I well aware that this is a Phillies site.  I try my hardest not to comment on any other goings on in the major leagues because frankly, neither you nor I care that much.  BUT, every so often there is a non-Phillies related nugget that is just too cot damn good not to post here.  This, fine readers, is one of them.

Earlier today, it was reported by some “MSMer” (I want to strangle that term) that Sammy Sosa, formerly of the Chicago Cubs, tested positive for a banned substance in 2003.  Naturally, reporters swarmed the Cubs locker room shortly thereafter to write some quotes down from the players that they can use to waste space in their columns tomorrow morning. 

Well, at least that was the plan. 

Then Lou Piniella stepped in to utter perhaps the greatest phrase ever uttered by an old, cranky manager.

Ladies and gentlemen, I present to you — “I wouldn’t know a steroid from a reefer.”

Go ahead, play it again. You know you wanna.

(Thanks to my BLS buddy ‘Duk for alerting me of this quote on his Tweetey page)

You would think a borderline genius manager who just won the World Series and got a much deserved contract extension might get a bit complacent and go with the same guys as the year before out of loyalty, right?

WRONG.

This quote goes out to the Geoff Jenkins, Matt Stairs, Chris Costes, and Ronny Paulino’s of the world:

“When you’re a bench player, you goddam better think you’re competing. Just as soon as you think you’ve got it made, somebody will come along and sniff you right off the bench. That happens all the time. Don’t ever assume anything. … We want hardnosed, winning players. If you think you’re going to short cut us, some dumb guy like me will trip you up.”

On second thought, maybe you can just cross Paulino off that list right now. Here’s Charlie again:

“I see a guy [Paulino] that’s real stiff,” Manuel said. “In a game, he hits mostly everything to right field. He muscles the ball instead of freely hitting through the ball. He doesn’t use his legs. The big boy has a lot of power, but at times, he’s all a right-field hitter and that’s because of his approach.”

Quotes provided by Zolecki and Lauber, respectively.

Photo credit: David Maialetti/Daily News

This is what Shane Victorino had to say on his Postseason blog following last night’s victory:

“I can’t imagine what it’s going to be like in this city, if we can do it. Driving home on Broad Street after Saturday’s win, I could see the excitement already, and we had just won one game. The closer we get, the more exciting it gets. We hope to share this with you guys tomorrow.

You deserve it to. [sic] Being from Hawaii, I never really understood what the passion of this city was like, in terms of its sports teams. I get it now. I know I’m not going to get much sleep tonight.”

No questions asked.

With the Phillies headed down to Miami to be greeted by those pesky Marlins and literally dozens of fans, they’re probably looking for any edge they can find to keep their hot streak going.  So when a quote resurfaced from last week where Dan Uggla told the Miami Herald, “Our chances might be pretty slim to none, but anybody we can take down with us, we’re going to do it. If we’re not going, we don’t want anybody else to go,” Phils skip Charlie Manuel was asked if he was going to post that as so-called “bulletin board material”.  His answer is fantastic:

“I shouldn’t have to post that,” Manuel said. “These are big guys. This ain’t college, this ain’t high school, this ain’t Little League… This is major leagues. Men. They are not little boys.

“They know the game. When they see that, they talk about that. We’ve got some guys who talk about that. We’ve got some guys who talk in a hard-nosed way, we’ve got some guys who might… shy away. We’ve got some of those guys. These guys have been playing baseball all their life. If they don’t know the importance of winning, we’re in trouble.”

Well said, Charles.

Phillies Notebook: Marlins prepared to put a fight against | Phillies Daily News

After the Phillies invade someone else’s city and completely demolish their team, it’s always fun to check the rival paper to search for feel-good quotes…

Found one!

The paper? The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
The quotee? Chipper Jones.

“They’ve got guys who go up there with a game plan,” Jones said. “They’ve got guys that work at being a tough out. Over the course of nine innings, they wear you down. That’s what division champions do.”

You cot-damn right, Chip.

Phillies 6, Braves 3: Sense of urgency increases | Atlanta Journal-Constitution

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