Willie Randolph Quotes (287 Quotes)

make Pedro look like a choirboy.

It can't hurt him to continue to throw. If we can use him or need him, if we see a fit, he'll be ready to go. Throwing in Triple-A now is better than throwing a simulated game on the side.

I don't look at my pitchers as being on trial.

I would think any team at this point in time, given where we are, would be pretty weak if they let these games affect them. Because we're still there. We can make up for these last three days if we play well on the road. I'm positive, man. I feel good about my guys. No doom and gloom. We're looking forward.

Everybody could use an extra day. It's not about Pedro. It's about this time of the year having the luxury of six (starters) who can help you out.

It's the total package to me. His leadership is very important. He's been around a long time. He knows how to communicate with players young and old. He still can swing a bat. He's the kind of guy who brings a lot to the table and is instrumental in many ways that you might not see.

He's going to go out and throw and get loose. It depends how he feels. If you're 100 percent sure that he's OK, you do it. But if not, you don't want to start the season with someone aggravating something that sidelines them any period of time.

He's fine. Just like any other thing, he's got some personal things to deal with or whatever. He has permission to take care of it. It's fine.

In a perfect world, yeah, you'd like somebody to step up. To have that solid lineup is what you like as a manager. You like to have that continuity going through it every day.

I've got flexibility, a lot of options in my lineup. We've stepped up our attack.

He hasn't played in a week, so I don't think it would be fair to throw him in there today.

I might be upset in their shoes, but what can you do We don't tell them how to do their business and they shouldn't be concerned about how we do ours.

I've got a picture of Jackie in my office, so I think about that every day. I'm just happy to be a part of this day.

But take all that with a grain of salt because you assume that's not the natural thing.

We'll have to wait and see. We have a long spring. We have a lot of options, a lot of flexibility in our hitters. One thing is constant and that's our aggressiveness and speed and we'll definitely come with that.

It's unfortunate that every time he seems to get going he gets injured. It's frustrating because we can't keep him in the lineup.

This was the perfect time to do it. I always like to let the guys know where I'm coming from. We talked hitting, we talked defense. It's something I don't think we do enough of in baseball.

He knows his body, he knows what he has to do to get ready. He might not have been on the field a lot (in Florida), but I trust him. And when he tells me he s ready to go, I give him the ball.

If you go into a series always looking for him to show you something, he might show you. I go with what I feel at the time. I'm going to pick my spots and do what I think is best at the time and live with it.

Any time there is the threat of surgery you have to be concerned about that.

I think everybody needs to finish up strong, ... He's obviously been a little inconsistent lately. Not put any particular notice on him. He needs to hit his spots. He's thrown well at times. He's shown flashes here and there.

I'd rather have a man who's going to stand up and say what he believes. We have a right as Americans to voice that opinion.

I am not concerned at all. I trust Pedro and that he'll be ready to go (by Opening Day).

I've known Carlos for a long time. He's always been real steady, real confident and self-assured. He's quiet, a little reserved. You can't always get a read on a personality like that. But Carlos knows he's good. He knows how to handle himself. He has a plan and he's confident in that plan.

I think youth is great. It gives you energy and enthusiasm. It's ambitious in a lot of ways. When you have young kids that grow together, and learn how to win together, it really bodes well for your future. Young talent is great. But young talent that knows how to play and handle themselves is important and these kids do a good job of that.

He didn't have his best command tonight. He was a little bit erratic. You know, he always finds a way. It wasn't one of his best performances.

You obviously want to make sure you err on the side of caution when someone gets hit in the head or whatever. He said he felt OK, but we want to make sure there's no lingering effects.

Bannister still needs to make this club, so I'm not going to get ahead of myself with all that. I have liked what I've seen from (Bannister) all spring. If he continues to pitch well, obviously he has a chance.

I hope Beltran realizes how important that walk was. When he gets on, it can have the same impact as Jose.

We went in with the notion of not having him pitch more than five or seven and 80-something pitches or whatever. He went 120 last time out. He's been really banged up.

At the time, I thought it was a good time. I just wanted to save a few bullets if I could ... You've got an 8-0 lead, you should be able to bring in one of your back-end relievers.

He's not afraid to express what he feels. He's going to look you in the eye and ... be straight and honest about how he feels. That's something that's lacking in a lot of clubhouses.

The guy has good stuff. His sinker could be devastating -- if he would just trust that.

Every time he got it up, they hit.

I'm not playing any string out, I'm not looking to reevaluate right now, we're playing guys I think can help us win games, and we need as many as we can,

I think any manager in his right mind would love to have a Pedro Martinez.

Kaz is looking much better. It might be the right time for him to get going, so that's good.