The Week in Quotes: February 25-March 16

PITCH THROUGH THE PAIN

"If you’re a young guy trying to make the ball club and you go ahead and
see a doctor, that’s not a good sign. You either want to play or you don’t.

—Oscar Acosta, Cubs pitching coach, on reliever Will Ohman‘s
complaints of shoulder stiffness returning from his injury

"I think it’s the young man’s mistake that he had two [poor] outings and now
he’s going to try something to cover up his mistakes."

–Acosta

"He got scared and ran to the training room so he would have a built-in excuse
as to why he’s not making it. And he’s still carrying that garbage around. You think
you are going to make the club because you have a little flash, a little charisma to
you? We don’t need that. You got to do it between the white lines."

–Acosta

SOSA SIGNS

"I’m very happy. I always said I wanted to finish my career here and Chicago has
been great to me. When I retire, I’m going to retire with a Chicago Cubs hat to the
Hall of Fame."

—Sammy Sosa, Cubs outfielder, on signing a 4-year, $72M contract extension

"When the player really wants to stay and the club wants him, you find a way
to work it out."

—Andy MacPhail, Cubs general manager

CONTRIBUTING ANY WAY THEY CAN

"I’ve known Marquis Grissom since 1988, and this is not only a championship
player, he’s a championship person. He’s a gamer. He wants to win. He’s a competitor.
What he will bring to this team is tremendous attitude and tremendous makeup."

—Kevin Malone, Dodgers GM, on trading for outfielder Marquis Grissom

"It may be that no matter how good a spring [Huff] has, we’ll have to send him
back if Vinny is healthy and ready to play. Vinny’s the veteran, and we have him
signed for one more year. So the big thing with Aubrey is that he continues to
develop."

—Chuck LaMar, Devil Rays GM

"I’m going to watch the game today, from the bench or the bullpen – where ever
I’m needed most."

—Gil Meche, Mariners pitcher, a month after his shoulder surgery

"If he gets 180 to 200 hits, that’ll be fine with me. I don’t care if he gets
any walks."

—Larry Bowa, Phillies manager, on outfielder Doug Glanville‘s
probable leadoff role

THE REST

"I can no longer accept anybody’s word."

—Gord Ash, Blue Jays GM, on MLB’s decision to uphold the
Sirotka-Wells trade

"Everyone wants to lie about his age. [Zambrano]’s been 19 since I had him.
What, in Venezuela they have three years for every one of ours?"

–Acosta, on reliever Carlos Zambrano, who was signed as a free
agent in 1997

"[The high strike]’s going to cut down run production, batting averages,
home runs. I expect the .300 hitters to be hitting .250. A guy hitting 50 home
runs will probably hit maybe 30. If you’ve got a half-decent fastball, and you
throw it up there, ain’t nobody can hit it."

—Tommy Lasorda, Dodgers Senior Vice President

"I don’t buy that this is going to be a bad team. I’d say 99.5 percent
of those predictions are made by people who never picked up a bat or a glove.
They’re not worth anything more than the paper they’re written on. They’re
just predictions. I know. I’ve been on some teams predicted to win championships
and they haven’t done a damn thing."

—David Segui, Oriole first baseman

"At the time [they signed], they were better paid than most of the
players. They just have to stick to it. They are professional. They have
to understand that if they agreed to that, they keep their word. They
can’t complain."

—Pedro Martinez, Red Sox pitcher, on recent contract disputes

"It’s just like with the owners. When they pay a guy $200 million, they’re
doing it because they can. Don’t complain later on. Don’t come over and
say we need a salary cap and stuff. They gave their money to the best
player in the game, so you stick to it. Don’t cry later. It’s a business
decision, so you stick to it. You swallow whatever comes after."

–Martinez

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