Ned Yost Pitch Quotations

We're going against three of the best pitchers in the National League, and if you look one minute past today, you're going to be in trouble. If you start looking down the road, you're going to get sideswiped.

That's something that we talk about every day: You pitch to contact with your good stuff. That's what you look for. You want guys to have good, quick, clean innings. You want to go out there, let them hit the ball early in the count to one of your defenders, get the out and move on.

To beat a pitcher the caliber of Tim Hudson is a big boost for us. This is what good teams do.

He threw the ball OK, but he got a few pitches up in the strike zone. The wind blowing out didn't help him.

He's always been good against us. Every time he pitches against us, he pitches tough.

We finally put together some offense and great pitching it was a nice combination. Bush shut down a really talented offensive team in Cincinnati.

We need to get him back in pitching shape.

Dave Bush was really, really good. He kept his pitch count down. He got us through seven innings, which was big. He was spotting his fastball really well.

Dave Bush was really, really good. (He) had quick innings, kept his pitch count down, got us through seven. That was big.

Sometimes when a young pitcher gets to the point where he's pitching pretty good, he thinks he's being lucky. (Capuano) is realizing he's pitching good because he is good.

He got a pitch in on Carlos that Carlos hit out of the park, and Billy drove a pitch out over the plate, but other than that we couldn't muster much offense off him.

But those things all turn around. Our pitching will get back on track and we'll be in good shape.

It's possible Wise or Santana will go out on a rehab assignment to pitch a few innings. We just want to make sure they're OK before we make a roster move and send somebody out.

You don't really count on scoring five runs against Roger Clemens. He didn't have great stuff but the thing about that kind of pitcher is that he finds ways to compete even when he doesn't have his best stuff. Any time you beat, you've done something.

He (Sheets) was lights out. Both pitchers threw phenomenally well tonight. They both had great stuff and were hitting their spots. Benny was about as good as Benny could be.

His workload has been real heavy. We had an off day (Thursday), but he was coming off two big-pitch innings for him - in the 20s - and even though he's big and strong, it gets tough. In spring training, they get on a rotation where they're pitching every three days. Then you pick it up a little and they're pitching every other day. Now, he's been in four out of five days. To be thrown into that, even though you're big and strong, it's still a little early to have that type of pressure put on you.

(He) didn't even really make a bad pitch to Jason Bay.

He had pretty good stuff but he fell behind too much, ... But he made big pitches when he needed to and really limited the damage outside of the four-run inning.

Off a hair, (and) his pitch count got up high. But his stuff was excellent.

It's tough on him. He's either pitching a lot or not pitching.

We just let too many opportunities get early. We got his pitch count way up and had opportunities to score and couldn't put the ball in play. That always finds a way to come back and haunt you.

We just let too many opportunities get by early. We got his pitch count up and three times we had runners in scoring position and fewer than two out. We just couldn't put the ball in play. That has a way of catching up with you.

He was dead on. It just seems like when he pitches we match up with a pitcher who has a great day.

He was moving his pitches in and out. He had a good split.

He was making pitches over the corners, not over the middle of the plate.

He's a good pitcher having a bad year. And the good pitcher in him came out tonight.

Those kind of games come down to one big hit. Helling and Oswalt both pitched outstanding, and then Lidge came in and did an awesome job. Dana battled to get two outs and then got a pitch up to Bagwell and that was it. It was a great game.

Billy is like the pitching coach of the bullpen. He's a great compliment to (pitching coach) Mike Maddux and he has played a big part in the success we've had out there. When those guys come in the game, he's got them ready to go.

I didn't want to get (Wise) in with everything on the line. I wanted him to be able to get his feet back on the ground. I felt good with Kane Davis, ... We're doing everything we can to preserve a one-run lead. We're just trying to get to Turnbow. We were one pitch away.

They got a great performance out of Arroyo. He was very sharp and stayed on the attack. Ben was good tonight but Arroyo matched him pitch for pitch.

We're a player short for a day or two because of Branyan. We thought it was more important to have an extra player on the bench. It's only for, what, five games because we're off Monday. And if we run into pitching problems we can always turn right around and bring someone up.

Pitch counts have gotten into everybody's brain. Guys make so much money now. You want to protect your investment. You don't want to abuse your pitchers.

It's a little bit (strange), if you let it be. If you look at it as pitching infrequently, it messes you up. You keep yourself ready.

I think that pitch counts have gotten into everybody's brain. These guys are making so much money nowadays that you're trying to protect your investment and you don't want to abuse anybody out there, especially if you've got a good arm.

There's a reason why guys win 300 games. They can field their position, they can swing the bat and they can throw strikes. That's a big part of his game. There's not a lot of pitchers that catch that ball. That ball was smashed. That was a big play.

We wanted him to try to go out and pitch five innings and 80 pitches, and he ended up (going) six innings and 70 pitches.

I'm going to address our pitching after the day off (today). I'll make an announcement then.