Jose Contreras Quotes (34 Quotes)

Today, I was ready from the get- go. I was ready from the start today. I wasn't ready from the first inning against Cleveland.

I felt fine after having such a long time off. No problem.

The government is one thing and the country of Cuba and my people are something different completely, ... It's like the United States government and your country. You don't have to agree with the policies to be proud of your country.

The most important thing is we won. My confidence level is completely different then it was two years ago.

The first thing I do after a game is call my mom or brother or someone, and I don't know how they do it, but they get the information before I can tell them, ... It's pretty funny.

If Cuba wins, it is expected. If they lose, there will be a lot of explaining because baseball is the top sport and if you don't win, it's a problem. The pressure is going to be double for Cuba. You have the government watching and you are playing against the best players in the world. This will be the best competition Cuba has ever played against.

The comfort level comes from throwing strikes like I have in the past and passing the ball around the strike zone and not walking as many people, and that comes from confidence, ... When you have confidence you have success, and that's when you have wins.

I'm going to attack them the same way I have in the past and the same way I did last time. I think that's the key against every major-league team, throw strikes and attack them. I don't think my game plan is going to change, anything at all.

After the All-Star break there were trade rumors that were bothering me, ... But Ozzie and Cooper gave me the confidence and took the pressure away from me and I tried to work as hard as I could with my stuff and my mental state.

My success is a lot due to Cooper and the patience he's had with me since last year and through the first half,

If a fan wants to say something to me, they don't know what to say because I can't understand them, ... So they can't get to know me. Even though I can talk to fans about the game, I cannot get into a deep conversation and talk about the things I want to talk about.

I was mad because I had a lot of friends in New York. But I had to just step through that, go through it, and when I got here I wanted to thank the organization for just giving me the confidence.

Falling behind on Garret Anderson, such a great hitter. You attack him the wrong way and you are going to get hurt. After that, I wasn't locating the ball the way I was the first couple of batters and they got back-to-back hits. I got myself in trouble.

I don't feel that I am the lost stopper on the staff. I just feel that every time that I go out, I can win the game.

In amateur baseball, for sure I pitched better for longer. But not in the big leagues.

On the team, there are probably 10 players who work like spies. They see you doing something that is suspicious, and they go tell on you. Players from other teams will talk on the field. I know that, but you can't talk anywhere else. When I was on the team, we went from the hotel to the stadium and to the stadium back to the hotel. People see you talking to people, you will be in trouble. I know some players are going to ask the Cubans to go eat or go get a beer. The Cuban players will be scared. They will run away because of the fear. That's how it is in Cuba.

The trainer said not to worry, but obviously I'm worried a little bit. I'm going to get treatment and see what happens the next few days.

It was a little bit of a motivation, but I never let it get to me, ... I knew if I work hard, good things will happen.

This (demonstration) is great because nobody cares about what's happening (with the bill). It's a beautiful thing, as long as everybody stays calm.

I just worked more on my mental and physical health, ... The trade rumors were bothering me.

The invited are young players who are followers of the revolution and have a clean background. If you have relatives who live in other places in the world, it will be really difficult to be taken out of Cuba on that team. For example, if you have an uncle who lives in Miami, it's going to be real hard for you to leave the country. They worry that you will stay there.

By the third inning, I felt like I could go forever. For having such a long time off, I felt real good. No problems so far.

This is one of the few times when I haven't missed Cuba. I know after this I'm going to feel a little sad because my family hasn't been able to share this victory with me, but later I'll talk to them on the phone and they'll enjoy it, too.

When I was a Yankee, I didn't have a lot of luck against Boston, ... In my last three starts against the Red Sox, I've had a lot of success against them. Maybe it's the luck of the uniform.

I wanted to get it done before the season started so I could focus on the season and get rid of any trade rumors that would come. We've been working on it all spring, and I'm glad it got done before the season started. It was fair for both parties.

Even when I was in Cuba, I hear of Roger Clemens, and I was a big admirer. I'd heard so much about him, and then I got to see him pitch. Everything about his pitching is perfect. You watch him and you see nothing wasted.

We get to talk because we speak the same language,

I don't think you would see a difference in the performance of normal everyday tasks where you don't need to learn something new,

I want Cuba to win the World Baseball Classic. I know some people associate the worst things in the world with Cuba but I support the baseball team, the players and my friends. ... I'm Cuban and I love my country and the people, but I can't play with them because of politics.

It's a big difference, ... You have that extra support when you look into the stands and see your wife and kids.

He hit a home run that put us ahead and add in the two defensive plays that kept us in the game and made us win. Because if those balls go through, they go ahead and we might lose.

Everybody knows the quality of players from Cuba. All of the championships we won -- you have to be one of the best in the whole country to be one of the 25 who are coming.

I have to thank Roger very much because in Cuba I was throwing a two-seam fastball and he taught me how to throw a four-seam fastball. Every time I did something wrong with my mechanics, he helped he correct my errors.

He paused and looked up to make eye contact, expressing sincerity that needed no translation. When I go out to pitch, I go out to pitch not only for the fans here in Chicago but my fans in Cuba and the Cuban people, ... I represent something bigger than just pitching for one team.