Don Cooper Pitching Quotations

Starting pitching will either lead you to the White House or the out house.

That whole thing about, 'Hey, ex-catchers are the best managers.' Listen, pitching coaches have some brains, too. Sometimes they're not all there, but sometimes they are.

I bet if you asked McCarthy about pitching in the bullpen, developing, getting his feet wet and learning a new tool to make himself an asset to the organization and to benefit himself, or whether he wants to go to Triple-A and pitch, you know the answer.

But for what we accomplished one through 11 (on the pitching staff), they went beyond the call. We got 99 wins in the regular season, plus the AL Division Series and four complete games in the ALCS. I know we'll give it all our best in the World Series.

Any time a pitching staff does well, I think the first thing you've got to look at is the defense and right along with that you've got to look at the catching. The catcher holds the brain. He's the guy that everybody is looking at to be the leader and take control of the game and keep that pace going. With A.J. and Widger, I haven't felt as comfortable with two catchers in the four years I've been here as I do with these guys. They remember the game plan and they carry it out. That's one of the reasons why we've had the kind of pitching staff we've had this year.

They went through the last two years something I wouldn't wish on anybody because of all their physical problems, ... That's an amazing job Mel did. Maybe the only job in baseball as complicated as managing the Yankees is being pitching coach for the Yankees.

Again, I'm concerned about a lot of things, being the pitching coach. Freddy being good wasn't one of them. I know Freddy is good. We all know what he could do. My main concern was the other day when he looked for that fastball, it wasn't there. But you know what? Maybe it just wasn't time.

He told me that he really felt the pressure pitching in New York and trying to live up to all the money,