Mark Loretta Quotes (33 Quotes)

I have never experienced it before, at any level. Not little league, college or high school. Just complete euphoria. You kind of have to take a step back and think, 'Is the game really over' Do the math real quick. It's a tremendous feeling to say the least.

I met the team in Minnesota. I pinch-hit against Eddie Guardado and struck out. We came back home and I got my first hit against Kenny Rogers. I got 50 at-bats batting .260. I was able to have my buddies from college come up and watch me that first month, so it was a pretty special time.

Obviously, he's not Willie McGee or Vince Coleman . The biggest thing is, he gets on base and he puts the ball in play. He doesn't strike out much.

I was surprised by that. I thought he did a real good job for us. And he had been in a pennant race before.

It's been very exciting, with a little bit of mixed emotions at first. I've made my home in San Diego and feel pretty entrenched there. But from a baseball standpoint, I'm very excited to play here with this team that has this type of tradition and fan base.

I haven't noticed any idiots here. I mean that in a good way.

No conspiracy. I think it's more coincidence than anything.

This has been a season where the NL West has been through a lot of adversity. Every team's had some severe injuries to big-name players. That's just the coincidence of the season, so it's nothing that you can change at this point.

If you play as long as I have, things happen. You can only beat your head against the wall for so long. We made the playoffs, and I came back and helped us down the stretch. It was the first time that I had been to the playoffs.

You become spoiled playing next to a guy like Khalil. He made a lot of plays other shortstops can't make, but I've seen Gonzalez make all the plays.

That's baseball. They were able to capitalize on their good fortune. That's what good teams do.

Obviously with Congress kind of stepping up their intensity in terms of legislation, that pushed both sides to get it done a little quicker. I don't know whether this will stop legislation. It remains to be seen if this is sufficient enough. It was our view that whatever we could negotiate together would be better than having the government legislate over us.

He's a solid player and all-around good guy. Baseball has gotten away from guys like that, and I would like to see it go back to that.

I don't think there's any better 3-4 combination you could have behind you in the game. Maybe in history.

My strength has been consistency, playing the same way every day. If you don't, baseball can drive you nuts. You can make a fundamentally sound swing and get a negative return. Then, you can make a poor swing and get a positive return. It is a roller coaster that you can't ride.

It always gives you confidence when Jake's out there for us,

That's what perseverance and mental toughness are all about -- how you respond to negative times.

I'm looking forward to that. I played many years in County Stadium where we had six or eight thousand in a 60,000-seat stadium. It helps. It helps your energy level. It's a long season. It's a grind, and that energy and that excitement can only help you stay focused and stay alert.

It's about peaking at the right time. Who knows We've had five-game stretches as good as any team in baseball.

I saw what an opportunity being in Boston was. I enjoyed the playoffs last year, and I have a chance to help Boston be there.

There was some incentive to prove people wrong. We wanted to have a good showing and we really didn't. That was disappointing.

I guess that's the silver lining. The nice thing about our position is we don't have to watch the scoreboard. It's interesting, and we're gonna do it, but if we can take care of business and win, it's not going to matter.

They're a complete team with no real holes, and they don't beat themselves. There's a reason why they had the best record in baseball.

I think his experience is going to be unbelievable tomorrow. He doesn't have any fear, and he doesn't take his time. He dictates the pace. As an infielder, that helps so much. Having him go tomorrow, I think he could turn this thing.

Those guys are probably the most potent 3-4 guys in all of baseball.

I think his experience is invaluable. He doesn't have any fear and he doesn't take his time. He dictates the pace, and it's a quick pace. I think it's good for him to be in this role, being where we are, having his experience. I think he can handle it probably better than any other pitcher we have.

I thought he was the best pitcher in the National League, to be honest with you. He got me out a lot. I'm glad he's on my team now.

If we win the division, I don't think anybody's going to care about our record,

They just look at the record. Casual observers probably have some idea with Bonds and maybe Gagne, but nothing probably about our team or anybody else.

Talking to Tito, he has kind of a National League mind-set. He likes to hit-and-run in the right situation. We don't want to make outs on the bases with David and Manny behind us. But still, they're not going to hit a home run every time. If we can get to third base with less than two outs, it only helps them. So you want to be aggressive and smart.

We've got to get on base and score when we have the opportunity. Even in the five or six hole, I'll be taking the same approach with the hit-and-run, moving the ball around. That's how you manufacture runs.

We were winning some games in Pittsburgh and Washington five of six, just keeping the line moving,

Oh man, I always thought he was one of the top three starters in the National League. Facing him down in Florida when the lights were on ... he's got all the stuff. He has the mental makeup. He's a top-of-the-line guy.