Mark Sweeney Quotations

But the atmosphere here is good -- hopefully this turns into a story of us doing well.

He'll get his share of home runs. He'll start to roll.

What we've got to do is bring the magic of May to October. We did it once. Who knows?

He's done it for years so good and so effortlessly. To me, he's the best player in the game. Having him on the field makes us that much better, and if it is his last year, to say you've played with the best player in the game is special.

There aren't many players you can build a team around. I see Brian as one. Teams are looking for those guys. When you already have one . . .

He didn't have his best stuff, but he still kept his team in the game. If you have a young pitcher like that, that's really valuable.

He can throw a good one. He almost took my head off today. I didn't know where it was going. But in a game? He'd get killed. It's one thing to play catch. It's another thing to pitch.

I thought about Grissom and the admiration I had for him as a teammate in Milwaukee. I loved the way he played.

I think we've had a bunch of new guys and learned to kind of change the atmosphere around here. We've had fun, but we're doing a lot of work and getting stuff done. That's the way I was always raised in this game with all the teammates I've had - enjoy yourself but act professional and go about your business the right way.

I think that's what's become the disappointment for us, the way we've been playing, because we've brought the other teams back into the mix as opposed to pushing ourselves away.

Steve Finley, having him as a fourth outfielder is a luxury that a lot of teams don't have. Obviously he's not a fourth outfielder but that's what you have to pencil him in as.

That's the thing we focus on as teammates in the dugout. We're amazed that he can channel that out as well as he does. At times, it can get real vicious. I wouldn't want to trade places with him, I can tell you that.

We have some special 40-year-olds here. We don't have the normal 40-year-olds that can't run around.

We hang in there. It hasn't always been fun. It hasn't always been pretty. But we've answered every challenge. We stayed on top. We deserve to be division champions.

We don't look at it as struggle. We look at it as a victory. We won the West. That was our first job. The next goal is to win the next one.

We are winning the one-run ball games and especially the close games in the ninth inning and that's a boost. However, we need to learn how to hold leads a little bit better and make it easier for ourselves.

It was up in the air whether Barry would do this. We asked him this morning. It was almost embarrassing to have him do it.

Seeing Paul go is a really tough loss for us. It's tough to take because of the person and teammate he has been.

Our division is something that we should be competitive in.

As a visiting player, that's all we talked about. We're a better team when he's out there.

That's how special he is. I don't know if you saw my ball, but it would have been out at Williamsport. I squared it up. I'm just playing on the wrong field.

You realize he can basically do what he wants because he's earned it.

They get to pick their own music and costumes. And if they don't want to, we'll pick for them. Trust me, they don't want that.

There was one black cloud hanging over this win and that is the departure of Quantrill. He brought a lot more to the table than his throwing. He had been to where we hope to go. He was the epitome of a great teammate.

It's a tradition, really, when a brother falls to support the house where he was from.

It's attention you know is going to happen. It's easy to go about our business every day and do our job. It's not a big deal. But the atmosphere here is good -- hopefully this turns into a story of us doing well.

It was beautiful. We all wanted him to do it, hit the home run and break the ice. We all know he has the ability. It's pretty funny to hear people say he doesn't have it anymore.

It's not just being aggressive. It's the whole package from top to bottom of attentiveness, of sensitivity, of response, of timeliness, of understanding (prospects) and their business.

It's not the end of the world. It's a weird night.

It's almost like hitting for me. It's hard for me to accept in a sense. I want to make the plays. But it's not something to be concerned about. I've just got to do more work, like everything else.

That's pretty stupid. But it's just a select few fans who would do something like that. I don't think it's indicative of everyone.

That's the first I've heard of it. Hopefully he'll be OK.

It's very special to see a kid like Cain. There's going to be pressure on him to perform, and I think he's up for it. He's got great poise.

That's crap. Whoever did that should be embarrassed.

I know we're talking about it because of our record, but it's also a case where I don't think we're going to fear who we play because their record is better than ours.

He's the glue that holds this team together.

He's the glue of our team. I've said that all along. Spare parts are very important, but he's the one cog we can't really miss. He'll make any contract look reasonable.

He's a quiet guy. He wants to take it all in. A lot of these guys coming up are spoon-fed how good they are even before they have success, and he's the total opposite.

If it is his last year, having the opportunity to play with the best player in the game is pretty special, when you think about it. We're his teammates, but we're fans of what he does.

I don't look at it like other people say, like it's a distraction. You kidding? It's great to have him around. It definitely sets the tone.