Jim Bowden Quotes (126 Quotes)

As a general manager, ... you're not going to make these comments unless you can back it up. I'm not going to be wrong about the player. You don't hear me making these great comments about too many players since I've been here, have you

As a GM, you don't make those comments unless you're sure they'll be backed up, ... I will not be wrong about this player.

I think that this situation, one way or another, will be settled by Opening Day in New York City on April 3 -- that day. It might be 10 minutes before game time.

I'm not only proud of what Hector has accomplished at age 35, as far as learning how to pitch and making adjustments, but he has put his body in the best shape he ever had in his life. His makeup and character are at such a high level that it makes our clubhouse a better place to be.

There's a risk when you make deals. When I made the Ken Griffey Jr. trade in Cincinnati everybody said, 'This is one of the best trades in baseball. Congratulations.' Then he was hurt for four years and it was a horrible trade. That's part of the game. Obviously, if we knew this trade was going to play out this way, we wouldn't have done it.

We wanted to get two of that group. We got two of that group today. From that group we are finished. Another starting pitcher, it would be a number one or number two type starter, and it would come via trade.

As I told Ryan earlier today, Brandon Watson just beat him out. Pure and simple, he beat him out on the baseball field. ... You can't ask Watson to do any more than he's done in this spring training.

He made it pretty clear that he was not going to play. We hope that when he reflects on it, we hope that he changes his mind and plays left field.

I'm a big believer in makeup and character and leadership, and Brian's a special person as well as a special player.

I felt it was very important that this franchise retain him and not lose him. I spoke very strongly on his behalf. For the new owner's sake, Dana was an important asset that they needed. With the approval of the Commissioner's office, we agreed to terms with Dana.

I never pay attention to errors in the Minor Leagues. Derek Jeter made 43 errors in the South Atlantic League, and I didn't care. With his hands and his range, I don't worry about that with Zimmerman. He is a good defensive player.

This is not something I want dragging on once our pitchers and catchers report one week from today. I don't want any distractions. We're either going to be able to sign him before then, or we won't and we'll go forward. We're hoping Sammy considers signing with us. If he doesn't, then we'll turn the page and go forward.

It's not that simple to ask Soriano to change positions. This is a player that has been an All-Star for several years. He has had as many All-Star votes as any player in baseball the last few years. He has pride and he is a sensitive guy.

I'm not confident at all. We're trying, but it's a very, very difficult market. You watched St. Louis walk away from Matt Morris. Matt Morris has been one of their best pitchers for a long time and they walked away because of the money. ... As a fan, you want to get these guys, but that's a lot of money that teams are investing. If it doesn't work out, you're stuck. We're going to keep trying to get pitching. That's been our goal, and it hasn't changed since.

I felt it was in the best interest of the organization to go in a different direction on the player development side, ... I felt it was in Adam's best interest to do it now to give him an opportunity to get a job with another club.

If something happens, we'll discuss it. But for us to have to answer the same questions every day is not productive.

We are in the process of consulting with our physicians to find the best hand specialist we can to get the second opinion. Obviously it's a devastating blow to the team. Good teams overcome adversity.

I'm very concerned about the ERAs our pitchers have. I have concern about the low batting averages our hitters are having. We can't afford to have this night in and night out.

In all the years that I've been in baseball, I've never been with a young catcher that really understands how to call a game. He really works and he's a team player. He goes beyond the advance scouting reports and goes beyond the video. He studies and learns the game. He's a winner. There's not a lot of catchers that can shut the running game down.

You have to look at it from a global perspective. As we advance baseball in other countries and some day end up with a real World Series, this is a great step in that direction. Hopefully it's a great step long-term from a revenue perspective for our industry.

I believe that Dana Brown is one of the best young amateur talent evaluators, especially when it comes to pitching, in Major League Baseball,

It's at the point that we will probably make a decision in the next seven days. We're not pushing him but we need to see where he's at.

I need to give Robinson some choices. Between this trade and our callups on Thursday, he has some more choices. We are going to have some fresh legs and some fresh bodies. Maybe they will spark the guys we have now. ... We are going to do what we can to jumpstart us and get some energy. It gives us some depth. It gives us protection.

The difference between the general manager and the coaching staff is they don't go to work 'til February, ... The general manager has to go to work right now. We'd like to let the new owner make as many of those major decisions as possible.

