Aaron Rowand Quotations

Watch Jason Johnson . That's the guy who really impressed us last season. He's going to be a real good one, real good.

Through all of the choke talk and everything else that was said, this team really stuck together when the chips were down and we weren't playing as well together as we knew we could. Everybody stuck together and nobody paid attention to that and we were all a unit, and it paid off in the end.

When he gets on, he causes problems for the defense, steals a base here and there. It's huge for us.

Scotty gets on, he makes things happen. We end up scoring a run and just that one run turns into five.

Since the All-Star game and right before, he's been great,

My friends who knew me in high school and college know I'm the same person. It's a high compliment to be thought of highly. People who know me know I'm fun-loving, carefree and happy to get paid to do what I do. I feel lucky to be where I'm at. Some people feel like they deserve to be here, instead of lucky to be here. That's never been me, and I don't think it will ever be. I enjoy getting down and dirty with any regular Joe.

Obviously, it'd mean a lot to fans and baseball historians and stuff like that. But we're not worried about that. We're worried about the 25 guys in here.

I was praying it would be us before the Cubs, ... It's really nice to see the whole city come together like this.

I don't know why people have to be negative. Why can't everyone just be positive?

I felt everybody was in the game tonight. The effort and intensity was in the dugout. Guys were hanging on every pitch.

We're playing upside-down baseball. But that's been our story. There's always somebody doing something he's not accustomed to doing.

We swung the bats much better today than what we showed. We hit a lot of balls at guys that made some good plays. We caught break on the ball Jermaine hit.

He's definitely a leader on this team. He's been here, probably outside of Frank, the longest on this team. He knows this organization and most of us have played together for quite some time. Everybody looks up to Paul as a leader and team captain, whatever you want to call him.

His sinker today was ridiculous. Some days, he's left it over the plate of late and gotten a few of them hit. He was hitting the corners all day and keeping them off balance. He threw a heck of a game.

He's filthy. His ball explodes on you. His curve ball has gotten better and better every season. He's lights-out and he has absolute nerves of steel on the mound. I've never see him lose his composure once.

Guys were trying to get the job done today. But it just didn't happen for us.

I think it builds confidence to know you can came back in situations like this. Next time we find ourselves in that situation, we know we can do it. We definitely have a group of guys who like being around each other. And I think something like this makes us even closer.

It all started the first inning when he got on base. Everybody in the dugout was like, 'All right, it's show time,'

I think we've earned what we got. To take away that advantage wouldn't be fair. If it was the other way around, I'm sure the Yankees or the Angels would feel the same way we do. It's just part of the road, you have to take to get where you have to go. Sometimes it's a little tougher for some than for others.

It got me right in the tasty cakes. There's a lot of love there.

I was just trying to pay attention to the way the ball flew and the way it came off the bat. It's a great ballpark. Beautiful.

I think there's not enough made about the chemistry of a team and the ability of everybody to pull on the same end of the rope and worry about what matters, and that's wins.

Jimmy just seems to have a way of not putting extra pressure on himself. He's having fun, and that's a great way to approach the streak.

I think everyone picked us fourth in our division last season. You're going to deal with critics and people who have their own opinions, but ultimately it's about the 25 guys in the clubhouse. If we believe we can go out there and win, our chances of going out and having success go way up.

Right now, with Frank being out, he's probably the face of this organization. He does a good job with it and brings guys along for the ride.

My truck is my personality. I'm an energy guy. I'm not much of an introvert.

I stop watching baseball when football season starts,

That was the special thing about this team: We were a club. The 25 guys we had on this team were as close as any team I have ever been a part of or associated with. Everybody truly cares and pulled for each other all year long. It's something that's very rare; you don't find it very often. And those teams that do have that are special.

I was out of breath. You can't explain this. There was something special going on tonight.

We caught a break. We'll take it any way we can get it. Personally, I like to think of it as retribution, 'cause I thought I was safe at home.

We played these three games the way we did earlier in the season. We had so much stuff thrown at us, but once we clinched, we relaxed and beat a very good team.

We know the dates. But nobody here was alive in 1959. And most of our parents weren't even born in 1917. That's for the media and the fans to talk about. We have to focus on what we need to do, and you can tell by the way we're playing that we're doing that.

tired, over and done with, and we have another game tomorrow.

We can see the light at the end of the tunnel. We just need to keep battling. We're a team that has stuck together through the good times and the bad times. Our reward is near.

