Gregg Zaun Quotes (32 Quotes)

You can go down there and get as many at-bats as you want, but until you get that first one out of the way back in the big leagues, it's tough. You have a little bit of self doubt. You're wondering, 'Am I ready' And once that first one happens for you, th

It was really a nice moment for me to put us ahead and to contribute first day back. I haven't felt the calf in a week. I felt good. There weren't any inhibitions about moving around the bases.

It's uncanny, isn't it. It does seem to be, especially in this ball park. Most of the close calls go to the home side. Based on his (Rodriguez) reaction to that pitch, and also I'm looking around on the field at the base runners, I think everybody in the ball park thought it was Strike 3 except the umpire.

It's a big blow. It makes it a little tougher to make a serious run at things.

It's not an easy role. He's going to find it but your closer, you either have to have pinpoint command and not let anybody get on base or you have that out pitch where you can go to where you get a swing and miss.

I don't think we're going to be satisfied with being a .500 ball club. Obviously we're not going to end up 20 or 30 games above, like a good team really would. There's still a chance that we could be in it right up to the end and there's a chance that if we're not, we could play spoiler. We all know we're better than a .500 club.

If you only give up three runs in a game against the Yankees, I'll take my chances. We didn't swing the bats great today but I think that had more to do with Mike than with anything else. He pitched a heck of a game.

We're going to have to get better offensively. If we end up with the same lineup as we had this year, we're going to have to get better at what we do. We're going to learn how to manufacture runs, something I don't think we did a real good job of this year.

We had a real young team and the young guys made a lot of progress. I don't anybody expected us to be a pennant winner, but I think we got better as an organization this year.

I thought overall he was pretty darn good today. He really showed a lot of character after giving up three in the first inning to keep us in that ball game.

He didn't have his command, that was pretty much the difference. It's not an easy role.

We were going to make them earn it. You're not going to hold guys like that down forever. Look at the numbers they've put up.

His fastball command was a lot better than it was the other day. He was just really aggressive. It's an attitude I'd like to see more of.

We weren't going to give them anything to pull, and they both put good swings on the ball and hit opposite-field home runs,

(Batista) was missing with his cutter to the outer half (of the plate) and I thought that it was a good time to throw a fastball. He has so many good pitches and his ball has such life that we ended up getting the result we were looking for.

We didn't swing the bats well today, but I think that had more to do with Mike than anything else. He pitched a heck of a game. Sometimes you run into a guy like that, that has a great day and you tip your hat to him.

Those fans in Boston, they're very passionate about their Red Sox and they were fighting for a playoff spot. Here, we had two teams that are going home on Sunday, just trying to honor the game and finish out the season. You want to play the game hard and professionally, finish out your contract and do what you're paid to do. Other than personal pride, there's really nothing on the line here.

It opens a realm of possibilities, but it doesn't ever prevent the fact that those guys are superstars. They're going to come up big in big moments like they always do.

That's tough. We would've liked to have kept the score where it was. Unfortunately, we don't have the benefit of instant replay while we're out there on the field. I felt like we made the third out before the run was recorded, but, obviously, Mr. Runge didn't feel that way.

I've known Joe for a long time ... and I've never seen him throw a screwball and he threw me like five or six, ... I was just, 'What is that' Normally he's just a really good sinker and a fantastic slider. All of a sudden now he's throwing a screwball.

To me, your closer needs to be able to throw the ball over the plate regardless of what he is throwing, ... If you don't have pinpoint command you need to have an out pitch, a swing and miss pitch.

The first inning was just the other team hitting well-located pitches. Ortiz hadn't gone the other way, really, the whole series. He was trying to pull everything. Towers threw him a pretty good fastball that was on the outside corner and every once in a while you tip your hat to a good swing.

We tried just about everything, but it was just a tough day for him. I'm sure he'll be lights out next time.

He's getting better every time and he's coming very quickly, ... Confidence is going to be a key thing for him down the road, but that will come as well. It's just a matter of time.

We would have liked to, obviously, get a win today. (Towers) getting more in the swing of things and getting back to what he does to be successful is a positive sign and we're always happy to get two out of three.

I thought it was one of the best ones he threw all day, especially considering the situation. I didn't have any question in my mind whether it was a strike or not. Three-two was borderline.

I wanted to go soft in that situation, give him a different look and then get right back to it. But he was feeling good with the cutter. It jammed (Lee) pretty good. I don't think he had a real great swing on it. He just happened to get the barrel on it.

Home run, base hit, whatever. It's just nice to contribute. It was really a nice moment for me to put us ahead. More importantly, getting a win in a game like that was big for us.

I'm not sure what pitch (Borowski) was throwing. A gust of wind blew my stupid hair in my eyes, and (home plate umpire Larry Vanover) didn't give me time. I got my hand back on the bat and I was ready to hit.

We get another great opportunity to win that ballgame with my at-bat, and it's just unforgivable to not put a ball in play. You don't even need to get a hit. A lazy fly to the outfield wins that ballgame.

This is a first for me. I never expected to hit 10 home runs in a year. Two tears I ago I would have never thought I would have gotten that many at-bats. All I want to do is contribute. A single or a home run - everybody likes to hit. But I know in the end my job is to focus on defense.

I don't know, ... I don't know if he'll make a good closer. I would say he has the stuff to make a good closer, but does he have the command I don't know. That remains to be seen. The guy's been pitching for 10-plus years professionally and he always has a high walk total. I'm not sure that lends itself to the closer role.