Frank Robinson Game Quotations

Usually in a game like this you're hopeful for one good shot at a pitcher like Pedro. And we got that in the sixth inning. We couldn't ask for any better chance than we had there, with the people we had coming to the plate. We got nothing out of it.

Usually in a game like this you hope for one good shot at a pitcher like Pedro. It wasn't whether they had good at-bats, they just weren't productive even if they hit the ball hard. We had the people you wanted at the plate in the order you wanted and expected to be productive, but we didn't get it.

Usually in a game like that you hope for one good shot against a guy like that and we got it. With the bases loaded and nobody out you expect to get something out of it. We couldn't have asked for anything better with our heart of the order coming up. We had the people we wanted coming to the plate.

My game plan is to sit down and talk with him when he gets here, and we'll make a decision which way to go.

I can't remember a game called because of lights. It just wouldn't have been right to have those guys sitting around for 40 minutes, 50 minutes, an hour.

He has been our offensive weapon the last month. Another big game from him. At least he is a threat up there at the plate now, which makes a big difference down in the bottom of the lineup.

He may have one more of these backup-type things of coming into a game after a starter. Then he should be in line to start a game.

I wasn't going to sit there and wait until he threw the game away in the first inning. You're going to pitch for me, you've got to throw strikes.

You just don't like to see sloppy play. We're not playing good, crisp, sharp baseball in any aspect of the game right now. Period. It's going to have to pick up. It's focus, anticipation and concentration. That's what it is. We don't seem to really be there right now.

We have to pay attention to details right now, and hopefully we can keep going, ... I just think they had to get down to business. They had to pay attention to the game itself and not all this side stuff and the stuff out on the street. They have to focus on playing baseball. That was my view of it. And I think they are starting to get that feel.

We are down to two players. They are both left-handed and I just didn't want to burn one of the players just in case we had to make some moves later in the game -- pinch-run, double-switch, whatever. I didn't want to tie my hands there with two outs.

A lot of guys said he was off the wall, he's crazy. I found him to be a guy with a lot of energy. He played the game hard. He just wanted to go out and play. Sometimes his emotion got in the way. He would lose control and tear things. I talked to him and reasoned with him. I listened to him. We developed a fondness for each other. I admire him for the way he goes about his work.

They're a talented enough team to play in the playoffs. They look like they're at the top of their game right now.

It seems like when we get a decent pitched game we do nothing offensively.

It was probably the best game he's pitched in the last five or six ball games. His knee is getting better each start, and he is getting back to where he normally would be: that is hitting the corners with his pitches and changing speeds.

It was a very well-played game, but it all started with pitching and defense. Again, we didn't tear the cover off the ball. We scored one run. This is what we have to do to compete. Hopefully, we can put it together. This is probably the third or fourth sharp game that we have played, but this the best that we played.

The next step is to write his name in the lineup for Wednesday's game and see if he will show up in Jupiter and go out and play the outfield.

It's inconsistency. One game we look like we are ready to go get it started and the next day we come out and we fall right back into a rut. It's inconsistency. We are not producing a consistent offense.

That's a lot of years to live in this game. To be in the game this long, you have to be very fortunate. A lot of people has been involved in this game and very few have spent that much time in the game. I feel very lucky, and I appreciate the opportunities that I've had and still have. I don't take anything for granted.

I'm not going to walk him to lead off an inning. I don't walk anybody leading off an inning. I don't think there is anybody in the game I would ever walk leading off an inning, or walk him with the bases loaded to save three runs.

I'm very proud of Brian the way he has progressed over the years, especially since he's been the everyday catcher. He's improved in his offensive part of the game, he's improved in his defensive part of the game and he's improved in his overall play -- pitch-calling. There's no reason why, and I expect him to continue to make that type of progress and continue to improve overall. Not just in his offense. I still think Brian has room to improve defensively and calling of games and handling the pitching staff in situations.

I didn't think he was going after the hitters. He was walking himself into trouble. He was one base hit away from the game blowing in our faces. I don't like pitchers throwing balls. You can't defense ball four.

I didn't think he was going after hitters, ... He was walking himself into trouble and he was one base hit from blowing the game open.

He prepared you to go out and play baseball and have an opportunity to win ballgames, ... We were well organized. He knew the rules of the game. He executed the game fundamentally -- offensively and defensively. He could show you both ways. In the infield-fly rule, he would teach you how to do it defensively and offensively.

These guys have to think about their futures and injuries. That's the game today. With this move, you'd want them to mentally accept it and want to do it. That's why I want them to ask me.