I asked him on [Thursday] if he wanted to make the trip [on Friday]. He could have stayed back. He wanted to get work against major league pitchers. He spent five hours on a bus to do it. |
I believe in these guys, and I believe if you stay the course you get paid dividends. I believe it's better. |
I bet he does. I think he knows how we feel. I don't know how many guys in his situation would have volunteered to [go to the bullpen]. I would say very few. He gave us a lot of stability at a time when it didn't look like we had much. |
I can't take the game away from him. It would kill him. I can't do that. I don't want to be any part of that. I love the guy, but I don't want him to get hurt and I don't want him to get in trouble. |
I can't tell you how I'm going to use him [Stanton], not ahead of time, |
I can't tell you if, when or where I'll use him. This is an usual circumstance. |
I certainly don't think it can hurt. We saw the enthusiasm with him, offensively with what he was doing. Success can never be a bad thing. |
I certainly understand. David is one of the most dangerous hitters in the game. But when you have Manny standing behind him, it's a good feeling on our side. We take it for granted sometimes, because we see them every day. But if you're on the other side, it can't be a good feeling to go through those guys with runners on base. |
I couldn't tell them that night, but they had me that night. I just needed to try to get some more money. They were so genuine. ... It really was a great night. |
I didn't even know if I wanted to manage again, |
I didn't feel any ill will going into the game. It happened quick. It's over and you play the game. |
I didn't get a real conclusive answer. I don't know if an X-ray is pertinent. I know he's got full stability and everything like that. He showed up a little bit more swollen than what would probably allow him to play comfortably. That's probably the best way to put it. |
I didn't sacrifice how I felt about things, ... And we won. |
I didn't think he would be traded. I didn't think it was realistic. He's too good. Theo (Epstein) and management tried to honor that (request), but they couldn't get enough back. |
I didn't think it was going out. I didn't think anyone could hit a ball like that out of the ballpark tonight. |