Phil Garner Year Quotations

We are a different club and we are probably not as offensively as potent as we were last year. We certainly don't have the possibility to break a game open with the long balls like we did last year. We're a little bit younger in our offense, but somehow we found a way. Our pitching is more solid than it was last year from top to bottom. Our bullpen has been good on the balance of the year and having Andy Pettitte healthy has helped our rotation quite a bit. We are probably a little stronger in the pitching department and probably a little weaker in the offense department.

Last year shows really how good he is. I wouldn't say he was at his best physically, and he had a great year.

But when a guy can throw 97 miles an hour like he was last year and he's throwing it right to the corners, and he's got a power slider, that's going to hurt you. You can't hit that guy. That's why he was lights out last year. His control has not been there this year.

He's pitched very, very good for us. I'm surprised his control has been better than most guys in their first year after surgery.

He could have taken the rest of the year just to rehab, which is probably a lot of the advice that he had received. He decided that he was going to push it a little bit and try to come back this year, just in case.

I think it's going to be difficult because (Clemens) will probably win the rest of the games this year (and) that's going to tighten it up,

I thought the Cardinals were going to be hard-pressed to duplicate what they did last year and they did duplicate it. We are a different club and we are probably not offensively as potent as we were last year. ... We are probably a little stronger in the pitching department and probably a little weaker in the offense department. I don't know how that's going to work out.

Last year, he was incredibly good, and this year he struggled a little bit early. But when it came to crunch time, he started coming on.

I think Mike Gallo did a wonderful when he came back from Triple-A last year and carried us down the stretch as the only lefthander. It would be my preference to have two lefties, but that's not set in stone.

Was that his ninth win? That's pretty good. You've got a guy who didn't figure in your rotation at the start of the year and when he gets in he's won more than he's lost, so that's pretty good. He pitched a nice crisp game tonight. He threw strikes, he gets ahead. That gives a team a lift.

They played well all year long. They played well against us. They deserve to be world champions this year.

There was some conversation about maybe taking the rest of the year off and rehabbing his shoulder and getting it strong over the winter. It was Jeff that decided he wanted to do everything he could to get ready to go this year just in case something good happened.

There were a whole lot of things last year that made me nervous. Starting off last season, I did not think we had a good enough team to get to the playoffs, and the truth of the matter is the kids all stepped up and grew up in a hurry and we ended up playing great ball.

It's one ballgame. This is a best out of seven. Last year we took it to the limit, but clearly we'll have our work cut out for us. This club bounces back and we'll bounce back.

It's one ballgame. This is a best out of seven, ... Last year we took it to the limit, but clearly we'll have our work cut out for us. This club bounces back and we'll bounce back.

It's been a trait of ours all year and we managed to win even though we hadn't done that,

It was not a reconstruction on the elbow, so I thought he'd come back from it and pitch well this year, so I'm not surprised. What surprises me is that his control had been is as good as it has been. Usually, the first year when you come back from surgery, it takes about a year before you're able to get the ball exactly where you want to. But he's done a pretty good job of locating pitches.

His consistent play, his consistent hitting all year long -- and he's played pretty solid defense. He had a period in there where a couple of balls gave him a little bit of trouble, but he's been playing a pretty solid defense.

He started doing it last year -- it was something that Jim worked with him last year. His whole demeanor and he's working with a better tempo. He's done that. Along with that, he's throwing strikes, too.

If he hits a ball hard, you can get him out. If he hits it soft, he'll beat it out every time. He has an incredible burst the last 15 feet or so. There have been six or seven times this season when an umpire will anticipate a little bit and call him out and then realize that he was safe. I got thrown out of a game or two because I got tired of seeing that. I don't know if he's going to win the rookie of the year or not, but there is no doubt he's an exciting player.

I congratulate the Chicago White Sox. They had a phenomenal year. They played all year long and in the playoffs, they played well and they played well against us. They deserve to be called World Champions.

He pitched well, of course, the year before. And last year I saw some major improvement in him. I thought he calmed down. I thought he came into the game with a real good game plan. I thought he executed his game plans. To me, he matured a lot last year. He seemed more confident on the mound. He pitched in some big situations and he got some outs in some big situations.