THE BOSS SOUNDS OFF
"I am a Bud Selig man. I consider him a good friend. he's a master at building people together. But while I'm loyal to Bud Selig, the biggest beneficiary in this whole plan are the Milwaukee Brewers. That doesn't seem quite right. I don't know how he sleeps at night sometimes."
—George Steinbrenner, Yankees owner
"I want to see Jetes truly focused. He wasn't totally focused last year. He had the highest number of errors he's had in some time. He wasn't himself…He makes enough money that he doesn't need a lot of the commercials. I'm not going to stick my nose into his family's business. They are very fine people, (but) if his dad doesn't see that, he should see that. When I read in the paper that he's out until 3 a.m. in New York City going to a birthday party, I won't lie. That doesn't sit well with me."
–Steinbrenner, on Yankees shortstop Derek Jeter
RUMBLE IN THE BRONX
"Neither attribute will prevent us from criticizing the mighty 'Evil Empire' wherever and whenever we believe they deserve it…That's one of the things the Yankees must accept for inhabiting and exploiting the largest sports market in the nation."
—Larry Lucchino, Red Sox president
"He's baseball's foremost chameleon of all time…He's not the kind of guy you want to have in your foxhole. He's running the team behind John Henry's back."
–Steinbrenner, on Red Sox president Larry Lucchino
"The days of trying to shed or hide your own problems by blaming the Yankees are over."
—Randy Levine, Yankees president
REPEAT A LIE ENOUGH TIMES…
"Neifi is an accomplished major league middle infielder who can hit for average, run well and play on either side of second base…Like a lot of the players we've signed this winter, he'll provide (manager) Felipe (Alou) with a lot of versatility. Neifi has the advantage of being a switch hitter and can steal a base when called upon. He adds depth to our infield on any given day."
—Brian Sabean, Giants general manager, on acquiring HACKING MASS MVP Neifi Perez
ONE QUESTION, MANY RESPONSES Your top pitching prospect just threw 126 pitches in Double-A. How do you feel?
"I'd talk to the farm director. Pitch counts can be deceptive. You can throw 85 pitches and be spent or throw 120 and be fine."
—Joe Garagiola Jr., Diamondbacks general manager
"I'm OK with it. But if it's Opening Day in Portland, Maine, I'm upset."
—Omar Minaya, Expos general manager
"Have faith in my player-development staff that they had good reasons."
—Ed Wade, Phillies general manager
"I call the farm director, ask him why they violated club policy, he tells me they wrote it down wrong, it was 119, I say thank you and hang up."
—Jim Bowden, Reds general manager
"I'd pat him on the back. We're making babies out of farmhands in baseball today. Then we wonder why they don't go eight or nine."
—Art Stewart, Royals scouting director
"It would never happen. We'd probably be listening to the game on the Internet, and would call the manager before he had the chance."
—Paul DePodesta, Athletics assistant general manager
[All quotes courtesy of Baseball America Online, 12/17/02.]
THE REST
"The economics in baseball stink. The economics stink, and if this isn't a clear enough signal to the doubters and naysayers, to be forced to trade an 18-game winner to your arch enemy … The economics stink."
—John Schuerholtz, Braves general manager
"I think you need a philosophy of not just player development. I think it's important that your philosophy is something that meshes the major leagues, the minor leagues, and scouting. Those elements have to mesh."
—Mike Arbuckle, Phillies assistant general manager
"Patience isn't accepting mediocrity. It just means there will be bumps and grinds. When we lose 100 games, you could put some stopgap veterans out there and we probably win some more games, but we want to get the young guys experience and start that learning curve."
—Allard Baird, Royals general manager
"Nobody knows what he'll do here, but there's no reason to think he won't do it."
—John Cox, Yankees coordinator of Pacific Rim scouting, on Hideki Matsui
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