Tony Russa Quotes (183 Quotes)


    Hes had another great year, the ERA stands for itself, ... I would never say anything to take away from Rogers year, but I think Chris has got everything working for him. ... His level of outstanding work is just getting better and better and better. He started good, and hes gone to great.

    He got himself into great shape coming into camp. He's not in a situation where he has to slow this down or that down.

    I just walked in the clubhouse and said that was one of our toughest losses but one of the best losses that I can remember in a long time, just because of what the club showed. It was so impressive watching the team compete like that. That was really impressive, and they deserved to be complimented.

    That's how he pitched early in the year. He just got in a funk. In the middle of that funk, he had a couple of games like this and we couldn't score for him. ... This is what he's capable of doing.

    We went through this last year. ... We're not going to get into wild-card formulas. The magic number has got to be zero to celebrate. It is one. ... It's a great feeling to know we're going to play in October, but we've always been taught you're a champion when it gets to zero.


    Normally, when you miss chances like that, ... it comes back to haunt you.

    I watch the outfield and how neat it is to have guys playing for their lives. You watch those drills, there's a lot in those drills. When you have an outfield that's set they're getting the kinks out.

    He had a track record. When the contact was made, we were interested enough to bring him in. He's got a track record doing exactly what he's done. There isn't anything that is surprising about it, it's just impressive that he's gotten himself in this kind of shape and he's still capable.

    The game stood at 8-0 when the bullpen took over in the seventh inning. I don't discount the score, ... When Izzy had to make a pitch, he made the pitch. At the end of the game, we were shaking hands.

    We're mostly try to get to the finish line first, as soon as possible, then if we can do that, we're going to try to get to October as ready as we can. We're not trying to make a start for Anthony Reyes. We're trying to take care of those two priorities. If it turns out that we want to lengthen out the rotation for some reason, Anthony's a great guy.

    I happened to watch it on TV. That doesn't merit an ejection. He didn't say any magic words. He really didn't make a big thing of it.

    And then the other stuff falls into place. As you saw there, that's what he's been doing all year long. I can't remember seeing a pitcher all the years that I've managed that has been so good every time out.

    There are two challenges for a club, the first is the regular season, a six-month grind. So if you happen to win your division and qualify for October, I think that is the hardest thing to do.

    Hancock and Brad both, in fastball counts they threw fastballs, which is OK as long as you have some movement and some location. Right down the middle, that's not what they were trying to do. They paid the penalty.

    In the eighth inning, we missed our location three times, twice when we were ahead in the count. We almost caught a break -- Cabrera's ball was tagged, but it fooled Walker. That would have been an important break to catch. Matt got the ball up with a 1-2 count, and the pitch that Delgado tripled on wasn't where Ray was trying to throw it. Against good clubs in key situations, either you do or you don't, and if you don't, you get penalized most of the time.

    I think he's pitching with more confidence. He's got more experience and he's got more weapons when he goes out there. They all fit.

    He's a remarkable baseball man, a remarkable character and a remarkable friend. Yeah, I miss him, but I feel great because he's as happy as he can be.

    We worked hard to get here. Our club has been so relentless, and we're in a great position. ... The club has been absolutely relentless, and as strong-minded as you can be. This club is mentally and physically very, very tough.

    I know him to be a really quality baseball man. I'll guarantee you, he knows the game.

    He is a classic high-average hitter because he takes a relentless approach every at-bat. Every at-bat he's the same way. He battles the great pitchers, he battles the real good ones, the good ones, the ones that are trying to make it.

    You have to fight (the players) from feeling like, 'Hey, whatever happens, happens,' ... Somehow, some way, you have to find a way to make them understand that you have to take care of both the personal and the professional. There's nothing disrespectful about paying respect to the player but also paying respect to your profession.

    We have kind of a tradition. The first bottle of champagne, you look around, who is the most appropriate, and I think there were only two or three guys that had not popped champagne. By consensus of the players, they felt Abe should pop it. That's about as good of recognition from the team as you can get.

    Forever now, as long as baseball history is repeated, that home run is going to be part of history and Albert will have his place in it.

    He won't make this team. He's a guy that's taking the extra at-bats, and I think it's been really good for him and us, but he's working at a new position and the guys ahead of him need to play. I'm not going to put him on the bench to be a part-time player.

    For a guy who is supposed to be very tough, he's got a lot of cupcake in him. I saw him in an afternoon game in Cincinnati and he had his full beard on, but his wife didn't like it so he shaved it. He's macho with an asterisk.

    He definitely has five tools and every year I've seen a more consistent guy.

    It doesn't happen often that a player of significance comes back to his original team.

    You've got to hit the ball like the left fielder did, on a line. You've got to really jolt it to hit the ball out. I don't know if it plays different in the afternoon. Actually, it's a better park for a baseball game. You've got to pitch and defend and do things to make runs. It has big gaps, so you can hit doubles and triples. You don't have to hit home runs.

    It's not the way you'd like to set it up, to all of a sudden take a guy who has pitched well as a starter and make him a reliever,

    In my opinion, and I think Dave Duncan, pitching coach shares this, if we had Al Reyes healthy, then I think Jason would pitch Game 4 just because of the success he's had against Houston -- especially in that ballpark. But we don't have him healthy. And Marquis is a force that we think will help us out of the 'pen in a lot of games in an area where we may be a little vulnerable.

    He is playing so good in every facet of the game. He's hitting fourth, and that's because nothing bothers him. He just plays. He's been as important as anybody we have he's had an outstanding year.

    There are a lot of pieces that remind you of the old Busch. There's enough there to remind you of the old Busch. And a lot of it will depend on how we play.

    This is how he pitched earlier in the year. He just got into a funk. It happens to pitchers, it happens to hitters, it happens to defenders. And in the middle of that funk, he had a couple of games like this. Against Washington and today, this was the way he was earlier in the year. This is just his second year in the rotation he's still learning.


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