Lou Piniella Quotes (125 Quotes)

Well, the Yankees flexed their muscles today. Put 10 runs up in the first two innings, and that was that. Only one game still have two to go.

The first game, we just got blown out. What are you going to do On Wednesday night, we played a good baseball game. It was a good game. We just got beat.

Gomes had a big day with the bat. He got the opportunity and he's making the most of it. He's got confidence...and he plays with it.

You're down to under 20 games (to play), whatever degree you have to turn it up to, it's time.

Devil Rays manager Lou Piniella, who has been running around ballfields as long as 62-year-old Mick Jagger has been strutting on stages, has seen as much of the Sox and Yankees as any opponent, and he doesn't know who rates the edge. I think it's going to come down to the face-to-face meetings, ... Both teams are good teams. (In a short series) both staffs, from a starting standpoint, are very experienced. Really, that bodes well for both teams.

I liked the way our chemistry was starting to form, ... I liked the way our mental toughness approach was getting better. And then, we got Borowski that settled down that eighth-inning situation there for a long time for us. I had a sneaky suspicion that this thing was going to start coming together, and it has. It's been a nice second half for our baseball team.

He's done all right with his opportunity.

I wish I had a definitive answer. I'm hoping it continues.

He's going to show inexperience at times. That's exactly what he did. About the only saving grace for Kazmir is that he had a real short outing.

Look, there are a lot of people who care about him and work with him, ... He has to be careful how he responds to the media. Basically you have to be careful. ... He wants to do well. He gets a little bewildered.

We came in here playing good baseball. We didn't embarrass ourselves. We didn't win any games, but you know, we gave up eight-plus runs a game. It's very difficult to win that way.

I think he showed that he was capable of being a respectable offensive player last year, but I didn't see the 100-RBI potential, ... I'll be the first one to admit that.

They came here with that little ploy of we've got their number. But we don't have anybody's number,

He came in and thanked everybody for the opportunity, even though he didn't really get that much of an opportunity,

With his grandmother passing away, I don't think it was conducive to his best concentration. I think he learned a little bit from that experience. You just don't throw that get-me-over curveball, especially to a team that's swinging the bat as well as Boston.

To his credit, he dug his heels in there. We scored five off him in two innings and he went six innings (total) and didn't give up any more.

Tough loss. You lose close ballgames, they're all tough.

It's not easy, but it's the right thing, ... I wouldn't deviate from my decision. I'm perfectly content with it. Now I'll relax, play some golf and fish and do the things I want to do, and evaluate opportunities if they come and when they come.

(Steinbrenner) was the one who encouraged it. He got me thinking about coaching and managing and learning that side of the game. And who thought a year later (1986) I'd be managing

We need a real potent bat in the lineup, we need starting pitching, we need some late-inning bullpen help and then we need to beef up our bench.

I think he's just trying to make our guys confident. It's a good ploy.

It's good to see these young kids get better and rewarded. But what's really fun is winning baseball games. That's the fun.

Waecther did fine, ... I was hoping to get six innings out of him. And in the sixth inning, they got to him. He pitched fine. Today he kept the ball in the ballpark.

They've got some good arms over there. No question (they miss Halladay). But I like their team. They catch it pretty well. They got a little power and they put the ball in play. They've got a deep bullpen. Without those guys getting hurt, they're a lot closer.

The trick here for next year is the pitching, ... That's the trick. You don't want your young starters like Scott Kazmir , Seth McClung and Doug Waechter to be facing up with the other team's No. 1, 2 and 3 starters, like we've had to do it all year. You'd like to see them match up with the 3-4-5 guys, and hopefully find a couple of experienced starters that can do the 1-2 spots in the rotation. That should be tops on this organization's list. That should be the first and foremost consideration.

We've finally got some chemistry here. We've got some speed, we got some athletes. And we're getting used to playing close games.

With young pitchers, you're going to get what you saw tonight at times.

You always have regrets, but I needed to get close to home. My dad passed away this spring I spent some valuable time with him. I had a couple of other things that were pressing ... Now, I'm a little freer again.

It doesn't bother me, but I get a kick out of it, because now, you're putting expectations on yourself for no reason, ... Just go out there and play, and play hard, have fun, win a ballgame, be humble about it and go out and try to do it the next day again, instead of having that bravado. All of a sudden you've got to back up bravado. You don't have to back up humility.

It should be a fun weekend. This is good for baseball. One of these teams goes home, and the one that does is a playoff-caliber team.

They don't realize how tired you get during a baseball season ... mentally tired, ... You need time to unwind.

It will be fun for us. We'll see how we play.

I'm free, but it doesn't mean that I have anything in mind or I'm looking for a job. I'll entertain, but I'm not talking about the Yankees' job, but in general. I'm prepared to sit out and play some golf and catch up on my leisure time. I'm unemployed.

I told them to get out in the middle of the ring and throw a few punches.

I think what's helped is the continuity in the rotation, ... They know that even if they have a rough start, they're going to stay in the rotation. I think that gives them confidence that they can have a bad game and not be shuffled around.

I was tired it takes a lot of concentration, ... But overall, I had some fun with it.

If something goes wrong, if we have a rainout like we did the other day or we have to rest somebody or whatever, we have a starter here.

They are focused. There's no question about it. This is their stretch run, and they've got to make the best of it. They're going to be awfully tough.

You look at his starts, and there's always one big crooked number. For him to take the next step forward as a major-league pitcher, he's got to correct some of these things.

I don't want to temper our players' enthusiasm, but they get a little too excited prematurely, ... And these are just things that young players have to learn. ... 'We can beat anybody.' It's good to feel that way, but keep it inside. If the wolf is coming

You're down to under 20 games remaining. Whatever degrees you got to turn it up to, now is the time to do it. They look more focused.

A lot of his starts mirror each other pretty close. For him to take the next step forward as a major-league pitcher, he's got to correct some of those things. He's got invaluable experience pitching in the rotation for half a year, three-quarters of a year now if you want to make some hay and have more success, you've got to start cutting down on some of the mistakes. He's capable of it. It's going to be up to him.

Whatever it is, I hope it continues.

Munson has been catching a couple days a week from what I understand. Of course, it gives me a left-handed bat sitting on the bench, too.

He had a high pitch count there for a while, then all of a sudden he really started throwing strikes. I thought he was getting better as the game progressed.

You are paying those late-inning specialists a lot of money, and if you don't use them and lose the game, you have a lot of questions to answer.

Really, it's like two days off with the day off (today). He has played hard this season played a lot of games.

Some have done more, but they've all contributed. And it's helped out, it really has. Actually, I've been really pleased with the way the team has played. They've given effort, played with some passion, and won some baseball games.

That's going to be an interesting decision for the organization.

My talk in Toronto was from the heart, ... It was from the heart.