Joe Torre Last Quotations

That's the sign of a good relationship, when you can pick up a phone and it doesn't matter when the last time you spoke was.

We're in good shape. We're playing well, and after last night's ugly one, we came back and did some good things.

We're hoping he's healthy. That's No.1, first and foremost. All the reports that we've had is that he's been on a regular routine throwing ? not throwing off the mound, but everything seems to be good. He's a big horse for us. When he was a free agent last year he was at the top of my list. We were fortunate enough to be able to sign him. He just never was right. Mel can tell you, from spring training on he just didn't feel right. It was just something that nagged him all year. Finally we shut him down. Hopefully that stuff is behind him.

If we had tied it last night, I would have brought him in for the ninth inning, even though that's something I don't like to do. The need to get him in a game is important.

But we understand what they did to us last time.

I have a feeling I'm going to make all the phone calls. I'm not going to hesitate doing that, because I learned my lesson last year. I don't call him because I need to get support; I just think it's important to stay up to date.

He's cool. He's having a good time. He just really told people a lot more with this last start than we learned since he came over from Colorado. Obviously, we needed every bit of it. Now we can reunite with Moose again because we haven't seen him in about five days.

I saw a draft of this year's schedule halfway through last year, and you had to see this series right away. The schedule might have been preliminary. But I knew this series wasn't.

I think his last two outings are the best ones he's had all year. I don't know if he's getting stronger or just feeling better.

I think it will be more comfortable for him. I think that's been from Spring Training all the way through. It's been less hectic than last year.

When you're down to 20 games left, it's hugely important. Knowing we still have control of things with the last three games against these guys, we just have to work very hard between now and then so those games will be significant.

We're not trying to rush him to get ready for any particular date. But compare this year to last year and it's night and day for him.

Things like that happen. That's why baseball is so unpredictable. You don't play it by the clock. You can't freeze the ball. You have to get every single out, and every single one of those outs, especially the last five or six, are very tough to get.

I've talked to him all year about thinking small, and big things will happen. When you're fighting for a pennant, everybody here will remember that at-bat (on Saturday) rather than a two-run home run when you're up by six runs. I don't think he would have done that last year because he would have been trying to do something bigger.

I've talked to Bernie and I think he's comfortable with it. Emotionally, he is fine with it. It is just that the last day of July was the day it had to be done. It was in his contract.

Randy was excellent. The last two times out he's been lighting it up.

They were going to have to put a chalk outline on the wall because that was the last place he was seen. He kept us in the game.

They pitched well last year and they didn't do anything to change my mind this year.

It's been an upside down time for him over the last week or so. He's not going to back away from a challenge, he just wasn't as sharp as he could have been.

That lacked respect last night. Winning and losing had nothing to do with it. I just thought it was time to acknowledge what he's done here.

It was a decision I felt I had to make. Certainly, it wasn't popular, and the last thing I wanted to do was go get him. He left a couple pitches up . . .

I know I alluded to it with my players at one time or another, ... I said, with everything we went through, if it was May or June, you'd have given your right arm to be in the position we are right now. Yeah, we're not in first place, but where we were then, and where we were going, if you knew the last 20 games of the season you're fighting not only for a wild card but for a pennant, you'd be tickled to death.

I haven't taken his pulse lately; it barely moves. But he pitched well for us last year, and sometimes a little bit of a language barrier is an advantage. You're not having to answer a lot of questions and converse with a lot of people. It sort of insulates you. I have no doubt he'll be able to handle it.

I guess it was fitting; it was incredible. After last night's exhausting game, to play as well defensively as we did today was hugely important.

Hopefully it's true. He tries to never have a negative thought. But last year, I even admitted, I was surprised to see the power numbers come back the way they did that quickly.

I feel better about him this year than I did last year. Knowing that he never felt like everything was there, just with what he's volunteering this year and the way he's moving around, I sense he's feeling a lot better about himself, physically.

He's not overpowering, so he needs to locate a lot better than he did last night and than he's done lately, ... But you know he's not going to wilt from the pressure, which is a plus. He just needs to be a little more consistent.

Gordon has been terrific. He's come in the last three times with no room to breathe and has done the job for us.

The last two days now we've scored runs. We're gritty right now, and that's certainly important.