Don Cooper Quotations

We're just like 'Boys Town,' ... We believe there's no such thing as a bad boy.

We don't get what we deserve. We get what we BELIEVE we deserve.

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 don't believe there's a baseball job that I couldn't take care of.

I'm not in charge of making moves, you know. I'm in charge of coaching.

With the White Sox, when we do stuff, everybody's opinion is asked for, is given and then decisions are made on just about everything.

Good pitchers, after a tough outing, bounce back. Real good pitchers don't let too many poor games get in there.

Your competition is EVERYTHING else your prospect could conceivably spend their money on.

Selling more of what you sell has nothing to do with what you sell. It has everything to do with your prospect's wants, needs, fears, goals, values and priorities.

We did everything we can do with these guys. They're like the National Guard. They're on 24-hour call.

Mac needs to come into spring ready to get a lot of innings. I'm not going to say he's our long guy or our seventh-inning guy or a spot starter, but he is a reliever right now until further notice.

Let's face it, there was a lot of criticism when he started in New York. I've been saying, if that would have ruined his career, then he's not the guy we thought he was anyway. And we've all seen first-hand that's not the case.

Let's face it, it's very, very difficult to get our work in. The disappointing thing is that it looked like we were going to get our five innings in.

My job is basically to coach the people who are there. Everyone in baseball knows, though, that Vazquez is a high-quality pitcher.

I didn't ask him about the back. But I'm not going to ask him about it anymore. If he's able to go Sunday (his next scheduled appearance), he'll be there. I don't think he felt great because of some of the movements he was making in the dugout, but it's going to be: Can he manage the pain?

I don't foresee him here anytime before the All-Star break. If he could get better and give us a half like he did last year n the second half (in 2006) instead of the first half.

I don't know, nor do I really care, about what went on in New York with Jose. I think Contreras' future is ahead of him.

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.

Basically, we had to remake him. We worked on his delivery to speed him up and get him to hold runners better. He was also tipping his pitches. But most of all we needed to instill confidence in him.

I don't think anybody could tell you, 'Yeah we were expecting three CGs against a club like that.' It's pretty amazing. I don't know, maybe I should stop being amazed by these guys.

He's had some lumps, and recent health issues, but the guy can pitch, and if we can hang on, the postseason is a place where he can perform.

He's got toughness, heart and he's pretty calm. He's been in some pretty big moments for a 24-year-old guy coming up from Double-A. And he's really handled it.

We took it out for a little test run, and it was as much mental for him as it was physical. But the bottom line is he's feeling good.

What I know about him is that he has a good power arm. Obviously, he has struggled with his command from time to time and been erratic from time to time.

He's a good, quality guy, and we have to get him back to when he was at his best, which looks like when he was with Montreal. It's nice to have that sort of quality you can count on. Every time we ran out one of our six starters last year, we felt like we had a chance to win. There's no change at all with this group.

I always expect good performances out of our starters, want them to go deep and believe in them -- but what they did is way above and beyond my expectations and those of a lot of other people.

He'd be excited about it, ... But his focus would be where mine is, on trying to win a world championship.

I think the attitude he now brings into this season is because he knows what he's got. He's a very confident guy, and he believes in that stuff, the way he should.

I think that game might have permanently etched Buehrle's name in White Sox history and maybe even begun a legacy type of thing. It couldn't have happened at a better time or a bigger moment.

I think this is what the Yankees envisioned when he was there. I just don't think he was prepared, at that point in his life, for what he was facing there.

Just because we didn't need them in that series ... we needed them all year and we're going to need them again.

My thoughts are here, and I want to be here, ... I want to win this now, here. That's my only focus.

My perception was that he was a great physical specimen, and what a worker. He didn't have as much confidence in himself as he should, wasn't as aggressive as he should be, and we began a process - and it was a process - of getting him to believe in himself.

I wasn't foreseeing that. I was thinking, hoping we could get three solid performances. So this is beyond what I was expecting,

We haven't utilized it yet, because we just don't have the personnel right now. We play our six most talented people. Most of the elite teams are using them, because it gives a smaller player who has good defensive skills an opportunity to play the back row more often than just three rotations.

We're all waiting to see how Jose does. Then we'll have a lot more answers.

You always expect good performances. You expect, you want, you believe. But that's way above and beyond the call of duty and my expectations and probably a lot of other people's.

We can see what they look like and give them a little experience. Yeah, we've been impressed with all of those kids.

You knew who was the boss. That's a refreshing thing now. Here in Chicago, the inmates don't run the asylum. They're held accountable. They know what the rules are.

To me, what's riding on this now is if we go out there and do our thing - which we've already proven to ourselves we can - we've got a chance to be considered a great team. Everybody can do it once. You do it twice and people start raising their eyebrows.

We don't know. This is new to us.

What it means to me when he says that is, OK, we might have to get out a little earlier and do a little more inside. Come out here a little bit earlier. Make sure we get enough throwing in, long toss, and then get on the mound and get a good workout. Break a sweat before we leave.

Trust me, this is a problem we love having.

This was the guy that Fidel Castro called 'The Bronze Titan. Well, he's our Bronze Titan now.

