Pat Gillick Quotes (61 Quotes)

The challenge here is to win five more games than last year, ... Ed Wade put together a good foundation, and they've been winning in the 80s the last four years. Usually you come to a club that needs major rebuilding, reconstructing, remodeling, whatever you want call it. That's not the case here.

Something might not go exactly the way other teams wanted, either in the coming weeks. That might refocus things on something we talked about. We still might make a trade. We'll see.

He's getting better. I thought this spring that he didn't indicate to me that he was that type of (one-dimensional) hitter. He indicated to me that he was a lot better.

That's a hell of a game to see.

The main thing is I still have the drive, I still have the competitiveness, I still have the passion, I still want to go to work every day. As long as that's there, I'm going to keep after it as long as somebody will pay me.

I'm so excited for Ryan. You certainly get only one opportunity for this honor. I'm so happy that he was selected.

There are a lot of positives that have happened that make our club better than it was in February.

I don't think internally that we have the key to solve the situation. We'll have to go outside the organization.

I like the pitchers we have in Jon Lieber and Brett Myers, but I think we still need a real power type of pitcher who can stop the bleeding or stop a losing streak. Is there someone out there Sure, there are pitchers out there, but it's about what you need to give up to get. I'm talking to clubs all the time and evaluating this every day.

The guy's a real professional. You could tell by his body language that it was a kick in the stomach.

Three years we felt very comfortable with. Going to a fourth year as the Mets went to, we didn't feel that comfortable,

It didn't come out too well for us. Obviously, it wasn't a very good trade.

The talent in the American League is better than the National League. I had the opportunity with Seattle last year to see some National League games, and thought it overall wasn't the same.

He's our No. 1 priority. Nothing devastates a team more than consistently losing games in the late innings. You're going to blow a few, but if you blow too many it's going to affect the team.

He doesn't figure into the rotation and inconsistency with his control makes it tough to put him in the bullpen. Maybe he needs a fresh start.

Wait until the championship season gets going and judge for yourselves.

I still have the drive, the competitiveness, the passion.

The thing you learn over the years is to delegate a lot more. Not that you're not involved, but you delegate. If you have confidence in people around you, then you feel free to delegate.

It doesn't make very good sense, and it's not like they don't have people who could play second base. With somebody playing out of position, all it takes is one hard slide and he could be done.

Those are a couple of great acquisitions by the Mets, ... They have strengthened themselves. It's going to make them more of a force to be dealt with in the East.

Ed Wade put together the foundation of a good ball club here,

Right now, I think it's a good situation, ... I think we're blessed to have two players with that sort of record and sort of ability with our ball club.

They have some talent but it's going to be a very difficult situation for them. They'll be frustrated because of the losing in the short term. But in a couple of years they'll be OK. I'll tell you what -- I wish I had some of the players they have over there.

I told Pope that I wished I could trade for the 40th guy on his (40-man) roster,

We're looking for a top-of-the-rotation guy, someone who can strike people out and stop losing streaks. I'm optimistic we can find one. They're available. It just depends on what you have to give them. You may have to overpay.

I'm very content. If something did materialize, it would have to be something special.

Everyone is all smiles today. I want to go home smiling 100 times this year. That's only 16 times a month.

Turned out it wasn't a good trade.

There might be somebody out there that could provide us with a player that might fulfill some of the needs that we have. . . . I don't say you have to move these players but at least investigate every opportunity that might improve another area of your ball club.

The only time I really have to worry is sometimes I'm off thinking about something and walk through a green light and almost get hit by a car.

I don't know that he's got everything he had back then. I don't think he throws as hard. But our scouting reports still say he's an effective set-up man, and he's going to make our bullpen stronger.

We had a very thorough examination. Unless something unforeseen occurs, we think he'll be healthy and ready to perform the entire 2006 season.

Just a business, that's all. It's one of those twists.

We're disappointed. We thought we had a competitive offer.

We thought it was a pretty soft market. The market was overpriced.

I think you're dealing in dangerous waters getting into four and five years with players. It's risky. I think it's very risky.

When you retire completely, it's almost a ticket to the funeral home. You have to keep your mind active. I still have the passion. I still love to compete. I can see myself doing this for five more years if my health holds up.

These are two key acquisitions. It's going to make them even more of a force to be dealt with in the East.

A year from now you can ask me that. My job is to try to coach and make people better.

He's a competitor who pitches deep into ballgames and has been a consistent starter in the American League for the last few years. His innings show that he's been durable and he definitely adds depth to our rotation.

I have always liked the AFL because it gives the best prospects in the game a chance to play against each other and polish their skills in a competitive environment, ... It also can give them confidence going into the next season if they do well. The results have been pretty darn good.

Tom had a lot of passion for his job and for the Blue Jays, he was like Cal Ripken, ... He showed up day in, day out, rain or shine, day or night. He worked at his profession from day one until the final broadcast.

He didn't figure into the rotation. His inconsistency with his control makes him a tough guy to have in the bullpen. We thought it was better that maybe he went someplace and got a fresh start.

Coming into spring training, I didn't really have any expectations for Floyd, because he didn't have a real good 2005 and didn't pitch well in winter ball.

The average annual value of a contract doesn't bother me as much as the length. In a 5-year contract, somebody is usually disappointed. If a player performs well, he feels he's underpaid. If he doesn't, the club feels like it got a raw deal. And, with pitchers, you're dealing with the injury factor. You need flexibility. You need to be able to change your roster around.

We have to keep plugging along and try to improve our club. I like our nine players on the field a whole bunch. The areas we have to shore up are the front end of our rotation and the back end of the bullpen. Those are the areas we're concentrating on. We're certainly working at it.

The team we have, we're going to be competitive. Are we going to win the division No. We have to improve.

I have to get that (judgment) from the manager. Charlie is the type of manager who can evaluate players both mentally and physically. He isn't a guy who bases his opinion of a guy on how he did the day before.

We're trying to add more depth to our pitching staff and give Charlie more people to look at in spring training.

The goal was to improve our pitching. Right now, we're not where we want to be. We're not satisfied with where we are at the moment.