Dusty Baker Guys Quotations

There are some guys who have the nod because of experience. There are some guys who have demonstrated better control and better stuff than others. We'll see how they do the last couple weeks of spring and how they do when they go to Triple-A or Double-A.

We were trying everything to get him his victory. It was a great run by Greg. The guys wanted to win for him, and we left him in in the ninth to have that opportunity.

We needed an extra bat. We were a little short, especially with some of the guys being hurt. 'Big Ben' has done an outstanding job, especially coming off the bench. With the rosters expanded, we thought he could help us.

We needed an extra bat, ... We were a little short, especially with some of the guys being hurt. 'Big Ben' has done an outstanding job, especially coming off the bench. With the rosters expanded, we thought he could help us.

Scott Eyre is a fun-loving guy, but the rest of the guys, especially the new guys we've got, they are all business.

One of the hardest things in this game is a fallen star. When a guy accepts the position that he's in in his career, it makes it easier on a manager and coaches and very beneficial to the guys on the team.

I was spoiled by some of the guys I had in the past, like Robby Thompson and Jeff Kent. I know the importance of that infield defense. There's more balls on the ground than in the air. Consequently, you have to play 'D' on the field.

I didn't have any choice because I had a short bullpen. If we tied the game up, and I'm out of pitchers, where I have to hit for them -- I only have five guys. That's why I double-switched, to get the most innings out of the guys pitching without running out of pitchers and running out of position players.

If a young man throws strikes, they can win. There have been a number of young guys who came up and have done quite well, especially if they have the maturity and demeanor to handle it and do it. This is an opportunity for somebody to win a job.

He loves to compete, he loves the game. He studies. I don't know anybody who studies that much in baseball. This guy is one of the best guys I can remember having on my team.

Guys get a chance to get more rest, ... Guys get a chance to do life stuff: Go do laundry, go to the car wash, go to the bank, shopping. Regular stuff you don't get a chance to do, stuff that's closed when you get to the park, stuff that's closed when you leave the park.

Guys are throwing the ball well. We've just got to cut down on the walks. It seems like we walk somebody and they score.

He likes doing that. He's actually been pretty good at it. Right now, we're using him like that. I'm not sure if that's how he'll pitch. We're trying to get guys innings.

Guzman has missed a lot of time. He's very close. You don't know if he's quite ready. Certain guys need to pitch. He has missed parts of the last three years (with injuries).

Guys tell me they sleep on the road a lot easier and better than they do at home, ... At home, you end up waking at 7:00 in the morning because you're used to getting up early. On the road, you're not worried about sleeping in and missing batting practice. You're always conscious here of oversleeping. You don't want to wake up in a panic, especially if it's cloudy or dark outside. If it gets sunny early, you're jumping out of bed and it could be 6 o'clock.

Guys gravitate towards him. You need those kind of guys. There's a lot he can still do.

Juan has a pretty good idea of when to run. There were quite a few guys who had green lights last year. It's just a matter of them running. I gave guys the green light a lot, but sometimes I was a bit upset when they didn't run. A real base stealer can run better when he feels he can run versus when you tell him to run.

It is a little strange to be watching baseball that counts at this time of year. I know our guys are really excited.

Our guys are busting it every day. We're not getting it done.

It doesn't matter if we're in the playoffs or not, we're trying to get to .500. We've got something to play for. Guys are still trying to get hits and get wins.

Maybe. It depends on how the other guys are doing, it depends on what I need. It depends on the bottom of the order. It's not definite. I'm always open-minded to changes.

We need an extra bat. We are a little short, especially with the guys that are a little hurt, and big Ben has done an outstanding job of coming off the bench.

That was great pitching from both sides. You know Harden is one of the top young pitchers in the American League. We had a couple guys out there who were dealing.

You learn the hard way then. We had a long discussion last night. The thing about temperament, which you guys don't believe, but I was very similar. You have to constantly work on it as a person.

We have some guys that should get keys to the clubhouse because they beat the clubhouse guys here. It's a little bit different, because we've got some hard-working guys. They influence the other guys, and that's a positive effect.

