“Keep giving me the ball. It doesn’t matter, the situation. I need to get myself ready to pitch this postseason. It doesn’t matter to me if it’s a one-run game or we’re down by seven. Work like that tonight is very productive for me.”
- Brad Lidge wants to be the Phillies’ closer in the postseason,even as they consider alternatives. Lidge allowed one run on two hits in an inning of mop-up duty against the Brewers on Friday night. He has a 7.51 ERA and a major-league leading 11 blown saves this season.
“There’s not many positives we can take away from this year as a whole...It’s not a learning process dealing with failure. I’m ready after that last out to turn the page and get ready for next year, because this hasn’t been fun for anybody. In fact, it’s been very disappointing.”
- David Wrightexpresses his disappointment in the Mets season. They sit at 66-88 entering play on Saturday. Wright is batting just .221 since returning from the disabled list on Sept. 1 and has already established a career-high with 135 strikeouts.
“Just dartboard, man. They just crush me. The intensity on the field shut down, but the intensity picked up in the bullpen, man, with the verbal abuse I’m taking.”
- J.P. Howellis taking a beating from his teammatesafter being shut down for the rest of the season by manager Joe Maddon on Friday. Howell has appeared in 123 games over the last two seasons. All the work seemed to take a toll on his arm, as Howell posted a 6.75 ERA over his final 17 appearances.
“Oh, this is fun. More than you can imagine. It’s the best time you ever have in your career, the September run to the playoffs and the World Series ... it’s incredibly fun. It gets the hair raising on your arms.”
- The bloom hasn’t come off the rose for Bobby Cox asthe Braves are still alive and kicking in the Wild Card race, just 3 1/2 games behind the Rockies with nine to play.