This whole team through the entire season has been nothing but a cohesive unit. It's easy to say that when you're winning like we were in the first half. But I think the true colors show when you're scuffling a little bit. Everybody stuck together same as we did when we were winning.

We're trying to accomplish one goal. That's to get to the World Series. It takes everybody and today everybody contributed.

We had 25 guys pulling for the same goal, and we didn't stop until we got there. We had a great thing happen to us. Here I feel we have a group of guys who want to play the game the right way, hard. I'm happy to be here.

We've played sloppy at times, and it's come back to bite us, but you have to try and look on the bright side. It's better to go through a stretch like this early and try to right the ship. If we dwell on what's happened so far, we're not going to be fully into Monday.

We've been battling and battling and battling. It's part of the season. You have to go through it. Hopefully we can get through it and get it out of the way.

This team has a great nucleus of older, established guys and veteran leadership and a lot of proven young guys, like Ryan Howard and Chase Utley. They bring energy to the game. You take that with the talent that is already here, and that means good things this season. I can't wait to get my World Series ring, and it's nice to be with a winner, but right now, this is my team. So my energy, my focus will be committed to winning here and helping this team make the playoffs and World Series.

You hit a ground ball, he'll step on your bat running down first base behind you. He'll give you an elbow at first base. He's just like that. Playing against him, you don't like it too much, but when he's on your team, that's a completely different picture.

You have a tendency to try to want to impress regardless of what you've done in the past. It's just competitive nature. I really think I've been trying to hit the ball too hard instead of just doing what I know I'm capable of doing and trying to square the ball up.

We were picked to finish fourth last year. Everybody in here believes we can compete. You can't win the division by looking forward to the end of the year or the next game. You just have to play hard and concentrate on each game.

You have to string together hits. You can end up with 16 hits in a game, but if you get two per inning you might not score a run. It?s about stringing them together.

You have to string together hits. You can end up with 16 hits, and get two an inning, and you might not score a run. It's about stringing them together. It's one of those where sometimes it clicks, and sometimes it doesn't.

Everybody wanted to see it. I told the guys, I want a red one.

(Cook) was using that (slide step) to the plate before that, so this time he lifted his leg and I thought that he was going to the plate.

I've bounced around so much that it doesn't matter where I hit. I'm comfortable anywhere.

I've never had back-to-back plays like that. We had scouting reports, and both times they hit it the other way.

The Sox never did anything like this, going from city to city, mall to mall. It's been a surprise with all the people who have turned out.

Sometimes you're lucky, sometimes you make your own luck. You can learn from losing, as in what mistakes you made. I believe winning is an attitude. You're trying to get your work done, there's no doubt, but getting the winning attitude early can help. Winning helps the mental side of the game.

Probably not, but we'll take any bit we can.

After playing 14 innings, when my head finally hits that pillow, I don't think I'm going to have any trouble sleeping tonight.

No win is an ugly win, because, at the end of the year, that's one more win you wouldn't have had. And they're all beautiful.

No win is an ugly win. At the end of the year, they all look beautiful.

That's what makes it hard to come here and do this and see all these guys and reminisce and laugh and have a good time the way that we did all season long. Because I know I'm not going to be able to see these guys for a while.

That's why you play, isn't it? I won a world championship last year, and the feeling is incredible. It's hard to describe. You have to go through it and experience it.

You've got to string hits together at the right time. You could get 16 hits, two hits in eight innings, and not score any runs. It's about getting hits at the right time.

You're not always going to get out of the gate going good. The best thing you can do is look forward to the next day. If you dwell on this, and let it beat you up, you're going to kill yourself.

You're going to end up on your face before you hit the pole trying to get up the hill. If you hit it, you hit it, so what? I've run into a lot more things.

This is the biggest one they make, too. I fouled a changeup off the pad, and then a curveball catches me on the shin.

They've already been voted on, so there's no way of stiffing them out of money for the playoff share. You can give them grief all you want, but their line is that they were perfect for the series, that two-thirds of an inning they threw.

There were a lot of questions about him. We played against him all the time when he was with Minnesota. Playing against him, you don't like him too much. Nobody on this team liked him too much when he was on Minnesota.

They're not moving. I ran into them enough times, and they're still not moving. Thanks for (chairman) Jerry Reinsdorf for putting more padding on the wall.

They're not moving, ... I ran into them enough times, and they're still not moving. Thanks for (chairman) Jerry Reinsdorf for putting more padding on the wall.

It's even more exciting now than it would be if I was still on the team. It's going to be the last time I get to see the guys for a while. This will be a good reunion.

