Mark Loretta Quotations

I was surprised by that. I thought he did a real good job for us. And he had been in a pennant race before.

Obviously, he's not Willie McGee or Vince Coleman ,

Obviously, he's not Willie McGee or Vince Coleman . The biggest thing is, he gets on base and he puts the ball in play. He doesn't strike out much.

I got called up from New Orleans, actually,

If we win the division, I don't think anybody's going to care about our record,

I saw a lot of pitches from him, and I was used to him.

I think double-play combinations are probably a little bit overplayed. You basically catch it and throw it and catch it again. Whoever it is, we'll probably only need a week in Spring Training to get in sync.

I thought he was the best pitcher in the National League, to be honest with you. He got me out a lot. I'm glad he's on my team now.

I think the way we've manufactured runs lately is encouraging,

I think his experience is going to be unbelievable tomorrow. He doesn't have any fear, and he doesn't take his time. He dictates the pace. As an infielder, that helps so much. Having him go tomorrow, I think he could turn this thing.

I think that helped me out in seeing some pitches, and I know he?s aggressive and always comes after you.

We'd like to open a little bigger lead so we're not having to take it down to the wire.

You become spoiled playing next to a guy like Khalil. He made a lot of plays other shortstops can't make, but I've seen Gonzalez make all the plays.

I had my first Major League at-bat off him in 1995. He struck me out. But I think that helped me out in seeing some pitches, and I know he's aggressive and always comes after you.

I'm looking forward to that. I played many years in County Stadium where we had six or eight thousand in a 60,000-seat stadium. It helps. It helps your energy level. It's a long season. It's a grind, and that energy and that excitement can only help you stay focused and stay alert.

If you play as long as I have, things happen. You can only beat your head against the wall for so long. We made the playoffs, and I came back and helped us down the stretch. It was the first time that I had been to the playoffs.

I guess that's the silver lining. The nice thing about our position is we don't have to watch the scoreboard. It's interesting, and we're gonna do it, but if we can take care of business and win, it's not going to matter.

I think Alex Gonzalez is as good a shortstop as you'll find. He's got this play where he kind of takes the knee and slides to his right and gets up and fires. I've lost a ton of base hits on that play.

I have watched him from afar, and if he isn't the best in the game, he is right up there with the best. He is so smooth and natural.

I haven't noticed any idiots here. I mean that in a good way.

They were the better team. We wanted to fight back, and they didn't let us.

It was like slow motion. I reached and it was by me. This can be a very humbling game.

It's smart to stay sharp. With tonight and Monday, we're getting two days off in a span of five days. That's ample.

It's about peaking at the right time. Who knows? We've had five-game stretches as good as any team in baseball.

It's going to be key for Coco and I to get on base. (Ramirez and Ortiz) have shown throughout their careers that they hit well with men on base and men in scoring position. They drove in, what, 140 runs last year? That's a lot.

It's been a big roller-coaster ride, but that makes it that much sweeter. We've been through a lot of ups and downs. That's what perseverance and mental toughness are all about: how you respond to negative times.