Blue Jays Quotations, Globe and Mail, May 1989

"I'm like a kid with a new toy. It's like a breath of fresh air. My mind is clear." - Jesse Barfield on being traded to the Yankees (quoted by Murray Chass), Globe and Mail, May 2 1989

"He (Lawless) can stick those rally caps where the sun don't shine. We don't wear rally caps around here." - an unnamed Jay, on Tom Lawless's idea for improving team morale (quoted by Marty York), Globe and Mail, May 2 1989

"I went and watched (the Blue Jays) play in Oakland last week. I was going to watch them again the next night, but I couldn't stomach it. It's hard to believe what they've turned into." - Garth Iorg on the slumping Jays (quoted by Marty York), Globe and Mail, May 4 1989

"By Monday morning on May 8 in the year 1977, the bumbling expansionist Toronto Blue Jays, with a payroll of $960,000 for the 25-man roster, had won 12 games and lost 17.

"By Monday morning on May 8 in the year 1989, the highly sophisticated Toronto Blue Jays, with a payroll of $15,812,300 for 24 men, had won 10 games and lost 20." - Trent Frayne, Globe and Mail, May 8 1989

"I'd like to see Cito stick around. He's a great baseball mind and a positive thinker, the same as Jimy is." - Lloyd Moseby on interim manager Cito Gaston (quoted by Neil A. Campbell), Globe and Mail, May 16 1989

"Gillick wants Bob Cox and Lou Piniella more than anyone else because of a certainty that they would be able to manage with authority in a clubhouse stacked with overpaid and overrated prima donnas." - Marty York on the Jays' search for a replacement for Jimy Williams, Globe and Mail, May 16 1989

"Williams may have tried to kick butt from time to time, but the players simply would dodge his foot and laugh. Indeed, Williams perpetually missed the target and to him we bid good riddance, long overdue." - Marty York, Globe and Mail, May 16 1989

"He was too nice a guy and too honest a person." - Pat Gillick on Jimy Williams (quoted by Trent Frayne), Globe and Mail, May 16 1989

"As with all things Blue Jay, the press conference announcing Williams's firing and Cito Gaston's appointment as interim manager was carried out in bloodless corporate style, like a changing of the guard at IBM." - Trent Frayne, Globe and Mail, May 16 1989

"Gaston knows baseball, has the full respect of his players, and has the ability to pacify the media and fans." - Marty York on interim manager Cito Gaston, Globe and Mail, May 16 1989

"It was just one break after another for me. Typical game. Balls right at guys. I look at it as four balls in a row (on the leadoff walk), that's me. Then the ball dropped in and the force didn't work out. Typical. Then the bunt, I botched up. Typical. Then a looper over short. Then another looper over short. Then a homer. Six runs, two innings. Another outstanding effort by me." - Dave Stieb's post-game analysis (quoted by Larry Millson), Globe and Mail, May 18 1989

"I'd be cheating myself and cheating the organization." - Interim manager Cito Gaston on the prospects of becoming full-time manager (quoted by Larry Millson), Globe and Mail, May 18 1989

"Lou Piniella remains very high on the Jays' list of managerial candidates, but the question being asked by baseball insiders is - why?" - Marty York, Globe and Mail, May 18 1989

"The tires are fine so why go out and buy some new ones?" - Lloyd Moseby on the Jays' search for a new manager, after interim manager Cito Gaston went 5-1 in his first six games (quoted by Larry Millson), Globe and Mail, May 22 1989

"How many people have a job they like? A lot of them hate to go to work. I don't mind it. I like coming out here. The thing is I don't want to get in the situation where it gets to the point where I walk in and say I quit." - Cito Gaston, on becoming the full-time manager (quoted by Larry Millson), Globe and Mail, May 23 1989

"To be honest, I'm kind of rooting for Gaston. He's been a loyal man to the Jays over the years and even though the Jays are in the same division as us, I always like to see good organization men get their chance." - Orioles general manager Roland Hemond on Cito Gaston (quoted by Marty York), Globe and Mail, May 24 1989

"But what about all this stuff we're reading and hearing about Gaston not coveting the post because he feels he is too close to the Toronto players?

"Let's dismiss it because it's pure baloney.

"If the job were offered to him, Gaston would accept it. In fact, he'd snap it up.

