The Week in Quotes: September 14-20

NEXT TIME THEY’LL POLITELY HAND PITCHf/x REPORTS TO THE UMPS

“What was the count at the end, 3-4 to Green? I thought we had him a couple of times. I was surprised. It’s a good umpiring crew and I think we really feel strongly they missed a couple times we had Green struck out. Unfortunately, that’s the focal point of the game, and it didn’t go our way.”
–Angels manager Mike Scioscia, after an 8-7 loss to the Red Sox at Fenway Park this week. Red Sox shortstop Nick Green appeared to take several uncalled strike threes before he walked.

“Their deportment as we left the field, going through the Angels dugout, left a lot to be desired. We filed a report after the game, and I would think there will be a coach or two over there that would be regretting his actions today.

–Rick Reed, the game’s home-plate umpire, on the Angels’ behavior towards the umpires after the game.

“There was nothing done in a threatening nature. It was more along the lines of ‘You’ve got to be kidding me.’ … It wasn’t even directed at them, it was more venting in the clubhouse.”
-Scioscia, on his team’s post-game behavior towards the umpires.

“The World Umpires Association conducts itself in a professional manner, and we expect everyone in and around Major League Baseball to do the same. We recognize that in the heat of competition folks get heated up and make mistakes. However, in this instance, we certainly look to Major League Baseball to address this matter in a manner that makes everything right.”
-Director of Umpiring Mike Port, on the incident.

“Mike [Scioscia] made an attempt to quiet his coaches down, but he also made a comment that I thought incited the situation. I’m disappointed in the coaches; coaches are usually the guys who try to stop any kind of friction that develops in the course of a game and afterward. But they were initiating last night, and I’m not pleased in the way they said things or in their presentation.”
-Reed

“Especially here and some other places, they seem timid to make calls. I’ve heard it from other guys that come in here and say that. That’s either because it’s a mistake, or they’re scared.”
-Angels closer Brian Fuentes, on the incident at Fenway. (ESPN.com)

THAT’S ALWAYS BEEN HIS ATTITUDE

“It was important for Aaron to get out and play. He was drafted by his boyhood team, and he wanted to get out and pitch. He wanted to get out and go.”
–Royals general manager Dayton Moore on signing Aaron Crow, the team’s first-round pick, this week. Crow was drafted and then not signed by the Nationals last year.

“We still wanted to sign Tanner. From where we are as an organization, we are so committed and so reliant on developing our own young players, and we wanted to keep that pipeline flowing. This was very important.”
–Rangers general manager Jon Daniels on signing right-hander Tanner Scheppers to a deal that included a $1.25 million dollar bonus.

“J.J. and the guys did a tremendous job. It completes our 2009 draft, and we feel very good about it, and we feel like we’re continuing to fill our pipeline.”

-Dayton Moore, on the signing of Crow.

“It’s a mixture. I’m just so happy that it’s over and I have a direction, so I can grow as a player. I told the Rangers that I’d be ready to go whenever I signed. I don’t think I lost anything; I lost some development time, but my arm feels as good as ever.”

-Rangers right-hander Tanner Scheppers

“He’s a tremendous competitor, and he’s got a chance to be a quality major league starter.”
-Moore, on Crow.

“It was definitely good that I went up there, and I learned a lot from the experience. You can’t look at it as a negative. I learned what professional baseball is all about. There’s no coach there telling you where to go, it’s a lot on your own. I had to learn, you know, to be a pro… I learned how to take better care of my body, my arm, myself.”
-Scheppers, on his experience playing independent baseball. (Dick Kaegel, MLB.com)

MILTON PLANS TO WAIT UNTIL CHRISTMAS TO ASK FOR A CONTRACT EXTENSION

“It’s just not a positive environment. I need a stable, healthy enjoyable environment. There’s too many people everywhere in your face with a microphone asking the same questions repeatedly. Everything is just bashing you. You got out there and you play harder than anybody on the field, and never get credit for it. It’s just negativity.”
–Cubs outfielder Milton Bradley, before Jim Hendry suspended him for the rest of the season.

