Ned Colletti Quotations

We had no idea this was going to occur. But Eric pitched 14 games last year and hadn't pitched in the second half, so we're all smart enough to know you don't know what he's got. He gave me no indication anything was wrong. We made the trade to shore up the bullpen and provide a little bit of security in case something like this happened.

I would classify it as minor as can be even though it's surgery.

I'd like to talk to him before I comment on that. He has been an infielder most of his career. That doesn't mean he couldn't make the switch to left field.

For me, that's one of the most important decisions we're going to make in the next few months -- as to who to get involved with via trade or free agency and their shelf life to be productive versus the up-and-coming kid and knowing when they're ready to step in and be a big-time player at Dodger Stadium.

If we are healthy, I think we've got a pretty good chance of being a pretty good club. There are some areas that you hope will hold up. Most of them are health related. But I would say that we've done a decent job of filling in some of the gaps. I'm really pleased with the type of players we've brought in here.

He's been able to pitch on two days' rest or 10 days' rest. You wouldn't want a kid to be in that position. What he can bring, you can't get out of a kid.

He has not informed the Giants of that decision.

We think Brett is a huge plus. He's been so durable, probably a 200-inning guy. Having starters who are durable gives us more options in the rotation, in the bullpen.

He's a durable, 200-inning guy and gives us four starters capable of 180 to 220 innings. He has more upside than he's shown. In his two years with the Giants, many of his starts he had the best stuff on the staff. If he has the support of a solid club behind him and run support, he'll pitch better, with more confidence. The right manager and the right staff in place will bring it out of him.

He's a little impatient. We have to come to some crossroad soon.

His skills are very similar to earlier in his career. He knows how to play, how to win.

We met again today. I can tell you from my perspective both meetings were very good.

We met again today. He came out again today with Mia. I can tell you from my perspective both meetings were very good. They took the time to come out here two days in a row.

He didn't have a lot to say. I just gave him the information, and wished him well. That was it.

I take nothing for granted. I know the value of finances, I know the value of people. I've had to be street-smart since I was a little kid,

I think adding Brett is a huge plus. He gives us four starters capable of going 180 to 210 innings. He's won a lot of games. We have a staff that will accentuate his strengths. I think he has more upside than he's shown.

I went into it with the idea of trying to keep him a Dodger. It was clearer and clearer there was no way to make this thing work. I got no glimmer at all that it could work.

I saw a franchise that needed its confidence restored. It had a decent nucleus of veteran players that needed some support.

Little by little, it became clear he had an interest in being here. When I mentioned his name, Grady couldn't say yes fast enough.

I was used to the pace. I'm used to working fast, thinking things through. Brian and I were together 11 years. It seemed like one long season. We were always retooling and rebuilding and reloading. One of the greatest things we accomplished was playing only 14 games in 9 years where we were out of the race.

It doesn't rule out Jeff, or anybody else.

I think he pitches well with confidence, and I believe we have the right staff to bring out the best in him. It's a matter of getting it all together. You never know, he may be at a point in his career where he's about to become more dominant.

That was important, that he had a knack for winning and a knack for developing, that he knew the road it took.

We were a good team, but the reason why we won 100 games was the manager.

We obviously had no idea this was going to occur. Eric pitched 14 games last year. We're all smart enough to know you don't know what you're going to get when the guy comes back.

Without that we would have had a real tough time folding him in. Their willingness to work with us was the key to getting it done.

You can't diminish the importance (of postseason experience). When you get to mid-September, it's almost like the postseason. Guys who have been through that year after year have an advantage. When things go south, those players can steady the ship. I think it's got great value.

To me, he's got Hall of Fame credentials. He's as competitive as anyone. You look at his last 10 years and he plays a lot, plays hurt, plays through just about everything. I think he's one of the best players on the club.

The opportunity to add two relievers of this caliber to our bullpen fills a big need for us.

We felt we needed pitchers who could throw strikes. The two players we sent out were not throwing strikes. Carter admitted he's never had a stretch like this where he couldn't throw strikes.

Brian goes about his position in a very methodical and thoughtful way. He also has developed a great relationship with ownership. They are so respectful of baseball operations. It's about as good a match as you can have between baseball ownership and operations, and it works. There is respect both ways.

Brett will provide us with a proven major league starter who is capable of pitching 200 innings. He has been one of the more durable pitchers in the National League over the last four years and will be a great addition to the staff.

Every successful team has true baseball players with the makeup, drive and desire of Bill Mueller. His ability to hit from both sides of the plate will give (manager Grady Little) additional maneuverability.

It would have been real easy for me to address the short-term issues and trade half the farm system. I could have. There was enough acclaim and enough interest out there that I could have filled other gaps out there by trading some of the young players. But I'm not short-sighted. I'm not impatient to the point that I'm going to do something that's going to tear apart the future, but I'm also not patient enough to sit back and get beat. This was probably as good a middle ground as I could find.

The scouts were very positive on him. We had asked about him a while back. There was no way they were going to move him.

It was tough to trade both of them. Omar had a need in the bullpen. I felt I have a need in the rotation.