It's April. You don't panic in April. By the same token, we continue to look for good, young players you can build with long-term.

He and Zimmerman are going to give Robinson alternatives, ... And that may be to start. It may be to back up. It may be to double-switch. But in a game where we're not scoring, he's going to have a lot of different ammunition he hasn't had all year.

We thought that the success of our draft was predicated on signing Jason, ... We feel like we added another great person, and a great athlete, to join first-round pick Ryan Zimmerman. They're both local kids, and they're both great character guys, and the

Jamey was not going to make this team. And because of how strong our personal feelings were toward Jamey, we felt we owed it to him to make this move prior to the start of camp.

In the future, a player that has surgery should be blocked from participating in the Classic the following year.

Guzie is hitting under .200, Jose Vidro is playing with sore quads and is going to have to play hurt the rest of the year, ... We're not scoring any runs ... so we need some choices. I need to give Frank some choices.

He's out there, he's doing what the manager is directing. He's making a personal sacrifice for the organization.

When these players lose it, they can't control it. It's a physical thing, not a mental thing. He's got the eye of the tiger. When I met with (Sosa), that's the one thing I was convinced of. His brain would do everything it could to succeed because he'd like to prove to people that he can still play.

It was disappointing. We had gotten him through waivers earlier this year, and we were hoping a 6 ERA would get him through a second time, but it didn't happen. So we wish him nothing but the best in Coors Field.

It's been a very difficult winter for him. And I think people need to have compassion for that. I know people say, 'Why don't you just change positions' Well, it's not that simple.

I have a lot of respect for Frank Robinson. He has respect for the game of baseball and the way it should be played. I was pleased because he is a man of his word. He said he was going to do something, and he follows up and he does it.

If he doesn't have the injuries, he's in the 8-10 million a year range. But he's been hurt, so we hope he gets healthy, and if he's healthy he has a real good deal. And if he doesn't get healthy, we still have a good deal for what he brings to the table.

He's rejected our offer. We respect what he's done on the field, but now we're going to close the book and go forward.

He has the ability right now to catch and throw in the big leagues. When his bat comes, he'll come quickly.

When the new owner comes in and makes the decision on me, then I'll answer questions after that. At this point, it would be inappropriate. I can tell you this I have really enjoyed working with Tony Tavares and Frank Robinson.

My preference is to keep him, because we're a much better team with him. But I'll never close the door on an opportunity to make everybody happy. My preference is for everyone to be happy in this game. Organizations and players do better when we're all ha

Guzzy's hitting under .200 with September arriving on Thursday, ... Vidro's playing on sore quads and is going to have to play hurt the rest of the year. We're not scoring any runs. . . . We need some choices. I need to give Frank some choices. Between trading for him and our call-ups on Thursday, he's going to have some choices, and he's going to have some fresh legs and bodies that may spark the guys they have now, or maybe he gets in and sparks the team that way.

As far as the pool of players in our farm system, although it's improved, we have a long way to go and you don't redo a farm system overnight. You have to do it one draft at a time. So it takes four to five years to get it back to where you wanted to get

No pay, no service time.

The doctors gave us the go-ahead to sign the player. They understood that it was a four-year deal with significant money. We wanted clearance and to make sure there wasn't a health risk. I would not have done the deal if the doctors didn't clear it.

We have to be as patient as possible, ... I'd like to give it to Thanksgiving. If it goes beyond that, we'll have to move forward, and I've told Tony Tavares that. But until then, we're making our best effort to allow the new owners to have as much input as we can give them.

I thought it went very well. Obviously, both are highly intelligent people. They were very well prepared and asked good questions.

Since he is not a pitcher and he's a shortstop, it was worth at least trying to rehabilitate the shoulder. If he doesn't get any better in the next couple of weeks, we will go ahead and operate.

Everybody has challenges, everybody has obstacles, everybody has adversity, ... What's unique about this situation is that there are so many positive things ahead of this franchise.

I don't want to be embarrassed, that's the only thing I ask. I don't have any criticism about effort. I have no criticism about the work ethic. I just don't want to be embarrassed, and I've been embarrassed the last two days.

There was no incident at all. Zero, zero, zero, zero. The attorney spoke on our behalf. We've denied the allegations. Never happened. Zero, zero. Where that comes from, I can't answer that.