Wednesday, August 10, 2005

"And I just did it"

"Poise? I don't think we're talking about poise here. I think we're talking about a 97 mile an hour fastball with a curveball from hell. I think you can overlook the poise part. Let's just say great stuff."
-Ron Gardenhire

"I wish I could have been in here [the clubhouse] watching, instead of out there opposing him... That was pretty impressive. I hope I don't have to lock up with him too much in the future."
-Kyle Lohse, opposing pitcher

"On the first pitch, I called a two-seamer [sinker] and it just exploded on me and I dropped it. I peeked at the radar reading and it said 97. I thought, 'Wow, a two-seamer that hard.' The next pitch, I dropped that, too... I said to myself, 'Oh, my God ... the way this kid is throwing, I've got to be ready.'"
-Wiki Gonzalez, steady-handed catcher

"I was comfortable. I was actually a bit surprised, I was more comfortable than I had been in my first start in Detroit ... really, more comfortable than I've felt all year. And I just did it."
-The King (That last sentence has to be the coolest thing he has ever said in his life).

On overcoming a bewildering play by unnamed third baseman:

"...Felix came through. He didn't scoot around and feel sorry for himself. He just went back to work and picked up Beltre. Whether a pitcher is 19 or 90, you want to see him pick up a teammate, and that's exactly what Felix did for Adrian. You better believe Adrian appreciated that."
-Mike Hargrove

On going out for the eighth with a 1-0 lead:

"Going out for the eighth I told him, 'Don't change anything; this is just like the first inning.' Felix pointed at me, like he was saying, 'Let's go.'"
-Gonzalez

"I felt more emotional going out to pitch with a lead. Now it was my game and I had to win it."
-The King

And finally, drumroll...

"He seemed like he knew what he was doing."
-Matthew LeCroy, still befuddled Twins hitter

7 comments:

  1. "And I just did it". That's what the great ones do.

    Everything about The King's performance last night ooozed with greatness. He wasn't the least bit rattled by anything. 94 pitches. Men on base? Beltre's blunders? Great pitchers shake those things off and just Gil, Joel, were you watching?

    That was Dwight Gooden, Roger Clemens mid-80s tight pants and Topps Rookie Card good. I've never seen anything like that. Not even Randy. This kid is something special.

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  2. I love how the 19 year kid picked up the $12 million dollar man.

    I'm a big time Beltre-backer, but this is ridiculous.

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  3. Anonymous5:40 PM

    He didn't even LOOK like he was only 19 years old-- although his Freddy-like mannerisms are a bit unnerving--he even hopped over the foul line like Freddy did !--but it was a special event --save the ticket stub for sure --this could be the start of something---I recall going to Junior's first game in the Kingdome with Maaah! (when he hit the opposite field home run in his first at bat !!)--this approached that--too bad we have to wait until Monday for him to pitch again (although probably smart that they let him pass on the Angels )

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  4. Neddy I was there too!

    I liked how Gardenhire got snippy with that poise comment. Poise? Poise?! What do you mean poise?! It was like Jim Mora with "Playoffs?! You kiddin me?"

    I think Felix's breaking ball should be called "The Bumfuzzler". There is no better word to describe how the Twins must have felt than bumfuzzled.

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  5. Anonymous11:29 PM

    ..Bumfuzzler it is
    ----its now 11:28 pm --bottom of 14th ---after just having given up 4 runs in top of the inning --guess every game can't be like last nights ...

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  6. Let's just hope the kid's arm holds up. He has the potential to be a great major leaguer! What a performance!

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  7. Snave is back. Word.

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