Today was kind of a flat day after the guys have been busting it. Guys are dragging a little bit.

You know how I feel about the guy -- I love the guy. I would've loved to have played with him, and behind him. I've enjoyed watching him here with us. He's one of the few guys I've had who has earned the right -- and you know he's not going to abuse the right -- to call his own shots. This guy is a pro. You don't know he's around. He never boasts or brags.

You know it's there, but you don't really see it. Guys don't discuss it or talk about it much. It's something you have little control over. I'm sure some guys are conscious of it and aware of it, but until it happens, you can't do anything about it.

We'll mix and match and do what we can. We owe it to ourselves and our paying fans to put the best team we can on the field. People want to see us win. September is right around the corner. There are probably some guys who will get called up. We'll do the best we can every day.

We're not going to call up a lot of players. We'll try to call up guys who deserve it and guys who have had good years and merit being called up. We're not in the giveaway business -- we're in the earning business.

We didn't have our team, No. 1. A lot of times you get new guys and they have a hard time adjusting to Chicago initially.

Well there is always guys that don't get along. Whether that becomes public or not, that is another story. We don't have fights but guys don't get along sometimes. You're in this small building, a bus, you're on a plane, you are in some confined area with the same guys everyday for a long time with a lot of egos.

We want to win. I always want to win. It's a big year for all of us, a big year for the organization, a big year for the city, a big year for the staff, me, different guys on the team. There's no more pressure than usual.

We have a couple of guys already in the process of being developed. You just have to choose one that's the best, and...

We want to get him in the position to give him the best chance to make the club. He worked hard last winter. We know he can help this club. I can tell he's helping some of the young guys and the veteran guys about how to go about their business and how to play this game.

You guys are asking me stuff that he's not even answering.

You get a good setup man and sooner or later someone is going to want him as a closer. You got a good middle guy and you or somebody is going want him to be a setup man. You see bullpen guys move in this game more than any other players.

Big weekend for Sean, Jerome and Glendon. We have to get some guys going and preserve our bullpen. The better our starters can be, the better for all of us.

Baseball's not separate from the world. (Racism) is real. Nobody wants to talk about it. You don't hear guys talk in depth too much, especially minority guys, because you get accused of playing the race card.

D-Lee is still finding his stroke. When those guys really start swinging, we'll have a very potent offense. Our offense is pretty good. We just have to cut those walks down.

The throw wasn't high enough to do that. But we want our guys to be aggressive on the bases. He knows he made a mistake on that one.

The bullpen hasn't gone the way we scripted. Guys were going two innings and you can't use them the next day. They told me Aardsma was throwing the heck out of the ball in Triple-A.

That one inning when Will came in, he got two outs, nobody on base and then he walked a couple guys, and you can't walk guys late,

You're playing against guys who are younger than you, so you can set them up. You get to a certain point in your career and you almost know what's coming. You learn to trust your feelings. Hank Aaron told me you don't become a great player until you learn to trust your feelings.

You would think over the course of a winter -- actually three winters, two winters -- that guys would come back strong and healthy, which hasn't been the case. Woody had a little setback with his knee, but his arm is doing well. He's throwing the ball great. Hopefully, Woody will be ready soon. How soon we don't know. We have Wade Miller coming on pretty strong. We just have to pull our belts a little tighter and do what we have to do.

You spend this many days with the guys here. You live and die with them. You hate to see them go. To the best of my knowledge right now, nobody is leaving unless somebody just makes you an offer you can't refuse. Right now, they're here.

You might think it matters to some of the guys who are still in contention. But at the same time, how many guys think that far in advance?

You never see anyone lose two guys on one play. But nobody cares if Lee's hurt or not except us and the people in Chicago and the people who know him. We'll just have to adjust and just keep on adjusting.

A lot of times, guys get older and they're so financially secure and they have records and stuff, you could easily lose a little competitive desire. But he hasn't lost any.

A lot of these guys come from other organizations where certain things are stressed differently,

There's always speculation about guys on every team. You say, 'Man, this guy looks bigger. But you don't know. And there are some guys who flunked steroid tests, and you had no idea. You see the guys and say, 'No way this guy was on something.' You don't know until somebody is busted.

