The Week In Quotes, July 29-August 4
by Derek Zumsteg
MANAGEMENT
"Geez, what are you guys all doing here? I thought I traded all of you guys."
"You can't measure Pokey by batting average and on-base percentage. He brings defense to the table, and his enthusiasm really
picks up the team. We're a different team when he's on the field."
"We're young, dumb and stupid. But we've got a lot of heart."
BLAME
"We don't initiate anything."
"I actually initiated the whole thing."
DISCIPLINE IN TWO CASES
"I've always been patient at the plate. That doesn't mean I won't swing at the first pitch, but I always look for a pitch in my
zone. If I go deeper into the count, there's a better chance that I'll see a pitch I want to hit. Pitchers always try to get you
out by nibbling and making you hit their pitch. I think you can stay out of slumps by taking the walk. I mean, you go 1-for-3
every night with a walk and you're hitting .333. That's good."
"Why don't we just set the ball on a tee and let the batter hit it? We'll just stand in the field and see what happens. If he's
going to sit in his office and assume people are getting hit because he thinks it's on purpose, what's the point?"
TAKE THAT, COMPUTER GUYS
"I hate to be in a position where it looks like I'm knocking players, because that's not my intention, but who in Detroit made
the decision to give Bobby Higginson $11.8 million per year? And who's the guy in Colorado who gave $55 million to Denny Neagle
who we [the Yankees] relegated to the bullpen in the [2000] postseason? You have people making these kinds of decisions who rely
on stats and computers."
"The most impressive part of his defensive game is he has a very accurate arm and very good feet; he's very fleet-footed. He has
a nose for the baseball, and that's a gift you can't teach. He's always had great range--phenominal range--and he's always trying
to be at the top of his game."
STEALING
"The stolen base is not so easy, like people think."
"This is something that's not working out for me."
"We don't steal much on this team. J.P. likes two walks and the bomb."
LABOR QUOTES, NOW LAST FOR OSTRICH CONVENIENCE
"I asked to be on Selig's Blue Ribbon panel and I was turned down. They put George Will on it and he's got a 400 IQ. But does he
know anything about [the inner workings of] baseball? No."
"You can throw the names of all these fancy accounting firms around all you want. When the big giants like Arthur Andersen go
down, and they're proven to be dirty, what are you going to think about the rest of these people and their creative
bookkeeping?"
"All the ways that they can hide money and make it look like they're losing so that the big mama corporation or the big papa
corporation gets a tax write-off at the end of the year."
"If players want to strike, they ought to just pick Sept. 11, because that's what it's going to do to the game. I don't think
there's going to be a work stoppage. I don't think anybody's that dumb."
"If they do walk out, make sure it's Sept. 11. Be symbolic. Let Donald Fehr drive the plane right into the building, if that's
what they want to do."
If you would like to submit a quote, please
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--Allard Baird, Royals GM, joking while walking through the clubhouse just after the trading deadline
--Roy Smith, Pirates assistant GM
--Bob Boone, Reds manager
--Grady Little, Red Sox manager, after a brawl with the Orioles
--Derek Lowe, Red Sox pitcher
--Eric Hinske, Blue Jays infielder
--Tanyon Sturtze, Devil Rays pitcher, after being fined $750 for hitting Red Sox outfielder Manny Ramirez
--Reggie Jackson, Hall of Famer and Yankees special advisor
--Alex Rodriguez, Rangers infielder, on Derek Jeter
--Rafael Furcal, Braves infielder, on his abysmal stolen-base success rate
--Furcal
--Hinske
--Reggie Jackson
--Gregg Zaun, Astros union representative
--Zaun
--Jim Bowden, Reds GM
--Bowden