling slighted I get. I don’t feel respected on the field. I feel I get bad calls. Fans see what’s on ESPN, they see what’s written in the paper, and it’s never anything good.”
Rangers outfielder Milton Bradley

“They have their image that they made of me, and that’s what it is. They don’t want it to change. I’m that guy. You got your Terrell Owens in football, you’ve got your Ron Artest in basketball, you’ve got your Milton Bradley in baseball.”
–Bradley

“If it was a white guy in his situation, what would they be saying?”

–Rangers outfielder Josh Hamilton

“We all know it’s there.”
–Rangers reliever Eddie Guardado, on Milton being unfairly targeted because of his race.

“It’d be silly for anybody to say that race doesn’t play an issue. It would be a naïve outlook.”

–Rangers shortstop Michael Young

“If somebody out there doesn’t believe there’s a God, or doesn’t believe God can make a difference, you’ve got two prime examples right here.”
–Bradley (Alan Schwarz, The New York Times)

IS HE UNAWARE HIS TEAM WON NINE IN A ROW?

“It’s going to be hard with me and Ryan out. I mean, they’re playing well right now, but how long can they go without both of us? The injury that Ryan has, we never know when he’s going to come back. I saw a guy walk off the field with a concussion and he hasn’t been back yet-three years ago. And now with me just one thing after another, who knows when I’m going to come back?”

Mets outfielder Moises Alou (Adam Rubin, New York Daily News)

“I certainly think so. The most important thing he has brought to the table is to change the mentality. He’s helped us rediscover our identity as a team. Jerry’s making us feel like we’re the greatest players in the world.”
–Mets first baseman Carlos Delgado, on the impact of changing managers.

“It’s nice to get that kind of support. He told us in his first meeting, ‘If you’re right, I’ll get your back. If you’re wrong, you’re on your own.'”
–Delgado

“He’s got a good sense of the pulse of the team. He’s an excellent motivator, and as far as going out there and playing, he has a plan for us. He communicates that plan well with us, but we have to go out there and execute. Lately we’ve been executing as a whole, and it shows in the win-loss column.”

–Mets third baseman David Wright

“He’s a great guy. Love him as a person, as a player. Great guy, great guy. I think he’s a great, great player. A player no one really talks about, but he always does his job. Driving in 80, 90, 100 runs, hits 25, 30 home runs, plays hard.”

–Mets outfielder Carlos Beltran, on Mariners outfielder Raul Ibanez.

UP FOR GOOD…

“He hasn’t been through a lot of adversity, and that’s not taking anything away from him. Sometimes you learn from going through adversity. For example, for me, my workouts come from going through all my injuries. I didn’t want to be injured because this is what I wanted to do for a long time and this is what pays my bills.”
Red Sox starter Josh Beckett, on Clay Buchholz‘ struggles at the major league level.

“There’s a reason why very few people come to this level and just dominate. It’s very, very difficult to do on an everyday deal. It’s something you have to learn. And there’s not a level in the minor leagues that teaches you how to win. Each level teaches you something different, but none of them teaches you the one thing you have to have and that is how to win.”

–Beckett

“Last year he started to understand the challenge that it was going (to be) to take the ball every fifth day. The learning curve that he is going through is one he is taking ownership of. He has learned firsthand through adversity and has been committed and trusting of the feedback given. He’s doing a good job.”

–Red Sox pitching coach John Farrell (Rob Bradford, Boston Herald)

…DOWN FOR GOOD

“Typically, I have a very optimistic tone. In this case, it’s hard to envision this getting to a point where it’s going to work for us and for him.”
Cardinals general manager John Mozeliak, on Mark Mulder‘s future in the big leagues.

“It doesn’t sound too good.”
–Cardinals manager Tony La Russa

“After the pitch to Rollins, it was pretty clear he couldn’t follow all the way through. He was pulling everything. That’s why I looked in there and said something.”
–Cardinals catcher Jason LaRue

“It was just on the one throw, but after that one throw I couldn’t get my arm back up. I couldn’t get it right.”
–Mulder (Joe Strauss, St. Louis Post-Dispatch)

THE REST

“He was a tough man. He was a great Yankee, but probably more importantly he was a great friend. He always put others first. He played the game the right way. He got what life was about, and that was making life better for the people around you.”

Yankees manager Joe Girardi, on the death of Bobby Murcer from brain cancer.

“Everybody gets all caught up in numbers. I’m more concerned with how can he help us win games on a day-to-day basis, and that won’t show up on the stat sheet.”
Dodgers manager Joe Torre, on Nomar Garciaparra (Jonah Freedman, SI.com)

“That’s one I actually called. I said to Dave, ‘We’ve got two outs. How about Billy drawing a walk and then you going boom? Fortunately, it happened. That’s good for us.”

Royals manager Trey Hillman, on a two-run walk-off homer for David DeJesus this week. (Associated Press)

“I guess I can say that they have engaged us in the past and I’ve told them that I have too many people, maybe not too many people with the same ability, but too many people at the same spot that you have a lot of dollars committed to.”
–Yankees general manager Brian Cashman, on the prospect of signing Barry Bonds. (Jon Heyman, SI.com)

“For me, I think what matters is that the team gets the win-also, going five or six innings without any earned runs isn’t that bad, is it?”
–Red Sox starter Daisuke Matsuzaka, on criticism of his pitching away from contact. (Mike Silverman,Boston Herald)


“We completely support trying to clean up the problems that have taken place, but there’s no truth to any involvement regarding anyone here.”
Nationals general manager Jim Bowden, on his team being investigated because of its international signings. (ESPN.com)

“You don’t want to be in the situation where you wake up one morning and Johan Santana has won eight games all season and you owe him $150 million. That’s the thing. You see a lot of guys for $150 million, but we’re going to stick with what we’re doing. We’re going to take a lot of heat from you and everybody else, but I think you’re starting to see it.”
–Nats owner Mark Lerner (Chico Harlan, Washington Post)

“Hank had been the best man at Ralph’s wedding. Hank had been the best
man at one of Ralph’s weddings.”

–Mets radio play-by-play broadcaster Howie Rose, correcting himself while telling a story about Hank Greenberg.

“I just heard he had a ton of talent. And then getting a chance to see him play, you can just see that he’s one of those guys that uses talent.”
–Yankees first baseman Jason Giambi, on Evan Longoria. (Anthony DiComo, MLB.com)

“I don’t think we have to commit to future lineups. The issue that’s just as big is getting Gary back in his game and grinding it out just isn’t doing it. There are times to grind it out and see if a guy’s going to get on track and there’s times to get off the treadmill. We’re at that point now with Gary. We’re not getting Gary to where he should be.”

Angels manager Mike Scioscia, on the decision to bench Gary Matthews Jr. (Shawn Shroyer, MLB.com)

“Watching me hit and run is like watching Manute Bol shoot a three-pointer; it’s not a pleasant sight.”
–D’backs starter Randy Johnson, on batting in the National League. (Nick Piecoro, Arizona Republic)

Alex Carnevale is a contributor to Baseball Prospectus.

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