We were here all night, and it might happen again. |
We were made a mockery of in the first two months and here we are in September still playing for something. We've come through a lot. It's not a burden to be playing for the playoffs. There are a lot of teams making vacation plans. |
We're doing something pretty special. We've been good the last couple years. But this is borderline spectacular. |
We've always had good (closers) in the ninth inning. But the seventh and eighth has been a real strength for us this year. |
We've come through a lot, ... Whatever we do, this is for this team. It's time to forget about everybody else. We need to put ourselves in a little shell and look at each other and depend on each other and pick each other up. That's pretty much what it's all about. |
We've got to sweep. The door's still open. It's a little crack, but it's open. If we go 3-1, we're still two games out with three to play. We've got to sweep. That's the bottom line. |
We've won every year since I've been here, but now I think we have a realistic chance to do some big things. When I signed here, I knew Billy would do what it would take to win. |
Whatever. They (the U.S. team) want to keep me in the wings in case (Alex Rodriguez) doesn't play, that's what happened. If it was someone else, I'm sure they say it was OK. But I'm fine with it. |
When you face top-notch pitching and they shut you down that's one thing, but we haven't run into that since Minnesota (Aug. 12-14). |
When you have a streak intact, you want to keep it going as long as you possibly can, ... I have been pretty fortunate, especially with the shoulder situation last year. The past four or five years, I've felt pretty lucky. I don't really expect anything. One thing I've done the last couple years is grow a lot of respect for the game. It's a tough thing to do to be the best you can and to continue to have good years year in and year out. |
You appreciate [having chemistry] more when things aren't going so good. If you don't have it, things could get ugly, but that's never happened here no matter how bad we've played. |
You can go back in the year and look at the seventh, eighth and ninth inning; we played well enough to win. We should have won those ballgames. ... Hopefully (the poor performance of the relievers) will be addressed this offseason. |
[His spring performance bears him out. Dye was one of Oakland's most impressive hitters during camp, driving the ball with his old authority.] He's raking, ... He's got that confident look in his eye again. |
[The A's won't quit, because such acts are beneath them, but there is no more race to join.] We're not counted out yet, but it's pretty obvious what the scenario is, ... We'll play it to the end, let the numbers dictate where we are ... but it's pretty clear what we're facing. |