It's a great run by Greg. The guys really wanted to win for him. We left him out there to give him a chance ... to win.

It's the same with pitching. You talk to Greg Maddux and I'm sure he has a game plan, but he also sometimes can feel when a guy is looking inside or if a guy is looking for something else or it depends on which pitch he takes and how he takes it. Some guys get it early, some guys get it late, some guys never get it.

It's something we talked about. Again, the decision is up to the player. There's quite a bit of pressure on these guys, especially the guys from Latin America more than anybody because of the magnitude and importance of baseball in those areas.

I've known guys who go home early and, especially when you don't go to the postseason, it makes for a long, long winter. That extra month at home, you start getting ready to go back in December.

No -- I wish he'd gotten better. We all wish he'd gotten better. He wishes he'd gotten better. You don't just lose your skill. Sometimes you can't put your finger on it. He's tried a lot of stuff. It's not through lack of effort or hard work. He's worked hard. Guys around the league ask me, 'What's up?' and I don't know what to tell them.

It takes awhile. I'm glad all these guys are here. They've been doing a lot of drills. They've been doing a lot of things. You've got verbal direction instructions to each other. ... It's a unit you want to get together as quickly as possible, especially on defense.

I try to protect the young guys as best I can, but at the same time, if you're in the big leagues, you're in the fire every day no matter who you're playing.

They both were very impressive. We'd heard some things about these guys, but the guys improved a lot. Fox was one of the most improved guys in camp. He's a young guy, with very little experience in the Minor Leagues. Those guys are doing good.

They'll have to get some concentrated at-bats. Every year, I send guys who I don't think are ready down to the Minor Leagues to hit at the top and bottom of the order so they get nine to 18 at-bats at a time. When they get back, I'll find out exactly how much they played. In the case of a catcher, you have to get his legs ready squatting up and down in a game, too. We'll do whatever we can to get them ready.

They have to concentrate on what they have to do for us here and today. If it happens, it's part of the game. You can't make guys aware of that. You see certain guys went through waivers, and they have votes on who should be traded and who shouldn't. That has no merit, actually.

That's a real good sign. It shows the kind of guys we have here.

I never asked him. I asked other guys and they all said, 'No.' I didn't ask Barry. If you've ever been around Barry, Barry's his own man.

I'm open-minded with stuff like that, actually, because I was probably one of the first guys who took some relaxation courses in Venezuela in 1974. I even got hypnotized in '78. I was having trouble concentrating. . . . So, no, I'm very open to a lot of stuff.

I love that. Especially when you have veteran guys at the back of the bullpen.

I'll use the DH as long as I can until the end of spring, when the pitchers will be going far enough to hit. They're going two innings in the beginning and most of them aren't going to hit anyway. Once they get going four, five innings, I'll start using the pitchers. Initially, I'll try to DH whenever I can to get guys at-bats.

Hey, you can't pick where you put them. I try to protect my guys the best I can. If you're in the big leagues, you're under fire every day, no matter who you're playing. Haven't I said all spring I was looking for a surprise?

He's such a great human being that you want him to go out on his terms. Very rarely do guys get to go out on their terms, how they'd like to go out. He just told me it was time.

He puts pressure on the opposition. He brings a different dimension to our lineup so we can play small ball and set up the guys behind him to play long ball as well.

These guys are getting a chance to play that they wouldn't ordinarily have. If nothing else, they're impressing us and everybody else who has seen them. In order to have a good team, in order to have a good organization, you have to be deep in certain positions.

You can stress, but guys still have to react and do it on command,

The guys at the end are walking a tight rope until Opening Day starts.

You've got guys studying video and there's some things that you see, some things that you have to put into play, ... Of all the things that I see, they're beating him with the fastball, which is a no-no. And sometimes he doesn't track the ball. Those are some of the things he has to work on.

The final words were that our guys here will pull for them and give them some love. I asked the guys who they were rooting for, and everybody is rooting for their own country.