The Week in Quotes: June 25-July 1

OUCH

"We got our brains kicked in for two games but we avoided the sweep and
that’s what counts. I don’t put any credence on this series. It’s another
game. If we’re talking in the month of September obviously it’s more
important."

—Larry Bowa, Phillies manager, on going 1-2 in a series against the Marlins

"I wouldn’t call this a tough loss. I’d call this getting whipped."

—Phil Garner, Tigers manager, on a 12-5 loss

"Sweeping a three-game series is a hard thing to do and sweeping a
five-game series is almost close to impossible."

–Bowa, whose Phillies achieved the almost close to impossible against
the Marlins

GOOSED

"We haven’t been able to bunch our offense. We’re in a lot of RBI
situations with two outs. The biggest golden RBI is the two-out RBI, and
we’ve had very few of those this year."

—Tony Muser, Royals manager, after a loss Sunday

"Two-out RBIs are huge. That’s the golden egg of baseball. If we don’t
score there after Sweeney and Dye struck out in the first, that’s a downer."

–Muser, after a win Thursday

YOUTH MOVEMENT

"Had he cleared waivers our intention was to send him to Syracuse, and give
him the opportunity to make his adjustments there and get his swing back.
The only way you get to an advantageous position in this game is if you
take a risk, and this was a risk that we thought was worth taking."

—Gord Ash, Blue Jays GM, on losing infielder Tony Batista on the waiver wire

"All of our baseball people were unanimous in wanting this claim. Tony
gives us much needed righthanded power. He is a young player who can play
several infield positions."

—Syd Thrift, Orioles Vice President for Baseball Operations, on claiming
Batista

"All of the people who are close to me have handcuffed me to my desk and
chair, not letting me do it. That’s the only reason. I’ve got a call into
Houdini. I’m hoping he helps me out. (Dunn) has got to be here at some point."

—Jim Bowden, Reds GM, on why he hasn’t promoted outfielder Adam Dunn yet

"It would be good if he could stay there for two or three years but that’s
not going to happen."

—Tony LaRussa, Cardinals manager, on pitcher Bud Smith, 21, returning to AAA

"Now you can start to see how the U.S. won the Olympics in baseball. These
guys are for real. I don’t care if you’re playing Cuba or the Yankees, when
you’ve got guys throwing like that, they’re not going to score many runs."

—Larry Dierker, Astros manager, on rookie pitchers Roy Oswalt and Ben Sheets

THE REST

"That’s the first time I’ve been thrown out in my 17 years of professional
baseball. What I said was, ‘I know the strike zone.’ I repeated it twice,
and he tossed me."

—Chad Kreuter, Dodgers catcher

"That’s a rookie umpire trying to assert his authority in the wrong way.
Maybe his feelings were hurt when I told him I knew the strike zone."

–Kreuter

"These guys can get through because they have the extra meat to protect
them. He doesn’t have the extra meat."

—Joe Kerrigan, Red Sox pitching coach, asked why Pedro Martinez
gets injured while Roger Clemens and other power pitchers don’t

"Bergeron struggled last year, but they didn’t send him down. There’s
always a double-standard when it comes to Milton Bradley."

—Milton Bradley, Expos outfielder, on his demotion

"I don’t know what you’re hanging around for. I didn’t do anything."

—Barry Bonds, Giants outfielder, to gathered reporters after flying out
four times in a game

"I’ve been watching (the highlights) every night. […] He must be drinking a
lot of wine because everything’s going his way."

—Sammy Sosa, Cubs outfielder, on Bonds’ season

If you would like to submit a quote, please
email Derek
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