The Week in Quotes: May 18-24

THEY STILL HAVEN’T GIVEN OZZIE THE NEWS

“Having him in the rotation would be great. He’s one of the best in the game-if not the best in the game, at least the National League. He’s going to make our ballclub a lot better.”
–White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen, on an aborted trade for Padres ace Jake Peavy that would have sent Aaron Poreda, Clayton Richard, and two other prospects to the Padres.

“As of right now, this is the best place for us to be. We made that decision for the time being.”
–Jake Peavy, on voiding that deal by exercising his no-trade clause.

“I understand where Jake is coming from given the unusually early timing of this type of event. It’s understandable that he was caught a bit off guard, as most people in his position would be. He has a wife and three young boys to consider, and Jake has earned the right to thoroughly think through this move.”
-Jake Peavy’s agent Barry Axelrod (Toni Ginnetti, Chicago Sun-Times)

HIS HEART IS IN TAMPA, HIS HEAD IS IN A FREEZER

“The amazing thing around here is the manager is the last guy to find out about things.”
–Cubs manager Lou Piniella, on Carlos Zambrano leaving the ballpark after Piniella told the media he was there.

“I wish somebody would tell me these things. I think I am responsible for them. … It makes you look a little stupid when you don’t know where your personnel are.”
–Piniella

“The amazing thing about it is, every time I’ve talked to him he’s felt really good. But this thing crept up and now we’ve got to deal with it… It hit me out of nowhere.”
–Piniella, on injured starter Rich Harden. (Paul Sullivan, Chicago Tribune)

NO ONE QUIPS LIKE GASTON

“For a guy that did a pretty good job around here, I caught a lot of shit. There was a lot of people hanging around who haven’t done quite the job but don’t catch the shit at all.”
–Blue Jays manager Cito Gaston

“He came back and resurrected this team. I put it down to his presence and to his ability to communicate with the players, to never have them be surprised. As good as he was at communicating back then, I’d say he’s even better at it now. I don’t know how he does it. I don’t think there’s anybody who can say a negative word about John Gibbons. To know him is to like him. But Cito somehow gets through.”
-Jays president Paul Beeston

“I was ready to go. There were different owners, and I think they had different ideas about what they wanted to do. I always felt like maybe they felt like I made too much money. They could get somebody cheaper. Well, they got him.”
–Gaston (Stephen Blount, Toronto
Globe and Mail)

DANIEL BARD COULD ONLY LOOK ON AND POUT

“It was pretty fun to do. I think I had a little adrenaline going. I didn’t feel like I was overthrowing or anything. I was in control. It just came natural.”
–Mets reliever Bobby Parnell, on touching 100 mph at Fenway Park this weekend.

“How many guys in the big leagues hit 100 in a year? That’s 100 miles per hour, bro. One hundred!”
-Mets pitcher John Maine, on Parnell’s radar gun act.

“It’s kind of like a heavy ball. You cannot even flinch to catch it. If you flinch, you’re going to miss the ball.”
-Mets catcher Omir Santos, Parnell’s battery-mate.

“I try to just go out there and play my game, and wherever the cards fall, they fall. I’m not going to say I’ve earned trust or anything like that. It’s only a quarter of the way through the season in my first year, so I still feel like I have a lot to prove. I have to make it through a full year before I say anything.”
–Parnell (Brian Costa, The Star-Ledger)

DOCTOR ALTCHECK ALSO GENE-SPLICED THE CLUTCH GENE INTO HIS DNA

“We went fastball away after throwing six sliders in a row. It was pretty impressive that he was able to do what he did. We didn’t expect him to hit it.”
–Phillies closer Brad Lidge, on the walk-off home run crushed off of him by Alex Rodriguez on Saturday.

“Right now, I’m probably the happiest .200 hitter in baseball.”
–Yankees third baseman Alex Rodriguez

“As long as we have the last three outs or last six outs, we feel like something good’s going to happen.”
–Rodriguez

HE ALSO MIGHT HAVE MENTIONED HIS GOATEE WASN’T DOING HIM ANY FAVORS

“I just told him to just take his base. That was about it. But he was still looking at me and talking and it fires me up. I’ve got respect for everybody and I respect this game, but at the same time, I’m going to play hard. If you’re looking at me like that, you’re going to get it back because I’m a gamer and that’s what I’m going to do.”
-Mets starter Johan Santana, after hitting Kevin Youkilis with a pitch during the Mets-Red Sox interleague series at Fenway Park.

“That hurt.”
-Red Sox first baseman Kevin Youkilis, to Santana.

“I was joking around. He told me to head to first base. Whatever. I was headed that way. I don’t know. Maybe I should have ran to first base. Like I’ve said, I’ve changed a lot of my ways of playing the game. Maybe I need to revert back to getting pissed off, throwing my bat down and going down to first. I’m not going to change my ways now. I’m pretty happy with going out there, enjoying the game and having fun.”
–Youkilis

“Everyone always told me in my career that I shouldn’t get so serious, you should enjoy the game and joke around. When I do do it, I change my ways and joke around a little bit, I guess it’s the wrong thing. What are you going to do? Win some, lose some, I guess.”
–Youkilis (Alex Speier, WEEI.com)

LET HE WHO IS WITHOUT SIN FIRE THE FIRST ROCKIE

“It’s a misnomer to say we are on a daily Clint watch. I am giving Clint the benefit of the doubt for now. It’s unfair to blame him solely for us playing like horse manure. I am just as accountable.”
–Rockies general manager Dan O’Dowd

“So, there’s no timeline on this. But we need to play better.”
–O’Dowd

“I believe they are. I have been on teams where the manager gets shut off. That’s not the case. The guys are still engaged, asking questions. If they weren’t, I would be the first one to tell Dan.”
-Rockies manager Clint Hurdle (ESPN.com)

THE REST

“I think the triple is a part of him because he busts his tail every play. When he swings the bat, he always runs the ball out, and he wouldn’t have got to third base if he wasn’t running from the get-go. That’s the way he plays the game.”
–Twins manager Ron Gardenhire, on right fielder Michael Cuddyer. (Kelly
Thesier, MLB.com)

“Evaluating our shortstops in May, for public consumption-I don’t know that helps our cause. I watch the games. But it’s our responsibility-if it’s not good enough, then make it good enough.”
-Red Sox manager Terry Francona, on what he’s gotten from the shortstop position this year. (Sean McAdam, Boston Herald)

“Buster Olney has been pointing out that they’re going to pass last year’s home-run total in the old Stadium by about July 15. I’m tired of people saying it’s too early, we don’t have enough games. We have enough games. We know that this was not a very well-planned ballpark. Any player that’s played there will tell you that it’s become one of the biggest jokes in baseball.”
-ESPN baseball columnist Peter Gammons, on the new Yankee Stadium. (New York Post)

“If we miss a pitch, it’s going to be OK if we’re educating people.”
-New Dodgers alternate play-by-play broadcaster Jeanne Zelasko, on the female-friendly broadcasts she’s doing with Mark Sweeney.

“Guys are wired for competition. It’s just a competitiveness that I think everybody has, whether it be playing dominos, video games, or baseball. It’s hard to turn that off, so it’s not necessarily trying to get rid of it, but trying to find a way to use it in a positive way.”
–Cardinals shortstop Khalil Greene, on being benched. (ESPN.com)

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Alex Carnevale is a contributor to Baseball Prospectus.