Quotes From Last Night: Game 4 Edition

Johnny Damon: I think what I had to see before I could start running to third base was how Pedro (Feliz) caught the ball, so I knew it drug him off some. I’m just glad that when I started running, I still had some of my young legs behind me… You know, it worked out, because I felt like being on third base, it possibly takes away a slider, a tough slider in the dirt that I may be able to score on.


Brett Gardner: He stole two bases in nine seconds, I don't know if that's ever been done before. When he went to third I said, ‘Oh no.' All of us did because as soon as you see him get up and go, you assume that Johnny thought the ball got by him and went into center field. It didn't, obviously. When he took off and we realized nobody was at third base, it's just heads up play. He fooled everybody


Tony Pena (talking about Damon's steal): You know how people always tell you that they've been in baseball for 40 years, 50 years, and things happen every game that they never saw?" Well, I've never seen that before.


A-Rod: There’s no question, I have never had a bigger hit. [...] I will say this, that the time I got hit in yesterday’s game, my first at-bat kind of woke me up a little bit and just reminded me ‘hey, this is the World Series, let’s get it going a little bit.’ So it worked out."

Joe Girardi: I think both of his hits have been extremely big in helping us win the game. You know, you look at last night's home run, Hamels was breezing along, and he got us going. That one may not get quite as much attention as the one tonight, but I thought that was a real big hit, too.


Brad Lidge: It all happened so fast. It is unusual. That's for sure. You kind of wonder how that happens -- or, I guess -- how it doesn't happen more often, with The Shift on. Hopefully, we'll figure out a way to prevent that from happening again.


Bill, Crashburn Alley: The fear that came along with Charlie Manuel’s continuing to rely on Lidge was that their 2008 untouchable superstar would come in in a critical spot in the playoffs and — well, you know the rest. That fear came to fruition tonight, even after Lidge rather handily retired the first two Yankees in the top of the ninth inning.


CC Sabathia (talking about the warnings issued in the first): It didn’t affect me at all.


Joba Chamberlain: "I made good pitches to [Pedro Feliz] and I just wanted to challenge him, and he put a good swing. There's nothing you can say about it. [...] Ruiz has been swinging a great bat and putting together quality AB's, and I knew I had to just minimize the damage... You can't panic right there.


Joe Girardi (on Damaso Marte): But he's had matchups against these guys before, being in the National League, being in Pittsburgh. He's familiar with this ballpark in a sense, the hitters here, and we thought he could play a very important role.


Johnny Damon: We’re at 10, hopefully we get 11 tomorrow.