Terry Francona Quotes (156 Quotes)


    I like our team a lot. Today was a bad day followed up by a tough loss last night. I like our team. Again, it's impossible to go through the whole season where you don't hit a skid. It's impossible. It happens, it's not fun.

    I know he's made some errors, but I still consider him reliable. You watch him on defense and you wonder if his legs are sore or if his back is sore. At the same time, his bat is so active. When a guy is dragging a little, that's not usually when you see his bat get aggressive.

    The way Loretta handles the bat, even times when Crisp runs on his own and Loretta uses it to his advantage, that is going to create some good things for us.

    Oh yeah, that's huge, ... That was something we wanted to stay away from. That gets you in a tough situation - up and down, pitch, don't pitch. He'll pitch tomorrow and it's fairly normal, just like having an extra day.

    We're going to try to make up some things to test his knee a little bit. He went from wanting to be traded to he's going to start the day to he's ready to start. That's probably not going to happen. We planned some things out. His health is very important. We'll do it how we think is correct.


    He's going to be a huge part of the Red Sox, maybe starting tonight. I think it's important ... I think it's great for his development to be here now. Anything he learns now and any time he pitches can't hurt his development.

    I don't think he feels like he's 20 years old anymore. But I don't think that's why he left pitches over the plate.

    You feel better after a win. But it's not like we can live it up and pound our chests. We have to beat one of the best pitchers in baseball tomorrow.

    It was kind of appropriate. He had a real tough first month, but since the weather's warmed up, he's been about a .320 hitter. His bat has become so alive. He's lined out about six or seven times, so he could have been real hot right now. Today he finally got enough on one to get it out of there. And we were dying for a hit.

    I wasn't aware of that rookie record, and I really don't care, because I just think he's a good pitcher. I don't know that those guys come along that often where you can rely on them.

    Anytime we get two-out hits and they don't, a lot of times that's the difference in the ballgame. Boomer stranded some guys. That's winning baseball.

    We asked a lot, physically, of people in 2004 that I think may have hurt us this year. I don't think anybody would trade that.

    Yeah, maybe that's part of the reason I have some feelings or sympathy for people because of what they go through. At the same time, we're still playing them and trying to do right by everybody. We'll continue to do that as well as we can. We ask guys to show up and be professional and try to do that back to them, regardless of the situation.

    I certainly understand. David is one of the most dangerous hitters in the game. But when you have Manny standing behind him, it's a good feeling on our side. We take it for granted sometimes, because we see them every day. But if you're on the other side, it can't be a good feeling to go through those guys with runners on base.

    I have a limited opinion on that. I want our guy to win.

    When he's really good he pounds the strike zone and stays out of the middle of the plate.

    It's different. You've got to win today's game. It's almost like every game's an elimination game. I think it's a compliment to the teams the U.S. played against, and also it's the timing, so you don't get a true read of the teams. How many games of consequence do you have where a catcher plays half a game

    With him in the bullpen, the stability was really, really good. Even the games Schill had a tough time, we didn't have to use Mike Timlin so often at a time when Foulke went down. We might have run into some problems, but we didn't. It was really good for us. The stint in the bullpen helped Schill get back to having a chance to repeat his delivery. It worked out well for everybody. At the time, he just wasn't ready to be a starter. We tried to time it to when Foulke came back. We had to get him seven starts. Just three wouldn't be fair. But we said all along we wanted to get him back in the rotation.

    You get to the ninth inning and your stomach is clear up to here. But it's not because of your job. It is because you want to win so badly.

    Curt was good and got stronger as the game went on. He's the guy that we wanted out there on Opening Day and it's really nice to see him out there and healthy.

    I thought it was another step in the right direction. He came in and got outs and gave us the chance to win.

    When the season is over, we want to be on top regardless of how we get there. A tough game tonight. Our job now is to show up tomorrow and be one run better instead of one run worse.

    I actually went out there this morning because they told me not to. Somebody worked their ass off to get it ready. It looked pretty good, considering.

    Yeah, that was much-needed. We started getting the runs and spread the game out. He got in deep enough in the game where we didn't have to overextend somebody. It ends up being a great day.

    I bet he does. I think he knows how we feel. I don't know how many guys in his situation would have volunteered to go to the bullpen. I would say very few. He gave us a lot of stability at a time when it didn't look like we had much.

    I'll tell you what, he's a good hitter. He's still commanding the strike zone, but he's putting together more aggressive swings as he's getting older and more mature and stronger. It's fun to watch.

    And I went back to make sure he wasn't lying. I checked in the cage, and asked the guys who were throwing to him.

