BYE BYE BONIFAY
"When we are ready to make the announcement, we’ll announce it."
— Cam Bonifay, Pirates GM, on Derek Bell’s return from the DL
"To Derek’s credit, he’s given us every effort. He works hard. He does
everything he’s asked to do. He just needs to get healthy. People will say
the Derek Bell signing was bad. But given Derek Bell’s track record, nobody
could have predicted Derek Bell was going to hit .130."
— Lloyd McClendon, Pirates manager
"I really thought we could be a winning club again. We’ve been devastated."
— Bonifay, after being fired
"There is no club in major league baseball that could have undergone the
injuries that we’ve suffered this year."
— Bonifay
"I was disappointed because I don’t think it’s time for me to leave this
post."
— Bonifay
"I think it’s always nice to hear that, but it was more important for the
players to hear it. I’m smart enough to know that we’re all hired to be
fired. If you’re lucky, you’re hired, fired, re-hired and fired a couple
times."
— McClendon, on being told his own job was secure
ADVERSITY
"One thing you can’t do when you’re in a funk is feel sorry for yourself. It
will test you. Adversity makes you dig down deep inside yourself. You find
out a lot about people when adversity hits the fan."
— Larry Bowa, Phillies manager
"I don’t think we’re snakebit. We’re just being tested right now, and how we
come out of this is going to determine what kind of team this is going to
be."
— Gary Sheffield, Dodgers outfielder, on injuries to the team
"It’s just a tough time for this ballclub. We’re going to find out how good
we are. You can’t go crying because nobody cares. We can’t ask for
sympathy."
— Joe Torre, Yankees manager
FIGHT! FIGHT!
"He tried to show everybody he was tough. He’s not. If you want to fight
come down the line and let’s go. He’s stupid. He’s lucky."
— Raul Mondesi, Blue Jays outfielder, on being hit and yelled at by Braves
pitcher John Rocker, clearing both benches
"It would have been real harmless if someone, who will remain nameless from
the bullpen, had minded his own business."
— Chipper Jones, Braves infielder
LOSING
"By definition, they’re a veteran team because of their experience. But not
all of their experience is good. Sometimes, they’ll see signs that remind
them of some things when it wasn’t so good, and they didn’t win, and surmise
that this is like that rather than as they might want it to be."
— Bobby Valentine, Mets manager
"We still lost. Good jobs and attaboys aren’t a statistic. No one keeps
track of them. What they keep track of is wins and losses."
— Steve Trachsel, Mets pitcher
"We had some chances. We just didn’t have enough of them."
— Buddy Bell, Rockies manager, on a loss to the Mariners
PESTERED
"One of the reasons I wanted to hit in that situation was because of the
flies and bugs and moths. I didn’t want to struggle with those things next
inning. I wanted to make the game end."
— Tsuyoshi Shinjo, Mets outfielder, on his desire to end a 10-inning game
against the Orioles
THE REST
"He’s an unbelievable hitter. You’d think you can make a mistake to him once
in a while, but he hits every one of them."
— Mark Mulder, Athletics pitcher, after giving up two home runs to Giants
outfielder Barry Bonds
"The pain, that’s what ticked me off. Dang, it was 96 miles per hour and in
the ribs. Pain ticks me off. I knew he didn’t do it intentionally. After I
cooled off, I understood the situation."
— Torii Hunter, Twins outfielder, on being hit by a pitch from the Astros’
Roy Oswalt
"I want to go out there and log innings. I don’t know if I can pitch like
Greg Maddux or Tom Glavine, but I want to pitch similar."
— Odalis Perez, Braves pitcher
"During batting practice, Bobby told me he believes I’m the same Timo from
last year. That made me feel pretty good."
— Timo Perez, Mets outfielder
"As soon as I threw it, I said, ‘Oh boy. Here comes a scolding.’"
— Shane Spencer, Yankees outfielder, on a bad throw to the infield that
nearly cost the Yankees a game
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