"In the meantime, Gaston utters the party line. This way, he keeps entrenched in the Jays' good books and doesn't reduce his chances of at least staying on as batting coach." - Marty York, Globe and Mail, May 24 1989

"Coming off the plane (from Syracuse) I was as nervous as long-tailed cat in a room full of rocking chairs." - prospect Alex Sanchez on his first major league start (quoted by Neil A. Campbell), Globe and Mail, May 24 1989

"I got my dynamite in my bag. I'll be the first one to throw it on the field. I'll be glad to see it go." - Kirby Puckett on Exhibition Stadium (quoted by Neil A. Campbell), Globe and Mail, May 25 1989

"Jay executives are convinced that (Terry) Bevington, despite the fact he is only 32, is the type of firm disciplinarian they think they need to straighten out some of the prima donnas on the roster.

"One insider describes Bevington as 'intense beyond belief'." - Marty York, Globe and Mail, May 26 1989

"The fans get a bum rap in centre field. I can only hear them boo ever so slightly. Kind of discouraging when a guy's trying to boo you and he can't get to you. I know how he feels." - Lloyd Moseby on Exhibition Stadium (quoted by Larry Millson), Globe and Mail, May 27 1989

"I seem to be the only one. It's like home. It's like when you're starting out and you buy a crummy house in a dilapidated area. Even if eventually you move to a house in Rosedale, that first one is always your favourite." - Gord Ash, who will miss Exhibition Stadium (quoted by Larry Millson), Globe and Mail, May 27 1989

"This one time, there'd been a lot of rain and then the sun came out and it got real hot and fog started rising from the turf. I was playing right field and Sal Bando was batting and I lost a ground ball in the fog.

"I mean, I saw Sal swing and I saw our infielders looking towards me and I said to myself, 'Geez, it's gotta be here somewhere.' Then I felt something rub off my leg and I groped around and finally found the ball. By then, Sal was on third with a triple." - Bob Bailor on Exhibition Stadium (quoted by Trent Frayne), Globe and Mail, May 29 1989

"Pigheaded.

"Is there any other word that can accurately describe Toronto Blue Jay president Paul Beeston and vice-president Pat Gillick as they continue to refuse to even consider Cito Gaston as their preferred manager?" - Marty York, Globe and Mail, May 31 1989 (Gaston was appointed full-time manager later that day.)

"After two weeks of doing it, it's not as bad as I thought. Not yet anyway." - Cito Gaston, on managing (quoted by Larry Millson and Neil A. Campbell), Globe and Mail, June 1 1989

"Some of the Jays are privately complaining that Blue Jay left fielder George Bell has become more obnoxious than ever as he attempts to intimidate younger players endlessly." - Marty York, Globe and Mail, June 2 1989

"The Jays coveted Piniella because he rules with an iron fist. If George Bell or Dave Stieb or another one of the Toronto prima donnas ever tried to pull a power play on Piniella, there was a notion that he simply would have taken his iron fist and ripped out their tracheas, or facsimiles thereof." - Marty York, June 3 1989

"Meanwhile, left fielder George Bell, while playing the usual afternoon card game yesterday, had two little magnets taped to his shoulder. A friend suggested he try them." - Larry Millson on George Bell's method of treating a sore shoulder, Globe and Mail, June 3 1989

"It was the confidence factor. For some reason every one on the bench felt that we were going to come back. Even in the eighth inning, being down five runs, that we were going to win it." - Ernie Whitt, on overcoming a 10-0 deficit after six innings at Fenway (quoted by Larry Millson), Globe and Mail, June 5 1989

"I've never had any luck hitting in this park." - Bob Brenly, after hitting a long fly ball in the eighth inning of the first game ever played at SkyDome (quoted by Gary Loewen), Globe and Mail, June 6 1989

"Earlier in the day, with its state-of-the-art retractable roof sealed shut, the SkyDome resembled a giant armadillo just emerged from Lake Ontario - potentially the star of a B-grade horror classic, say, "The Grey Godzilla that Gobbled Hogtown." - Gary Loewen, Globe and Mail, June 6 1989

"He was hated. He would challenge the players to fights all the time. He'd throw bats at you. He'd dump water on you. He'd call you all sorts of vile names.

"I couldn't understand why Toronto would even consider him. It would have taken a guy like George Bell about a week before he would have plowed him." - Milwaukee pitcher Mark Knudson on managerial candidate Terry Bevington (quoted by Marty York), Globe and Mail, June 14 1989

"To me, he's like a big brother. And when I heard he had the managerial job, I actually shed a couple of tears for him." - Jesse Barfield on Cito Gaston (quoted by Neil A. Campbell), Globe and Mail, June 14 1989