Cubs Week In Quotations
False Modesty
"I'm not the ace. All five (starters) are the ace."
- Carlos Zambrano
"To me? On the first and 15th when the paycheck comes, that tells you the ace."
- Lou Piniella
We're Scared That You're Under Contract Through 2014
''It's more I'm scared because I was running a lot today and it was a
little cold out. I think I'm OK. I have to play a
little more and feel confident about my leg.''
- Alfonso Soriano
Questions Such As, "How Much Do You Hate Kevin Orie?"
"I've answered more questions about [the 20-K game] in the last three,
four days than the week after it happened."
-Kerry Wood
And Then Came the Diamondbacks...
"We're getting people on base, it's just a question of getting them in
more consistently.We talk about all these numbers, but the
only numbers I enjoy talking about are wins and losses, and lately the
losses are greatly outnumbering the wins, and I'm not too pleased with
that."
- Lou Piniella earlier in the week
Well, We Started Playing Better
"I maintain we're going to play better. But I also maintain two things, that the division has gotten better, and two, teams enjoy beating the Cubs a lot more than they did last year. I see it. I see how excited St. Louis was when they beat us, I saw how excited Milwaukee was when they beat us."
- Lou Piniella
In Case You Haven't Heard, Zambrano Likes to Hit
"The other day when I took him out after eight innings, he wasn't
happy. But he was unhappiest the most because he wasn't getting his at-bat in the bottom of the inning."
- Lou Piniella on Carlos Zambrano
''I've used him to pinch hit and pinch run. The first thing he tells me
when a runner is on base, 'You want me to hit or bunt?' I don't think
he knows the bunt sign.''
- Lou Piniella on Carlos Zambrano
''He's an athlete. You should see him run with a soccer ball. He's fun to watch.''
- Lou Piniella on Carlos Zambrano
"What I've noticed this year in the National League is that the
pitchers in general are swinging the bats better than I've seen in
prior years, last year, for sure. A pitcher can really help himself if
they can put the ball in play or they can bunt a guy over. It's a big
help."
- Lou Piniella
Better to Be Lucky Than Good
"Put it this way: He wouldn't sell many hitting tapes if he were the
instructor. It's choppy at best. I think he's trying a little bit of a
Fukudome swing, running to first base and then swinging. … Lilly better
just keep pitching."
- Lou Piniella
"He had his 'Will Clark' stance going today."
- Derrek Lee on Ted Lilly
"That was fun. I think [Haren] threw it right into my swing."
- Ted Lilly
Not That There's Anything Wrong with That
"I will be wearing pink shoes and pink batting gloves, approved by
MLB. This will be for breast cancer. It is a great thing;
anything I can do for the people."
- Carlos Zambrano
The Club Needs You to Tank Your Start so Hill is Called Back Up
"Whatever the club needs me to do, I'm willing to do it. It's an unfortunate thing to me, because I think Rich Hill is a Major
League pitcher. Right now, it's command issues. He'll be back up here
soon. We need him to be where he needs to be to help us win."
- Jon Lieber before his start Wednesday
"It's just terrible pitching and I put my team in a hole right off the bat."
- Jon Lieber after that start
"I don't think we have too many choices. That's why I like left-handers in our rotation, because it pitches into the strength of our right-handed bullpen."
- Lou Piniella
Who Else Texts Kasper During A Game?
"Ask [Len] Kasper -- I would text him all the time when he's on TV. I think I've only missed [watching] a couple of games. It's been hard just to watch. I
sat on my bed, just as if I was here. It was hard. I just missed it."
-Scott Eyre
There Was No Joy in Game 2 Last Year
"I don't think at any point I've gotten a fastball by [Young]. Knowing he has good bat speed, it's a little hard-headed of me to try to beat him. We're competing, and that's the joy of it."
- Ted Lilly
And The Rest...
"Any time I have a man on second, I have a special sign for Ronny or
[Mark DeRosa] or [Ryan] Theriot. I'm always paying
attention to the runner at second and first. I like to do the best I
can to get one, two, three out."
- Carlos Zambrano
"I've got 3 1/2 pitches that I can throw."
- Kerry Wood
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