Joe Girardi Great Quotations

He just got in there. It's a great slide. You tell guys never to slide headfirst into home plate, but it worked.

We made some great plays. It's a shame the little things we didn't do tonight cost us. I don't sleep too good after losses. I take every loss personally.

He has an attitude when he goes out there, and that's what you want from a pitcher. When you think of all the great pitchers that have come before his time, they all have got an attitude. Some are a little more meek about it. But they all have an attitude.

He has put in a lot of great service. It's hard to tell someone like Lenny you're not going to go with us to start the year.

I thought it would be great to have a couple of pitching coaches on the staff.

I was there when I was 6 years old. I've been there a lot. It's a great ballpark. It's a great atmosphere, day-in, day-out. The fans are great.

I think he'll play catch up most of spring training just because of the time he's missed. He's going to play catch up the whole year really ... but that's OK. A lot of great pitchers have had to do it.

I think that's every manager's and every organization's concern about this, even though it's great for baseball. But they can get hurt here, too.

I think it's great. Why not get thrown right in the fire with Houston and New York, two teams that are picked to finish in the top of their division? I think it's a great experience for our young players. It's a measuring stick.

You look at their physiques, and the determination in these kids, and how they've been coming out here all winter, and working out. Everyone is here early. It makes for a great camp.

To me, this camp is great because guys will have to push themselves. We have two spots taken and about 40 guys fighting for the rest.

Those are high expectations. But I think he expects to be a very good player for a long, long time. He's very talented. There are things he can do. He works hard. He has a great attitude. We expect big things from him.

We're thrown right into the fire, Houston and New York. Why not? Two teams that are picked to finish at the top of their divisions. Obviously, we're going to have to play them at some point. Might as well play them the first week. I think it's a great experience for our young players.

To me the best way to learn is on the job. You could keep guys down until they're 24 and 25 and they have great years in Triple A, you still don't know if they can do it here.

It would have been a great opportunity. I just wish the timing was different. I don't think major league coaches can be part of this tournament because it could last the whole month of March, when we're in spring training.

Everything we heard about him, he's a complete player. There wasn't really anything he couldn't do. He's done a lot of great things in camp. But so did Robert. Robert did a lot of great things. It was really hard sending Robert down today.

So far he's been everything as advertised. He's pitched well. He's been great in the clubhouse. I really appreciate the way he tries to lead and his work ethic. I'm not sure Matt knows that I watch so closely.

It's part of it. To me, shortstop, the defensive part is very, very important. And that won't be overlooked. I'm not going to sacrifice that. But you don't want a guy to struggle and play miserably offensively, but he plays great defense. We need a little bit of both.

He's put together a pretty good little stretch here. The thing we've talked about the whole way is consistency through the whole year, understanding you are going to go through some struggles. How are you able to get out of them? Are you able to get out of them quicker than other players? Those are the great players.

He threw a great pitch. He kept his composure. He had some tough outs he had to get, and he got them.

They were very close to getting into the playoffs again this year, ... The opportunities here are great. I'm excited to be here. They have so many great young players, and they have a lot more coming.

The great thing about Joe was that he let me say anything I wanted and I was never fearful of saying anything; that's the greatest guy you can work for. Joe's a very trusting guy. One of the big things I learned about him was his patience and the importance of knowing people.

You win with pitching, and there are some really great arms in this camp. I can't wait until we get going in the games and see the progress they make.

This is a great opportunity, and I took it.

I took this situation because I wanted this situation and I wanted these kids. We all want to help these kids succeed. We all want to help them realize their dreams and become great players.

It's a tough time to have it for me to go, but it's a nice honor. I grew up in a great town and had a great childhood. The people of Peoria and East Peoria were great to me. The town gave me every opportunity in life to succeed. I think that's all you can ask for as a kid.

It's about staying down in the zone and making your pitches and (Vargas) struggled with that. He was missing location. That's going to happen. It happens to great pitchers. It happens to all pitchers.

Those positions are wide open. We have a veteran in Reese and two young kids. To me, this camp is great because guys will have to push themselves.

It's been a great ride for me, ... and it just seems to get better and better.

They're both great owners to work for because their first priority is winning. Obviously George has more financial means than Jeffrey, but their desires are the same.

He's got a great chance of being one of the starters. He's throwing the ball well.

I don't mind him coming home. We're going to get one out, but he rushed it. We made some great defensive plays. It's a shame that the little things we didn't do in the eighth cost us.

For the most part, I was pretty happy with what I saw. He's got a great chance at being one of the starters. As time goes on, we'll continue to evaluate all the people we have in camp as possible starters. He's throwing the ball well.

Great hitters are able to do that. They're still going to drive in 120 runs. You're not going to walk a guy 700 times. That would be a record.