The Week in Quotes: March 17-23

CHAPMAN SUFFERS CONCUSSION ON GRUESOME LINE DRIVE

“After I watched the video—and I have been watching the video, repeating it many, many, many times and every time that I see it I feel really happy because this could be something worse. The way how I am right now, the way how I feel I'm in no pain. I have no pain at all. How I've been progressing with has been great for me.”
—Cincinnati Reds pitcher Aroldis Chapman, on how he feels after being hit above the eye by a Salvador Perez line drive during a spring training game (C. Trent Rosecrans, Cincinnati Enquirer)

“I think in sports, you have to block that stuff out. I think Chappy is in the back of our minds. We're thinking about him all day long, but whether it's the loss of a family member or it's the birth of a baby—a positive or negative—what you see a lot in this industry is you try your best to tune it out. We all know the severity of the situation. We're praying for him and we're thinking of him. It's unfortunate, but we still have to go on with our daily business.”
—Cincinnati Reds outfielder Ryan Ludwick, on having to continue spring training after Chapman’s injury (Mark Sheldon, MLB.com)

“I'm glad they didn't ask [me to pitch]. After a few minutes, I was like, 'Am I going to have to go in to pitch now? I don't really feel like going to do that.' Obviously I could. That's our job. This is what we do. All of us are aware. When we go out there, we're not thinking of getting hit by a line drive hit back at us. We're just thinking about getting outs.”
—Cincinnati Reds pitcher Sam LeCure, who would have been the pitcher to follow Chapman had the game not been canceled following his injury (Mark Sheldon, MLB.com)

“You just can't find it in your heart to go out there and play. Baseball is a game to be played with a lot of joy in your heart and determination and focus. And I don't think anybody was able to do that after that moment.”
—Cincinnati Reds manager Bryan Price, agreeing with the decision to cancel the game (Mike Bauman, MLB.com)

“It's a hopeless feeling because you realize you caused it and, obviously, you didn't mean to do it. It's a freak accident. Basically, I just told him, 'Go see him in the hospital wherever he is and it'll make you feel a lot better when you go to sleep tonight — just knowing that he knows you care and you're out checking up on him.'”
—Kansas City Royals first baseman Eric Hosmer, on giving Perez advice in the aftermath of the injury. Hosmer was in a similar situation last June when he hit a line drive that struck Tampa Bay Rays pitcher Alex Cobb in the ear. (Dick Kaegel, MLB.com)

“When he got back on the mound pitching, it really made me feel good. Especially when he had that playoff game against Cleveland last year, it was fun to watch. Guys like Alex and guys like Chapman — those guys are competitors. You can't keep them off baseball that long.”
—Hosmer, on seeing Cobb come back after a similar injury last season.

“This may sound funny.. I threw my first pitch for a strike. The second pitch, I was thinking, 'God, I don't want to get hit.' I was like, 'Wow, how am I going to react after throwing?' But [after that], everything was normal… [Aroldis and I] got to know each other in the offseason a lot better. I am going to call him in a couple of days to check on him and see how he's doing. We talk now and then. I got a lot closer to the Cuban players.”
—Miami Marlins pitcher Jose Fernandez, on his fears of being hit by a batted ball on the mound and his friendship with Aroldis Chapman (Joe Frisaro, MLB.com)

FREDDY GALVIS DIAGNOSED WITH MRSA

“[We'll] bomb it up pretty good and try to clear that. Obviously, it is a bit of a concern. We'll take the proper precautions. Unfortunately, when you're in a clubhouse with 60-plus people or whatever it was, this kind of stuff can happen. If you see everyone's locker, every single guy has that disinfectant stuff. It's stuff that happens. You can't do much about it [besides] trying to prevent anything else from happening.”
—Philadelphia Phillies general manager Ruben Amaro Jr., on keeping other players in the clubhouse safe after Freddy Galvis was diagnosed with MRSA (Ryan Lawrence, Philadelphia Inquirer)

"It's something that's serious. It's associated with locker rooms and training rooms, so I think it would be wise for our trainers and staff to clean everything properly and eliminate it. Where it came from, who knows, but you have to assume it came from here, so you do what you can to stop it."
—Philadelphia Phillies pitcher Cliff Lee, on safety precautions following the diagnosis (Ryan Lawrence, Philadelphia Inquirer)

HARVEY SHOWS FRUSTRATION ABOUT REHABBING IN FLORIDA

“The biggest part is wanting to stay with the team. To learn the league. To learn Travis (d’Arnaud). To learn how to bond with the other starting pitchers, and the guys in the clubhouse, and the David Wrights who I plan on playing with.”
—New York Mets pitcher Matt Harvey, on why he wants to rehab from Tommy John surgery while being around his teammates. Harvey voiced his frustration about having to rehab in Port St. Lucie on the record in a one-on-one interview with Andy Martino of the New York Daily News before talking with general manager Sandy Alderson and telling Martino afterward that he felt much better about the situation. (Andy Martino, New York Daily News)

“I expressed that seven months in Port St. Lucie is a long time. For me, I strongly felt that my best opportunity, and my motivation to come back quicker, stronger, work harder would be to be with the teammates. That’s kind of what I have always said. I have worked so hard to get to the big leagues and be with this team, it just felt like all of a sudden I was shooed to the back.”
—Harvey, on his communication with the front office.

