The Week in Quotes: May 21-27

BARRY

"To talk about it on May 21 is ridiculous. I could be hit by a truck
tomorrow, then what? ‘He was on his way, but, damn, he got hit by a truck.’"
— Barry Bonds, Giants outfielder, on his chances of breaking the
single-season home-run record

"We held Bonds to two home runs. That’s pretty good."
— Bobby Cox, Braves manager, after a win over the Giants

LOSING THINGS POORLY

"If they think swinging at a 3-0 pitch is cause for retaliation, then
they’ll find out what retaliation is. I’ve been in this game 33 years, and
it’s been established that swinging 3-0 is not a reason to hurt a man or
throw at him. It’s the new ‘Let’s-wear-a-skirt baseball,’ and I’ve never
worn a skirt."
— Bobby Valentine, Mets manager, on outfielder Tsuyoshi Shinjo
being hit by Marlins pitcher Brad Penny, supposedly in retaliation
for swinging at a 3-0 pitch with a wide lead in the previous game

"I did not hit him on purpose. You want to put the tying run on base?"
— Penny, who also said Shinjo would have deserved it anyway

"I don’t know what the school of thought is. I’ve seen a lot of games go
late, and I’ve always heard that after the fifth and sixth you earn your way
on. It’s a 2-0 game, so I can’t really be out there being [mad] about that,
because the tying run is at the plate from that point on, and you’ve got to
get outs. But I was a little surprised, yeah."
— Curt Schilling, Diamondbacks pitcher, on Padres catcher Ben Davis
bunting for a single during Schilling’s bid for a perfect game

"Ben Davis is young and has a lot to learn. That was just uncalled for."
— Bob Brenly, Diamondbacks manager

"I would understand where they’re coming from if it’s six-nothing, but I
brought the tying run to the plate and Bubba can go deep at any time. If he
goes deep right there, it’s a tie ball game."
— Ben Davis, Padres catcher, on the hit that brought outfielder
Bubba Trammell to the plate

"I don’t care what they think. We are trying to beat these guys."
— Ryan Klesko, Padres infielder

IT’S NOT EASY BEING A GM

"I don’t play, I don’t manage, I don’t coach. I can’t get the runner home
from scoring position. I can’t make the key pitch when it needs to be made.
I can’t move the runner over when he needs to be moved over."
— Cam Bonifay, Pirates GM

"It’s hard to maintain a winning club when you lose players the caliber of
Barry Bonds, Bobby Bonilla, Andy Van Slyke, Doug Drabek and John Smiley. I
understood that challenge and was willing to accept it when I took this job
but it has still made for quite a challenge."
— Bonifay

"We had a lot of injuries in 1993, but nothing like this. I asked
(first-base coach) Bill Doran, who has been associated with a lot of teams,
and he said he has never seen anything like this with key guys going down.
We’ve got our one-hitter, our three-hitter, our five-hitter, our six-hitter,
our No. 1 starter, our No. 2 starter all down. It is unbelievable. Now Pokey
Reese is out. I’ve never seen anything like this."
— Jim Bowden, Reds GM, on injuries to Barry Larkin, Ken
Griffey Jr., Dmitri Young, Aaron Boone, Pete Harnisch,
and Scott Williamson, in that order

"As we say in the clubhouse, you know that man is lying when his lips are
moving."
— Pokey Reese, Reds infielder, on Bowden’s statements about contract
negotiations with Reds players

DEVELOPING STARTERS

"Basically, Bronson is our sixth starter now. We need a sixth starter, so he
should be in that spot. He threw extremely well, and I was very pleased. I
believe that’s how you develop starters, by putting them in the bullpen when
they’re young."
— Lloyd McClendon, Pirates manager, on Bronson Arroyo‘s role

"I waited a long time to get here and perform, and now is my time."
— Chuck Smith, Marlins pitcher, after a win

"There’s nothing I can do about this game but learn from it."
— Brian Meadows, Royals pitcher, on giving up four runs and seven hits in a
four-inning start

ON HITTING

"He hit four home runs in this series. Unfortunately, three of them were
foul."
— Lou Piniella, Mariners manager, on infielder David Bell‘s
hitting against the Twins

"I wish I had your legs."
— Doug Mientkiewicz, Twins infielder, to Ichiro Suzuki

"I wish I had your swing."
— Ichiro Suzuki, Mariners outfielder, in reply

"If I had had Ichiro’s swing, I could have hit .230."
— Ron Gardenhire, Twins batting coach

"I don’t think Mike had his best stuff, but that’s what makes a really good
pitcher. Plus he hits homers, so that doesn’t hurt. The guy just competes
and finds a way."
— Buddy Bell, Rockies manager, on Mike Hampton‘s win over the
Marlins in which Hampton hit a home run

ON NOT HITTING

"I really don’t want to talk about their pitching. Personally I didn’t think
they were that great. We just didn’t hit."
— Lloyd McClendon, Pirates manager, on being swept by the Phillies in a double-header during which the Pirates got 13 hits

"We didn’t have our hitting shoes on. Frankie can throw the ball slower,
slower and slower than slower. Our young boys had a tough time adjusting to
that."
— Tony Muser, Royals manager, on his team’s struggles against Red Sox
pitcher Frank Castillo

"I’ve told Joe to move me if he wants to. It doesn’t matter to me where I
hit. Baseball is different now. There’s not much difference between hitting
third or ninth."
— Paul O’Neill, Yankees outfielder

THE REST

"You just have to be aggressive. If you can take any base, you take it."
— Jimy Williams, Red Sox manager, on his team being caught stealing three
times in one game

"What is 8-6-6? It sounds like an area code. All I know is that we got two
outs out of it."
— Lou Piniella, Mariners manager, on a Mariners double play on May 20

"If everybody scores just two runs on me, I guarantee I’ll win 20 games.
They score one or two, they beat me with that, I just tip my hat."
— Pedro Martinez, Red Sox pitcher

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