Cubs Week In Quotations 06-13 to 06-19
Base Running Follies
"I wasn't aggressive running the bases because I knew it was hot and I was trying to stay strong. I saw Ortiz bobble the ball and thought I had a chance. When I tried to slide, I was too late. Last night at home, I could move my toe around and it was much better.'
- Carlos Zambrano
Paging Tom Skilling
"Generally as a good hitter, you find your stroke at about 200 at-bats, plus this is the hitters' time of year. We have a lot of guys from warm-weather places, and they're more comfortable with this [weather].î
-Dusty Baker
Yogi Baker
"Plus, they can hit, If you can hit, sooner or later, you'll hit.''
-Dusty Baker
But I Have No Problem Messing Up Dubois's
"I don't want to mess up [Hollandsworth's] swing, plus right- handers have been hitting a little better against him than left-handers.î
-Dusty Baker
All Your Rehab Questions Answered by Kid K
"I'm not concerned with gun readings right now. I'm just more concerned with making good pitches and repeating my delivery. For me it's just getting the pitch count up there.''
- Kerry Wood after his first rehab stint in Iowa
"Everybody wants to talk about mechanics. Mechanics is how many times you can repeat the delivery. My arm feels great. I have regular pitching soreness. That's always good in the right spots.''
-Kerry Wood
"My approach is going to be the same. I'm still going to go out there and try and put 'em away. I'm not going to turn into a ground-ball pitcher or try to nibble the corners by any means.î
-Kerry Wood
"If my stuff is there and my arms feels as good as it does now, everything should be fine. I'm not going to change anything.''
-Kerry Wood
Just Not Good Enough
''I made some good pitches, but obviously not as many as I needed to. It's a faster game up here, and things happen a lot quicker.''
-John Koronka
Relativity 101
"Some things I do on the mound, I don't feel anything. But some things I do in everyday life, I do feel it because I've got a contusion on the bone and some issues there. Pain's a relative term.''
-Mark Prior
Or Half-Kidding?
"We're not dealing with a normal injury, so the normal way you feel coming back from an injury is different. We are dealing with something entirely nonrelated to throwing. When I said pain was relative, I was half-serious.''
-Mark Prior
I'm A Beautiful Butterfly
"The horses are the horses. He's not a horse yet. He's a little pony trying to be a horse.''
-Dusty Baker, on Sergio Mitre
Rumor Mill
"People are always making up something."
-Dusty Baker, on the rumored trade with the Yankees for Gary Sheffield
Welcome to the Show
"First, to get told you're going to the big leagues, and you're stunned for about 15 minutes and then it wore off. You prepare for it and take it for what it isî
-Rich Hill
Priorities
"The reason I did that is this opportunity I can't pass up. The Cubs and the organization, I've followed since I was little. It's really cool."
-Cubs 1st round pick Mark Pawelek, on passing up his 2 year Mormom mission to sign with the Cubs
Awe Struck
"I've got to get used to this -- meeting guys I've seen on TV."
-Cubs 1st round pick Mark Pawelek
Well I Feel Reassured
"If I told you this was part of some master plan, I'd be full of it. Come on. I've been looking for bullpen help everywhere the last couple of years. If anyone tells you they've got this bullpen thing figured out, well ... good luck to them. He's smarter than I am."
-Jim Hendry
Identity Crisis
"[The fans] didn't know who I was because I didn't have a number on the back, so my name was 'No Number, 'Hey, No Number, what's your name?' I told them, and they still didn't know."
-Dusty Baker, recalling his first trip to spring training
Hi, My Name is Mark Buehrle and I'm Class A Jerk
"I'm just saying from [the] years of experience that he's had success, that he very well may be using something.''
- White Sox pitcher Mark Buehrle insinuating that a veteran Cubs pitcher has been doctoring baseballs
Take Up Knitting Then
"He must get bored in the four days off. As a starter, I can appreciate that. Now that I'm doing the relieving thing, I don't have time to think about things like that.''
-Ryan Dempster reacting to Buehrle's comments
Wishful Thinking
"I tried to throw a pitch down and away. Unfortunately, it came back over the plate. Hopefully, Dusty won't hold this against me, and I'll get more work down the road."
-Joe Borowski, on the pitch that Derek Jeter hit for a grand slam on Saturday
The Final Stage is Acceptance
"Everybody knows Rem usually gets right-handers out better than left-handers. It's just unfortunate we had to put him in a situation with the bases loaded as the best option. Matsui is really good against left-handers. I had it in my notes, but that was the best option we had.''
-Dusty Baker, on going to Remlinger versus Matsui during Friday's game
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