The Week in Quotes: April 2-8

IMPRESSIVE DEBUTS

"I felt pretty good throughout the game. As I was going into the ninth
inning, I was not nervous."

—Hideo Nomo, Red Sox pitcher, on throwing a no-hitter in his first
Red Sox start

"I wasn’t looking for anything. I was just trying to see the ball and
hit it."

—Manny Ramirez, Red Sox outfielder, on hitting a home run on the
first pitch he saw in his Fenway Park debut

"The minute I saw the ball leave the pitcher’s hand I cringed a little
bit because that was right in Manny’s wheelhouse. The only question was
whether he was going to knock the wall down."

—Trot Nixon, Red Sox outfielder, on watching the home run from
second base

"I had butterflies in my first at-bat, and then they went away. I came
up there with the bases loaded and they came back. Then I hit the home run,
and they went away again."

—Daryle Ward, Astros outfielder, on starting and hitting a grand
slam on Opening Day

ILL FEELINGS

"I’m surprised how well I did today. I had a good pasta dinner last
night. Maybe I walked past somebody with a bug. I’m surprised I was able to
pitch. I felt like somebody beat me up for two days."

—David Wells, White Sox pitcher, on being sick the day he pitched
six innings for the win against the Indians

"This is my responsibility, and I stunk. I just feel bad for the other
guys. They played so well, the fans got excited, and I go out and blow
it."

—Todd Jones, Tigers pitcher, on blowing his first save chance of
the year

"That ball [Tony] Batista hit, I believe his bat is corked. He hit
that ball almost 450 feet and broke the bat. I’ve given up a lot of homers.
That is the first one I’ve seen like that."

—Ken Hill, Devil Rays pitcher, on Tony Batista’s estimated
417-foot home run

"There are better days ahead for us."

—Lloyd McClendon, Pirates manager, on his injury-depleted staff

"The old adage ‘That’s the way the ball bounces sometimes.’ It didn’t
bounce for us."

–McClendon

"They outpitched us, outplayed us, outmanaged us, outcompeted us. They
outdid us in every area."

—Tony La Russa, Cardinals manager, on losing to the Rockies

THE REST

"Telly gave me the ball. That’s special. That means a lot to me."

—Larry Bowa, Phillies manager, on getting the last ball from Amaury
Telemaco following Bowa’s first win as Phillies manager

"He said, ‘Give me the ball.’ It was important to him."

—Amaury Telemaco

"We were aiming but we couldn’t hit his toe. He looked the same to me."

—John Boles, Marlins manager, on facing Greg Maddux,
who hurt a toe in his final spring training game

"[I’m] wondering always. Because this is the elite level, because this
is for all the peanut butter in the world."

—Shea Hillenbrand, Red Sox infielder, after his debut, about his
major-league future.

"I make one mistake and it’s a home run. I made a couple of good
pitches and then make another mistake, and it was another home run. I just
wasn’t able to get away with anything."

—Steve Trachsel, Mets pitcher, on allowing ten runs in a start
against Montreal

"Tom Goodwin understands that he needs to keep the ball on the ground.
It’s not about average, it’s about on-base percentage."

—Jim Tracy, Dodgers manager

"That’s awesome for short, fat guys. It will look like I can jump."

—Brian Giles, Pirates outfielder, on PNC Park’s six-foot wall in
left field

"It was a stupid thing to say. It was just that it had been a
frustrating season overall, with all the injuries and everything. But it
was a stupid thing to say. I don’t need to be comparing our players to food
products."

—Kevin Towers, Padres general manager, apologizing for comparing
his infield to Swiss cheese

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