It wasn't through lack of effort, it was just guys pressing too much. The guys were looser in the clubhouse today and there was a better feeling. Today was more of what we've been doing this year. We got guys on base and we hit some big home runs. That took a lot of pressure off us.

It's not that big a deal. You don't run after a fly ball and then say, 'Oh my God, the hill!' You just go after it.

It's obviously an odd feeling being here and not being in uniform with the rest of the team. I spent a lot of years here. It's definitely an odd situation, but I'm definitely glad to be here to see the guys and share this experience with them.

It's swelling up. I'm going to need some ice.

It's going to take some getting used to. I think it will probably take me about a week to get adjusted to the way the ball carries here and the tendencies in the gaps. I've been trying to pay attention in batting practice and make sure I keep my eyes on the ball and make sure I get there before the ball comes down so I can make any adjustments if I need to.

It's sad, actually. Everybody should be excited about Opening Day, but it feels like we're under a cloud. It's a shame.

It's much more difficult getting a Gold Glove the first time than it is getting more than one.

Everybody wants to put a little more into it than what it is. Ultimately, my goal is to catch the ball. If something is in my way, so be it. My job out there is to catch balls.

It's a miracle we actually gained a game on them.

It was one last hurrah with my friends. The hardest part about being traded is you feel like you're leaving your family.

It will be nice to thank the fans for the time I was able to spend there.

It was great to get it out of the way.

I want to impress everyone, and I haven't been hitting. I've been beating myself up about it all spring. I tried to keep it simple tonight. Hopefully, that's what I'll take into the season.

It's never good to lose, but every team goes through rough stretches. This game is momentum and you can see it over the course of a game. It carries onto day-to-day stuff, too. We're scuffling right now and pieces aren't fitting right together. It's part of the game, but we have to move on.

Anytime you're in a funk as a team, everyone wants to do something to get yourself out of it.

Any time you put yourself in an unnecessary spot off the field, you learn a lesson. This is my livelihood, not only for me, but for my family and kids. I have more things to think about than myself.

That second ball was pretty impressive. He can hit them, no doubt about it.

That's all I do on Sundays, ... I tell my wife not to bother me on Sundays. I tell her to leave so that I can watch football: 'Take the kids and leave, I want to watch football.' She knows not to mess with me on Sundays. I'll give her the other six days of the week. Just don't mess with me on Sundays.

I'm going to try and pick my words nicely, because Joe might be reading this,

I'm surprised more guys didn't get thrown out by what was going on in the dugout. I thought we lost (first-base coach Marc Bombard), Chase and Charlie. I told (Howard) half our roster is gone. Sometimes that lights a fire under your (butt). It's nice that we came out and got the win, bottom line.

I know we didn't like him a whole bunch when we played against him in Minnesota, (him) stepping on bats and throwing elbows and stuff like that, but that's him. He's a guy you love to have when he's on your team, but probably not a guy you enjoy playing against.

I'm just excited to start the season. I think the ballpark is great and I'm looking forward to contributing to this team in any way possible. I was brought here to help the team win and I'm going to do everything I can to help.

I never really had the chance to say goodbye to the fans. I had a chance at the White House to say goodbye to my teammates, but never the fans.

I never really had the chance to say goodbye to the fans.

If there's anyone better right now, I'd like to see him. His stuff is as good or better than anyone in the game.

I'll wear it with pride, all the time.

I guess you could use the words 'Steady Eddie.' He doesn't get too high or low. He's got a real calm demeanor to him. Pressure or no pressure, he gets the job done.

It has happened to every team that has ever won, ... Today is a new day. We have to prepare the right way and get back to work.

I don't know how they figure that stuff out, but it's definitely a compliment for someone to recognize the fact that I play good defense. I don't know what those numbers mean, but the bottom line is to go out and catch the ball.

I didn't even see the ball. I just saw Robb take off. Joey (Cora) was yelling at me, 'Go, go, go!' So I tried to get up and get back on my horse. As soon as I could, I was out of gas. I thought I got my hand in there.

But you know what? I'll take any of that spooky stuff -- or whatever you want to call it -- every night if it can help us get to the ultimate goal. ... I don't know. It's destiny maybe. I don't want to say that, because it's not over yet. But if it happens, get back to me -- because maybe it was.

He's very even-keeled. Just get out of his way if he has a bad game. Everybody looks up to Paul as a leader and team captain, whatever you want to call him.

All the guys who were booing him when he came to the plate were cheering for him when the ball went over the fence. It was nice to see us pull together and get a win.