Dusty Baker Quotes (446 Quotes)

You'd hope so and think so. Usually when it comes down to the last couple roster spots, you go on what you have seen here as well as the past.

I thought he was way out of the baseline.

He wanted the victory and knew we needed it. His fastball was moving.

They're playing hard. Corey circled the ball and missed and, like I said, we just played bad defense today.

It's not easy. We've been looking for that guy all winter. How easy was it to find a right-handed hitter to back up D-Lee at first base this off-season You can't envision much playing time. That's what was difficult. It's probably a little easier now.

I know there's a lot of trade speculation, but you have to handle it as if everyone here is going to be here. You don't know what's going to happen exactly.

That's the most unselfish, smartest spot in the lineup. You have to be able to handle the bat. It's also a position that won't run as much because then they'll walk D-Lee. It's a position for a more established, accomplished veteran player.

He throws strikes, he's not afraid. He doesn't pitch away from the bat. He knows how to pitch. He has three good pitches. He's still trying to get a feel of his breaking ball some. He's been impressive. It's the first time I've seen him and I like what I see.

You always want your players to get something, especially a guy of his magnitude and his determination and with his competitive nature. He's earned it, he's deserved a shot and an opportunity, which is why I didn't take him out of that game Saturday.

We haven't discussed that, and they're in the playoffs, ... Who knows when they'll finish It could be the middle of September.

I'm sure there is no miracle drug that's going to make it go away right away.

It's similar to what happened last year. We'll see today. It's sort of out of our control some.

We don't have a whole bunch of kids, ... Really, we have two kids as (position) players. Most of our kids are pitchers. We're going to play them. They're going to get ... I can't say the majority of playing time ... (but) they're going to play.

Oh, I know what it's going to be like. I believe in it stronger now than ever. I dreamed about it before I got here. I still dream about it. It's going to be wonderful.

There is a little light strain we have to watch. Slight leg thing. It's not serious.

He can wait 'til Monday. The Padres are the team he's had his most success against.

Probably not. Once you hurt something badly, you know how to pace yourself. Is that helping his cause You don't know. He really hasn't had a situation yet where he has had the need to go full-out.

We're trying not to get that far ahead of ourselves. We're trying to take it slower versus faster. He is a rehab player. We'll analyze him and see how he feels.

He's had that from time to time. That's the first time he's had it this year, but when a guy comes to you and says his back is really tight, you can't leave him in there. It's just unfortunate that it happened tonight at the end of this trip, a bad road trip.

I just hope my army is sharp.

Today was kind of a flat day after the guys have been busting it. Guys are dragging a little bit.

You learn the hard way then. We had a long discussion last night. The thing about temperament, which you guys don't believe, but I was very similar. You have to constantly work on it as a person.

It's not over with yet. You don't know if somebody is going to offer Sammy a job here soon or what is going to happen. But Sammy has been one of the great players of the game for a long time and a guy who meant a lot to Chicago and a lot to the game. . . . I just hope he gets a job somewhere.

Usually, if he makes a mistake, they don't hit him out of the ballpark with that sinker, ... He made a mistake that's what happens with youth. We have a young pitching staff and a young bullpen that's subject sometimes to walks and also subject to mistakes.

You've just got to play smart when something is wrong. You still play hard. What you don't want to happen is altering his swing and creating bad habits. As far as how many at-bats down here, it depends on how he feels.

We'll take them any way we can get them. (The wild pitch) was two runs, basically. We got just enough to win and avoided the sweep.

That's part of his job as the commissioner, and he has to do his job. I'd like a resolution sooner rather than later. Get it over, and let's go on with baseball.

It's a great sight to see on this side. We saw it on the other side all the time. We're just glad he's on our side instead of cursing him on the other side.

I've always been a big believer that the general manager, who is my boss, he should be signed before me. That's how it impacts me. One down and maybe one to go. Or I should say, hopefully one to go.

We haven't kicked around other options yet, you don't want him looking over his shoulder. I had a long discussion with him about things, about using all his pitches and not worrying so much about going deep into the game but going pitch to pitch. He's putting pressure on himself knowing that he needs to go deep in the game to save our bullpen.

A two-run homer, you can live with that. Albert hits them off everybody. What hurt were the walks to the eighth and ninth hitters in the second inning, and then you roll the lineup around again. We didn't want to go through the whole bullpen.

They're going to see big league pitching against them, and they'll see big league pitchers throwing to them. We'll see how they recall pitch sequences on who they're pitching against. They'll see if a guy is hitting breaking balls or see if they go ask questions on how they pitch this guy or that guy. Does a guy hit this -- what are his strengths or weaknesses. They have to pay attention because they're big in this equation.

Every time I think about giving him a day off, he hits two home runs. Maybe I'll start thinking about that off day for him.

He has a very consistent personality. Some guys, you can walk into the clubhouse and tell who's hot and who's not by whether they're grumpy or not.

You're always hoping for a no-hitter when a guy goes that deep in a ballgame. We figured it'd be Eckstein who would break it up. He's a good little ballplayer. It's hard to corral him.

Williams was real good one time, then the next time equally as bad. You just want to get some consistency.

An older club tends to get it together later than a young club. Just like spring training. Young guys, two weeks, they're ready to go. Where the older guys, it takes them longer to get their timing.

It's not a concern. It's something we have to continue -- and he has to continue -- to address without losing his competitiveness. He's the one who has to get it. A kid, you can spank a kid. He's a little too big to spank.

It was filled with ups and downs and a constant struggle. There was never a point where you felt you were in control for a long extended period of time.

You can tell your uncle stuff that you could not tell your dad. That is kind of the role of an uncle. I feel very much like a father sometimes but sometimes I feel like a teammate.

This guy is in great shape -- this is the best shape I've seen him in. Our trainers went down and checked on him. They saw him this winter. He's doing pretty good. He hasn't played baseball for awhile so we still have to break him in slowly.

We've got guys studying video on Patterson, and there's things you see. It's just that there are things you have to enact and put into play. Of all the things I see, they're beating him with the fastball and sometimes he doesn't track the ball. These are things we can work on in the winter.

The problems starts when he throws a number of pitches. As long as we minimize his pitches, he says he feels great.

It's rare to see your best player is your best citizen, too. He reminds me a lot of how Hank Aaron used to conduct himself.

We needed an extra bat, ... We were a little short, especially with some of the guys being hurt. 'Big Ben' has done an outstanding job, especially coming off the bench. With the rosters expanded, we thought he could help us.

I'd like to see him get anything he can get, because he deserves it. I'd like to see him get 100 RBIs. He's been knocking on 99 for a while. I just hope he gets that.

It wouldn't be the worst thing to get rained out today. It's hard to root against the water they need here.

I was joking with him -- I think he's a third-degree black belt, and I think some of his reactions came into play there.

He moves the ball around and works the ball on the outside part of the plate. He throws two or three different speeds off his fastball and keeps you off balance.

My point is not only about teaching and having the ability to learn but also the ability to retain so you don't have to tell them the same thing over and over again, ... It's like a teacher. When you give them a test, you don't know what that student knows. How do you give a test here except on the field Roger Craig told me, 'Never assume that they know. You can assume they should know, but there's no guarantee.'