“And you understand why they haven’t won in 100 years here, because it’s negative. It’s what it is.”
-Bradley, on the city of Chicago.

“The last few days became too much for me to tolerate.”
-Cubs general manager Jim Hendry, on Bradley’s comments to the media.

“I’m certainly not going to let our great fans become excuses. I’m not going to tolerate [Bradley] not being able to answer questions from the media respectably.”
-Hendry (Paul Sullivan, Chicago Tribune)

BUILDING A MYSTERY

“I wish I could put my finger exactly on it. At times, it’s been mechanical. At times, it’s been long counts. Usually, it goes to the consistency of the location of your pitches.”

–Yankees manager Joe Girardi, after a three-inning start by Joba Chamberlain yesterday in which he gave up seven runs.

“It’s going to take a lot more than this to get my confidence level down. You can kick me as much as you want, but I’m going to come back fighting every time.”
-Yankees right-hander Joba Chamberlain, on his struggles.

“You take a positive out of everything.”
-Chamberlain

“The issue is more him throwing the baseball well. We’ll work on getting him right.”
-Girardi (Mark Feinsand, New York Daily News)

THE REST

“I went to Barcelona to see the Miró Foundation, and I thought his palette would be the most appropriate, which would be a great homage to Spain. There’s nothing wrong with retro, but it’s time to move ahead into the 21^st century. I could have chosen an Art Deco design, but that’s looking back. There will be paintings, sculptures, and colored lights.”
–Marlins owner Jeffrey Loria on the design of his team’s new stadium. (Ken Belson, The New York Times)

“We definitely weren’t thinking something like that was going to happen. But I think this team always knows in this dome, especially with the amount of fans here, we just get a little momentum going and we will break through and make something happen.”
–Twins outfielder Denard Span, on a ball lost by Tigers outfielder Don Kelly in the lights that led to a win over the Tigers on Saturday. (Tyler Mason, MLB.com)

“Everybody gets that sometimes, even from sleeping on a pillow. I hope mine is not any worse than that. I felt it pinch when I threw that pitch to warm up. I don’t want to aggravate my arm or something like that. I don’t want to take chances.”
–Phillies starter Pedro Martinez, on feeling stiffness in his neck and missing a start. (Todd Zolecki, MLB.com)

“Aw, that guy’s grown by leaps and bounds. He’s blossomed right in front of everybody’s eyes. He’s going to be a horse to deal with in the future. He’s got a chance to be a [Chris] Carpenter-type, a [Adam] Wainwright-type, a guy that just shuts you down every fifth day. I said he’s got a chance to be.”
–Pirates pitching coach Joe Kerrigan, on right-hander Ross Ohlendorf. (Chuck Finder, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette)

“He throws a pretty conventional cutter. He doesn’t have eight fingers or anything. The way he throws it, there’s nothing really different from anybody else’s cutter. But something he does along the way, or how his arm works, or his wrist or his fingers, something makes it cut the way it cuts. It’s nothing to do with the grip. He could show you the grip all day, but when you go out there and throw it, you’re not going to do it like he does.”
-Yankees reliever Phil Hughes, on Mariano Rivera‘s cutter. (Tyler Kepner, The New York Times)

“Not all the facts of this case have come out, unfortunately, and some may never come out. Things that can hurt people are leaked all of the time to newspapers, but apparently, something helpful to someone who has been mercilessly attacked doesn’t get leaked. It’s almost certainly because those with this information have integrity. This whole episode was grossly unfair. I didn’t write for weeks because I was so angry. The advice from everyone was to just let it die. But how can we let this injustice die?”

-Red Sox owner John Henry, on the revelation that David Ortiz tested positive for PED use back in the day. (NESN.com)

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Alex Carnevale is a contributor to Baseball Prospectus.