The Week in Quotes: August 20-26

COACHING

"Sometimes, they learn better from their peers than us genius coaches."

—Bob Boone, Reds manager, on pitcher Jose Rijo‘s tutelage
of Jose Acevedo

"I think he’s going to be a good big league player. He’s very disciplined
for a young hitter. He takes a walk. He hits the ball to the other way
well. Left-handers don’t really bother him. Sometimes, he’s a little too
disciplined for me. I’d like to see him be a little more aggressive."

—Larry Bowa, Phillies manager, on Yankees infielder Nick Johnson

"Bryan Price resurrected my career. He changed my mechanics, convinced me I
could throw just as hard as ever and not have my arm kill me the next
morning. And it worked."

—Norm Charlton, Mariners pitcher, on pitching coach Bryan Price

COACHING PHILOSOPHY

"You won’t see me sleeping on the couch in my office. You can’t live like
that–where the only time you get to eat is sitting on the john"

—Joe Kerrigan, Red Sox manager, on the extra time commitment of his new
job

"Offensively, the two most important parts of your lineup are your No. 1
hitter and your No. 4 hitter. You need somebody who can have a good on-base
percentage. Sometimes it’s a guy who’s not a burner whose strengths don’t
include stealing bases. You can’t steal bases if you don’t get on."

—Mike Hargrove, Orioles manager

"Baserunning wins more games than anything else."

—Lloyd McClendon, Pirates manager

"Do you want a veteran who’s so-so just because he’s a veteran? Or do you
want a kid who you don’t know how he’ll handle it, but might be even better?
When you have guys who have dominated in the minors, more than half the time
when the dust settles it’s no contest."

—Burt Hooton, Astros pitching coach

"I used to think experience was vital. But given the alternative, I’ll take
talent."

—Lou Piniella, Mariners manager

CONFRONTATIONAL COACHING

"Give the umpires the authority to ask the pitcher and hitter if they want a
piece of each other and let them settle it."

—Tony Muser, Royals manager, on how to settle brawls

"You can second-guess me all you want, but John Rocker is going to pitch. If
John Rocker gets me fired, so be it."

—Charlie Manuel, Indians manager

CHEMICAL BONDS

"Not everybody gets along. Not everybody gets along in any job. The teams I
played on in Los Angeles didn’t get along. The A’s of the early ’70s didn’t
get along. You play, though. As long as you play, dude, as long as you
play."

—Dusty Baker, Giants manager

"Sure. But what can you do if they don’t? That’s life. You can’t change it.
You just pray for those people."

—Barry Bonds, Giants outfielder, asked if it was important to be
liked by teammates

"I don’t feel I have a bad relationship with Jeff. We go our own way. Do you
guys always go out with people you work with? I’d go to lunch with him or
ride motorcycles with him."

—Barry Bonds, Giants outfielder, on his relationship with Jeff Kent

"That’s between me and the team. It’s up to us to keep the circle closed to
anyone trying to intrude. What does ‘coddle’ mean? I watch out for all my
players. I watch Barry less. You treat racehorses a little different. You
let ’em run, be wild. I don’t tell him nothing. How many people can tell
Barry what to do? Barry is Barry."

—Dusty Baker, Giants manager, asked if he coddles Bonds

INVESTING IN BONDS

"Money is not the issue. My time is limited to fulfill a dream I’ve always
had. I can’t ask for anything better than what we have in San Francisco.
It’s a wonderful park. The fans are great. It’s a great city. But it’s not
my decision."

—Barry Bonds, Giants outfielder

"It will be resolved quickly. I’d like a decision, one way or another,
within three weeks after our season ends."

—Peter Magowan, Giants owner, on re-signing Bonds

"Where we go is a big part of it. The further we go, the better chance there
might be. If we don’t go, we have to sit down and talk about what we can do
next year with the amount of dollars we have."

—Peter Magowan, Giants owner

"I’m saying that if we don’t win, we have to ask ourselves: ‘Why didn’t we
win, and what is it going to take to sign him? And what are our chances to
win in the future if we sign him, or if we don’t sign him?’ That sounds kind
of like a stupid sort of question–how can your chances be better if you
don’t sign him?–but there are a certain amount of dollars to spend, and how
can you put the best team together for a certain amount of dollars?"

—Peter Magowan, Giants owner

STRENGTHENING BONDS

"Last year’s playoffs put things in perspective for me. It made me want to
work harder. I watched a lot of film. It was one of my worst seasons vs.
left-handers. I made too many adjustments last year. It was back to the
drawing board."

—Barry Bonds, Giants outfielder

"That pitch right there got what it deserved."

—Graeme Lloyd, Expos pitcher, after giving up a home run to Bonds

"I feel better this year than before. Not many 37-year-olds run around like
I do. I feel like a kid. But I don’t care about the home run thing.
Longevity gives you a lot of numbers. I don’t want 70. I don’t need it. I
want to win."

—Barry Bonds, Giants outfielder

"He’s locked in right now. Those pitches I kept throwing him, he kept
fouling them off, fouling them off, until he got his pitch, or until I
finished walking him. I didn’t want to walk him, but he’s a tough out, a
great hitter. And that’s why he’s so tough, because he can get his walks."

—Javier Vazquez, Expos pitcher

THE REST

"Triples are overrated–too much running. I’m not a big triples guy. The
only way I’m going to hit a triple is if it rattles around, the guy kicks
it, or if a little bird comes down and gets it, and moves it to left field."

—Adam Dunn, Reds outfielder

"This is the famous place where Roger [Clemens] comes and wipes sweat on
Babe’s head."

—Andy Pettitte, Yankees pitcher, in Monument Park, Yankee Stadium,
speaking to Wayne Graham, who coached both Pettitte and Clemens at San
Jacinto Junior College

"Everyone wants to hit for a high average. But for my role, it’s runs and
RBIs, and above and beyond that is whatever. My job is to score runs and
drive in runs."

—Troy Glaus, Angels infielder

"We’ve got to talk to our defensive coordinator. The time of possession has
been a little lopsided in a couple of these games."

—Geoff Blum, Expos infielder, after repeated wallopings

"All our former players are kicking our butts, Andres Galarraga, Fred
McGriff, Ryan Klesko. Who’s next, Montreal? Watch out for [Mike] Mordecai.
Better pitch around him."

—Brian Jordan, Braves outfielder, on Dodger outfielder
Marquis Grissom‘s two-run homer

"When you gotta go, you gotta go."

—Carlos Lee, White Sox outfielder, on a mysterious absence from the
outfield that held up play until he emerged from the Sox bullpen, zipping up
his pants

"If you told me we’d win three, I think I’d be about as happy as I am right
now."

—Charlie Manuel, Indians manager, on beating Oakland three times

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