Bullpen Quotes

[The bullpen] picked me up when I had a horrible day. I'm just glad we have a staff that can do that and not just rely on our starters. - Ike Davis

[That's partly because the starting pitching has been much improved (17-9, 4.30 ERA) since the All-Star break. The most consistent pitcher of late has been lefthander Johan Santana, who was 4-2 with a 2.83 ERA since taking a permanent spot in the rotation on July 11. To help the Twins' other starters, who were frequently overthrowing, Anderson instructed them to throw only in the lower half of the strike zone during bullpen sessions between starts. He told them that he wants to see the catchers' mitts moving downward to receive every pitch during those workouts.] If they're constantly throwing to the glove in the bullpen... then go into a game with the adrenaline [pumping], everything they throw [will go high in the strike zone]. - Rick Anderson

[Indians reliever Arthur Rhodes has left the club because of a family illness and will miss the rest of Cleveland's season, a blow to baseball's best bullpen and the club's playoff chances.] It's going to be tough without him, ... He has been huge for us all year. We're definitely going to miss him. - Bob Wickman

[His fosh is one of the pitches Suppan throws in the bullpen when warming up for a start because of its importance. He holds the ball with splayed fingers, and it's crucial that his arm action on the change duplicates his delivery on his fastball. Otherwise, the ruse is ineffective.] If you have a dominant fastball, it takes people off that fastball if you're able to locate the changeup... If you can throw a fastball changeup, and it looks the same each time, that's a pretty tough combination. - Jeff Suppan

[He talked the team's executives into letting him try to pitch out of the bullpen at year's end and then found himself on the playoff roster in place of young Brandon McCarthy, who pitched well the last month of the regular season after being called up in late August.] We took some heat for putting El Duque on the roster, but we had to go with our heads and not our heart, ... He told us he could do it. I don't know how old he is but he's got the mind and the body of a 25-year-old. He's been through this stuff before. He's been in big situations before. But I don't think he's ever been in [stuff] like this before. - Don Cooper

[Brown is 4-7 with a 6.50 ERA in 13 starts during an injury-marred season. He has been re-examined by Dr. Robert Watkins, who reported a marked improvement in Brown's back.] There's a chance if he continues to improve that he'll be able to pitch for us in September, ... Whether that's out of the bullpen or other than that, we'll wait and see. - Joe Torre

[After three straight complete-game shutouts against the Royals, the bullpen was talking boycott.] We're leaving cell-phone numbers just in case, but we're out of there... We'll go hit a sports bar or something. - Joe Nathan

[About the only thing the Sox did not show was their vaunted bullpen.] Well... I hope I don't have to use them until April. - Ozzie Guillen

(Snowflake) hit the ball really well. They were able to put the ball in play, and we threw a couple of kids that were late coming out because of wrestling. This was really their first test of the year because they haven't had the time to throw a lot in the bullpen. - Ramon Morales

(Luca) wasn't that sharp, especially after he got the wind knocked out of him. We were able to get into their bullpen, which is really important in the third (game of the series). - Anthony Johnson