We just kept making quality pitches against a quality lineup,

With Jon, we did what we could do on the sidelines and with simulated games to stay ready. The relievers are doing the same thing with sidelines. ... It's only a mental head trip if you let it be a mental head trip.

Even if you've had just five days off, with that crowd and a game of that magnitude, you're going to have a lot of energy. You have to harness it, and if you bring that energy to the glove, you have a chance to bring something really special to it.

Every individual has been attended to. But you can't simulate what it's like unless you pump 50,000 people into the stands.

As time goes, I think that is going to loom bigger and bigger ? not only in playoff history, but in White Sox history.

As time goes, I think that is going to loom bigger and bigger -- not only in playoff history, but in White Sox history,

First of all, passing judgment on the guy, that's kind of strong. (The starting staff all) showed us what they can do. We know what they're capable of doing. Heck, they're capable of winning a World Championship.

There's not too many matchups that we don't feel comfortable with because our pitchers can do some things.

I sit back and wait for Kenny to do stuff, and I know he will be doing things, and I've never been disappointed. We've made great moves to make our team stronger and created chances for young guys to prove themselves. That sort of thing always seems to be true of the best teams.

It would be a lot better for the staff and our coaches to know that he is more available. There were times last year when we didn't want to use him, and certainly there were times where he was ready and we didn't use him. We need him ready to go.

The thing that's scary is that he went all winter trying to get this better, and to have this happen now, I can't sit here and take it as a good sign.

Right now we have a closer Bobby Jenks. But I don't have a problem with using (McCarthy) in the ninth. I don't think it would be a bad move.

Once we clinched the division, we got really hot,

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.

This is beyond what I was expecting. It's pretty amazing. I don't know, maybe I should stop being amazed by these guys.

This is still the guy who won the fourth game of the World Series for us. I'm not going to draw conclusions from one day.

They're the goods, these guys. What did we get: 8 1/3 (innings), nine and nine? So, my gosh, I don't know if we can ask anything more than what they've been doing.

All of our guys have the ability if they are behind in the counts to go soft,

A lot of people had us dead before the division race was over. But our players didn't buy into that.

I told him, 'Way to go, you had those guys ready to throw those seven pitches.

For a while there, people were thinking we were going to let them down. Well, we didn't let them down.

For all these guys, whether you're getting eight to 10 days off before a start or haven't pitched in the last series as a reliever, it's not a bad thing. You're going to have that energy and (need to) control that energy. Don't be concerned that you didn't get the ball. Don't be concerned when you get the ball.

Its like a horse race and we see the finish line. Were gonna use the whip and ride our horses hard. These guys have what it takes to win the race.

It's like when 'Seinfeld' went off the air, ... By staying around maybe you dilute what you've accomplished.

It's flattering, but right now to me it's all words. I've been here 19 years. My loyalty, my focus, my passion is here.

It's flattering, ... But my focus is here. Look, the Yankees were my team, they were my Dad's team. Twenty-six world championships, who wouldn't want to be a part of that? But I just want one - here.

It's his first full season in the big leagues, so he has a challenge ahead of him. The challenge is to harness those four great pitches he has. If he can throw to the glove this year, it's game over.

Damaso still is a big part of this. We need everyone in this room.

The attention is nice and flattering, but with all that stuff that was going on last year, I had no intentions to go anywhere. My wish and my hopes for the rest of my career is to be a coach for the White Sox.

It's amazing. But I guess I should stop being amazed by them at this point.

I've gotta believe that my managing tenure has come to an end here.

No matter how you tell him it's not going to be that bad out there, you get out there and ... (expletive). This will get his mind right for (the second round) and he needed that.

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.

Once the cloud lifted when we clinched, that black cloud of doom - hey, you know what, we've seen the white light,

After (Thursday), for sure, we'll have a course.

Again, I wasn't there long, but you knew when (Martin) was in the room, who was in charge,

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.

I'm not even fantasizing about (the Yankees), ... Actually, all of this is a little embarrassing.

I liked our chances from Day One in spring training,

I'm really looking forward to this. It's fun.

I'm not sure what to say, ... other than, 'Wow.'

I'm concerned. If it happens again, I'm more concerned.

I'm aware of it. What do I think? Flattering, interesting, ... George Steinbrenner and the Yankees ? there's no more winning organization.

If there's a man on third and less than two outs, El Duque isn't going to feel pressure,

If you're a weak mental guy, it can get to you. Whether you have two minutes rest or two weeks rest, you're going to have energy. Control that energy, bring your stuff to the glove and I guarantee we'll have a real good chance of getting people out.

In the first four games, (for the starters) to go all but two-thirds of an inning? I can't remember anything like that. I'm ecstatic. And we're getting closer to the goal.

His confidence is where it needs to be.

Hey, everything is up for grabs. Nobody is jumping up, so we will look in-house here, down below.

He's progressing to where he needs to be. That's the main thing he needs to do.

Because he threw like that in Cuba, Duque said, 'Hey, let's go back to being a Cuban pitcher,'

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

He's a man-child. Nothing seems to faze him.

He's an interesting character. There are days when A.J. has that look, and you know that no matter what you have to say, he's going to say the opposite.

I do think that at some point or another this season, we're going to need 12 pitchers, but we're leaning toward 11 right now. That's probably going to happen.