    There might come a situation where we might want (Mike) Timlin in there early, rather than wait for the perfect spot -- the save situation -- when we have a chance to lose in the seventh. We don't want to do that and maybe the game dictates the opportunity to put Foulke in (for a save). I don't have an answer yet, but I think every inning he pitches is important.

    I don't know that there's really a threshold. I think around the 75-pitch mark. But it would be stupid to say 'Well, you're at 75 pitches. You're done,' if it's in the middle of a hitter and he's throwing well. You just have to use common sense. It's more how hard he has to work in an inning.

    Being able to walk in team offices in the winter and even say hello is important. I don't believe in managing and going home.

    He hasn't felt good since then. His average has taken a dip recently. I think we all know why. He hit that nail or bolt or whatever the hell in Toronto. Then he started throwing different because of the stitches.

    There's a big sense of comfort for me when he's out there pitching. He knows what he's doing and even if it's not perfect, he's going to compete. He's not going to give in.

    J.T.'s a good enough hitter where, if something happens, he can hit. But if you have a guy who's Gold Glove caliber and you have a lead, I think it's silly to sit him there until the ninth just so you can let your starting first baseman get one more possible at-bat. So I think I would be more inclined to take a guy out earlier and take advantage of your defense.

    It swelled up so quickly that it makes you uneasy. I don't doubt it (a Damon absence) will be for a few days, but that's better than the rest of the year. If anybody can play with pain, it's Johnny.

    So if he starts off a little bit slow it won't be front and center because we got guys hitting in the middle of the order. We just want Mike to be as good as he can be. I think we're pretty comfortable that he's going to have a nice year. Does it have to be that breakout or career year No. Just be part of our lineup and keep that lineup moving.

    From this point out, I think we'll be doing it on an individual basis. I mean, we've already talked to a few guys. They're going to stay in camp. How they do the paperwork, I don't know.

    On the second ball, (John) Olerud had the best line They need to put out a public address and tell the children to be careful.' It was a gorgeous swing from a very strong man,

    I thought it was a nice reward. He'd hit that line drive to the right spot.

    I handed him off to Dale because I can't stop him. He didn't hit anyone with his bat, so we're ahead of the game.

    Once he got the lead, you could see him reaching for a little bit extra. He was terrific. ... He enjoys competing and is fun to watch. I'm glad we didn't waste that outing.

    We all love Johnny. We don't want him to get hits against us. The fans were just showing their emotions. I think every player out there would rather be in that situation than having fans that don't care. I've been on both sides. That's not good. It's not the end of the world. It's just some very passionate fans having some fun at somebody else's expense.

    It's (only) been one week, but we're trying to play winning baseball.

    He's an awesome guy. He's one of the best players in the league. All the things we bragged about him the last couple of years, they don't just go away because he changed his uniform. He's a good player with short hair, long hair, it doesn't matter.

    I don't know about unique I think he's good. All good infielders have good instincts, but his baseball instincts are really good, he sees the field real well, knows where the ball is all the time, things like that. Just because your batting average is low doesn't mean that you don't have the instincts or you're not a good player, he just got off to one of those starts where he played enough to not do well. We've all been through it. For whatever reason, he just had a tough time getting untracked.

    He was OK to stay in, but I didn't think it was a smart thing to do. We go and get ice on it now, and not only do we hopefully have him (today), but have him feeling a little bit better.

    We're really pleased. They catch the ball. The offense, we'll see. There have been ups and downs with both of them. If we can get in the middle with both of them, that's probably what we're looking for. They've mixed in really well. Lowell, for instance, he doesn't have to hit cleanup for us. He can hit sixth or seventh. If he doesn't start out like a house of fire, it's not going to be a really big deal for us.

    They are considered part-time players. Longevity is important. He has put up tremendous numbers and his timing for some hits are sure to help. In the end, it is production over time. I don't know if anyone is better right now than he is at what he does.


    What bothered me is that I just got a memo from the (American) League stating that when (umpires) meet it has to be conclusive. When an umpire in the middle of the field overrules it, that word conclusive (comes to mind). That's a difficult call for me to swallow right there. That was kind of my point.

    I like our team a lot. Today was a bad day (following) a tough loss last night.


    More Terry Francona Quotations (Based on Topics)


    Time - Running - Perfection - Confidence - Chance - Health - Games - Reasoning - World - Fairness - Competition - Winter - Media & News - Emotions - People - Night - Baseball - Error & Mistake - Opportunity - View All Terry Francona Quotations

    Related Authors


    - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -


Page 1 of 4 1 2 4

Authors (by First Name)

A - B - C - D - E - F - G - H - I - J - K - L - M
N - O - P - Q - R - S - T - U - V - W - X - Y - Z

Other Inspiring Sections