“It’s just the fact that I have been not allowed to talk to anybody, and that every tweet or Instagram I send is, do not write. My locker—me and (Jeremy Hefner, also rehabbing) was basically in a closet. I didn’t think that was right. I don’t know exactly who was in charge of the situation.”
—Harvey, on why he felt he was being “shooed to the back.”

“I have worked so hard to get to the point where I was, and all of a sudden I get hurt, and it’s ‘you’ve got to stay in Florida, you’ve got to disappear from New York, you’ve got to do this.’ I took pride in living in New York, and being a New Yorker. I live there all year round. It’s a place I love being.”
—Harvey.

“I love going to the ballpark every day. I love watching. I love being the first guy in the dugout when we have a home game, and giving guys high five every time they come off the field. I take pride in that. And with that, I think being a good teammate is part of being a leader, and that’s how I’d like to see myself.”
—Harvey.

TWITTER

That's right!!! #Mercer #MercerMadness #MarchMadness

— Jordy Mercer (@jordy_mercer) March 21, 2014

—Jordy had a distinct rooting interest when Mercer upset Duke.

THE REST

“Honestly, I was a little scared. Haven't done that in a while. Thankfully nothing happened."
—New York Mets pitcher Bartolo Colon, on running the bases after singling in a spring training at bat (Anthony DiComo, MLB.com)

“He was just impressive. This guy's a better athlete than what he's teasing you about. This guy's got great feet, he's got great hands. He was hoping he had a chance to bunt today. It's Bartolo. He's a pro.”
—New York Mets manager Terry Collins, on Colon’s athleticism (Anthony DiComo, MLB.com)

“I’d love to be in the field more than I have been. I have to look at what I get out of it. I don’t feel I'd be as mentally tough if I hadn’t gone through this. I think my [daily] routine is better because of it…As time goes on, you face a lot of battles. You start to understand the grind it can be. You aren’t going through a season with everything perfect. You understand there are going to be bumps in the road.”
—Rockies shortstop Troy Tulowitzki, outlining some goals for the season. (Tracy Ringolsby, MLB.com)

“It’s really exciting that people want your autograph (and) they really like you. Can’t wait to be in Houston to play for them and help the team be a better organization and bring some excitement to the Houston fans and play with the ballpark crowd every single day.”
—Astros prospect Carlos Correa, describing his experience in big league camp. (Jose de Jesus Ortiz, Houston Chronicle)

“I think he's made a lot of progress. One of the things we talked about is to make sure he continues to work on his defense, continue to go down there and put together some good at-bats, try to get on base a little more through the process and just go out there and be a professional. He's been hustling and busting his rear end out here this spring and he's looked good.”
—Chicago Cubs manager Rick Renteria, on prospect Javier Baez (Carrie Muskat, MLB.com)

“I kind of took the joke. He said something like, ‘What did you do last night?’ I said, I slept the whole night, because I was tired. I wasn’t doing anything last night, because I was tired. But that was funny.”
—Atlanta Braves pitcher Julio Tehran, on his reaction to manager Fredi Gonzalez’s deadpan joke that he made when calling the pitcher into his office to tell him that Tehran would be the team’s opening day starter (David O'Brien, Atlanta Journal-Constitution)

“It’s one of those bittersweet times… The reality is, we lost two games here. Personal stuff aside, we’re going to have to go back and keep working hard. It’s kind of a disappointment.”
—Diamondbacks outfielder Mark Trumbo, concentrating on the Diamondbacks two consecutive losses more than his home run in the second game. (Nick Piecoro, USA Today)

“I don’t know anything about it…I’m focused on baseball. I leave all that to my agent.”
—Giants third baseman Pablo Sandoval, on likely not getting a contract extension by opening day. (Henry Schulman, San Francisco Chronicle)

“Obviously, I’m sad to leave Houston. I love the fans and players and everyone here. I feel like they have a lot of guys coming up, and if there’s not room for me to get at-bats and not room for me to play, it’s best to let me go and not try to hold me back, and I commend them for that and I thank them for that.”
—Outfielder J.D. Martinez, on being cut by the Houston Astros. (Brian McTaggart, MLB.com)

“There are success stories, and those are the ones I like to look at…That’s where my focus is at.”
—Rangers pitcher Tanner Scheppers, on winning a starting rotation spot after pitching in the bullpen last year. (Kevin Sherrington, Dallas Morning News)

“It was a really good bunt by Bryce. I just felt like it was the only way I could get it over to first from the angle I was going to have to take. I could probably do it another 15 times, and throw all 15 of them in the fourth row of the stands.”
—New York Mets second baseman Daniel Murphy, on throwing out Bryce Harper on an attempted bunt on a between-the-legs toss (Anthony DiComo, MLB.com)

“You try to go out there fearless and not really think it's going to happen. But the more you see it, the more and more you think about it, obviously. It's like every time you get on the freeway, you don't really think about getting in a car accident, but if you get in a car accident, it'll shake you up pretty good.”
—Tampa Bay Rays pitcher Matt Moore, who was hit in the mouth by a comebacker on Sunday. Moore received four or five stitches and luckily avoided any serious injury. (Paul Casella, MLB.com)