Sometimes a manager is reluctant to play a kid. I needed Grady to be open minded that if a young player is ready, we'll give him an opportunity. Grady assured us that he has no reservations about that. He's completely on board with it.

After 25 years in major league baseball, it's a dream come true to be the general manager of one of the most storied franchises in all of sports. I'd like to thank the Dodgers for putting their trust in my leadership abilities. My goal from this point forward is to accept nothing less than winning a World Championship with the Los Angeles Dodgers.

Anybody worth his salt aspires to be in the best spot they can be in and aspire for greatness and any position they can reach, ... I will always love San Francisco, but for 19 games a year, I hope to be 19-0.

A possibility. Not today. Until he's done, he's a possibility.

The bullpen is a key piece and I feel we've added to it. I'll take two great closers any day of the week.

You're talking about two players who met every expectation. In some ways, they were even better than I had thought they would be. Mike hit a lot better than he had in past. He's becoming a better and better hitter. My only regret with Omar was, if he's this good at 38, what was he like at 28? He was tremendous.

This is one of the proudest days of my life, if not the proudest, ... From humble beginnings ... I find myself in one of the greatest places, Dodger Stadium, with one of the greatest franchises of all-time.

This gives us a little more depth in the starting rotation. I don't think this will prohibit us from getting another starter in either free agency or in a trade. One more would be good. I think we have a rotation now that's capable of throwing 180 innings, 200, 210 through all five starters.

There's a lot of things you want and one is competition. Teams that are set don't have people pushing for playing time. I believe in competition.

It's about getting their feet wet. That's why you want players who have a chance to win a job next year, guys who can start learning the routines at this level.

I told the players ... I could only guarantee them one thing: My effort will always be honest, full of integrity and relentless.

It struck me as perplexing that Grady hadn't gotten a chance to manage again. But the more I talked to people who had seen him in the heat of the battle, the more I realized that maybe this is a golden opportunity. Maybe he just didn't find the right place, the right time, the right situation to come back quickly. That happens. So much of this game is timing.

Takashi Saito is a very versatile pitcher who has been a starter, reliever and closer. We believe his experience over 14 years in Japan will give him the opportunity to make the Dodgers in 2006.

It's great to be here. It's great to be down here and see the players and put faces and ability with names.

It's huge. If he's the same player he was before he was hurt, that's just as important as whoever hits behind Barry. If Ray's on base ahead of Barry, that's more likely to force teams to pitch to Barry.

I've had to live that way my entire life. Because of that, I've been able to separate the good from the bad, the true from the false, the winners from the losers, the champions from the also-rans.

I've had to be street smart since I was a little kid, ... I've had to know who's right, who's wrong, who's pulling my leg, who's got integrity, who I can trust. I've had to live that way my entire life, and because of it, I've been able to separate the good from the bad, the true from the false, the winners from the losers, the champions from the also-rans.

It's with a lot of due diligence that we came to this decision.

I want the best players and the best people. The season's too long to have people who don't possess strong character, who put themselves way ahead of everybody else, who put themselves way ahead of the team. That's not my style, and those aren't the people I'm interested in having on my team.

It tells you who he is, what he is. This is a professional.

They were precautionary. Both of those situations, we could have let them go. Both could have become a problem if we would have done that, with the rehab being longer because the damage would have been greater.

I knew of all of them. I didn't know any of them.

In 2002 when he came to the Giants, his impact on the club was immeasurable. Without Kenny Lofton, the Giants wouldn't have wound up in the post-season and the World Series.

I need to find a player who can hit in the middle of the lineup.

If we can add a fifth starter, that would be terrific. I traded messages with (Weaver's agent) today. If it's not Jeff, we're still interested in a fifth starter.

In the last five or six days, I think I have cried more than I have since my father died in 1982. It's been tremendously emotional for me,

In this organization, we've had three catchers in three years. It's a more difficult transition than people give it credit for.

I gave him some of my thoughts, he gave me some of his thoughts. He was really amenable to doing whatever we needed him to do. He just wanted to know, as most players do, how to prepare.

It helped me, the way I grew up, ... My parents didn't have a surplus of anything, so you always had to watch what you did. I carry that to this day.

It hindered him last season a bit and he had it drained a few times. But it gave us no concern. We knew there was a possibility he would need a little cleanup on it at some point in time.

His ability to get on base and score runs, combined with his speed and defense, are great additions to our club.

I can't tell you how exciting it is to have a chance to see some of the people I've heard to much about.

Carter can pitch a couple innings at a time, which is intriguing, and he's also closed games. It takes a special character to be able to do that, a mindset and willingness. He was successful at it and that tells me a lot about his makeup.

He can be out for a little while.

Grady is a street-smart guy who grew up in the country.

I've learned to never expect or require performances that exceed the player's ability. If they just equal their ability, that's what you want.

I told [McCourt] the season is like a kaleidoscope. Every day it changes one degree and the picture is different.

The more experienced you are, the better off you are.

The chance to be a general manager in major-league baseball and for a franchise as storied as this one, probably as storied as the Giants, is great.

Do I use VORP? I may be using it and not even know it, and if I am, it's nobody's business. There are a lot of different criteria in judging players. I think I use, um, esoteric qualitative mathematical review times five. That's one of them.