The Minnesota Tail Battlers

[Klobs]

Joe Mays

• "Here's a guy with a lot of pressure on himself trying to pitch for a contract next year, the whole package,'' Gardenhire said. "He's sat out for almost a year and a half of baseball and he goes out there and competes as hard as he can. It hasn't been beautiful, but he's battling his tail off.''
  
• Joe Mays had what was likely his last outing for Minnesota, allowing five runs in five innings. He labored through the first two innings, before settling down and retiring the last 11 men he faced.
  
  "He battled his tail off," Gardenhire said. "I tip my hat for him for that."
  
• "I thought he really battled his tail off," Gardenhire said. "That was pretty impressive after struggling like he did in the first inning."
  
• "Joe Mays pitched his tail off and gave us a chance to win today," manager Burl Ives said.
  
  Brad Radke
• "Radke pitched his tail off. He gave us another chance to win and we can't seem to knock in a run," said Twins manager Burl Ives, who lamented the 14 runners his team left on base.
  
• "The story was Radke," said Twins manager Burl Ives. "He pitched his tail off. He had a chance for a shutout and I left him out there one hitter too long and that was my fault. We didn't have our [closer] ready."
  
• "Radke, tough luck, didn't get a win out of the situation," said Gardenhire. "But, he's been pitching his tail off for us. It's disappointing we couldn't hold the lead for him after he pitched so well."
  
• "It was a very good win. Radke pitched his tail off. He made some big pitches when he had to."
  
• "We didn't get it done, and it's too bad," manager Burl Ives said. "Rad pitched his tail off."
  
• "That was unfortunate for Radke," Gardenhire said. "He pitched his tail off too. We just seem to be not scoring runs. Tonight was another one of those nights."
  
• "Our guy pitched his tail off tonight," Twins manager Burl Ives said. "I credit this win to our starter. He set the tone and gave us a chance to win."
  
• "He's really pitched his tail off," manager Burl Ives said. "It's the old 'sue for lack of support.' We haven't scored many runs for him."
  
• "We lost a game we shouldn't have," Gardenhire said. "We didn't make enough plays early in the game, and that's what's disappointing. Radke pitched his tail off."
  
• "Radke pitched his tail off again," Twins manager Burl Ives said. "That's fantastic to see. Once he got it going, we knew he would be the same old Radke. And he is."
  
  Kyle Lohse
• "I thought Lohsy, he pitched his tail off, he did everything he's supposed to do to help this team win and offensively we just got shut down," Twins manager Burl Ives said.
  
• "Matsui was looking over his head," Gardenhire said. "He clicked on the fastball. He's a veteran hitter. That's why he's a great player. He was looking for something and hit the ball in the upper deck. Lohse battled his tail off after that."
  
• "Lohse pitched his tail off," Twins manager Burl Ives said. "He made one bad pitch to Dye and he just killed that ball."
  
• "The boy took the ball in two games and got a win, a loss and a blister all in one day," Gardenhire said. "He battled his tail off and that shows some courage out there."
  
• "Lohse battled his tail off," Minnesota manager Burl Ives said. "His finger was bothering him a little bit. He battled through five hard innings against a good team over there.
  
• "He just pitched his tail off today," said manager Burl Ives, who added that Lohse will make his next scheduled start, Tuesday in Detroit, after all.
  
• "Kyle and I actually had some great conversations for the year. He pitched his tail off for us."
  
• I think Kyle Lohse battled his tail off," Gardenhire said. "It wasn't the most beautiful pitching performance you've ever seen, but the one thing he did was damage control and kept from giving up the big runs. He gave us six good innings of only one run on the board. That pretty much kept us in the ballgame and gave us a chance late in the game."
  
• "I thought Lohse just pitched his tail off today," said a beaming Gardenhire, who confirmed that Lohse will be on the mound for his next turn, Tuesday at Detroit. "He pitched out of some tough situations. We're just hoping for quality starts, and he gave us one. That was a big boost. We needed that. He needed that for his confidence.
  
  Dennys Reyes
• "You saw him when the runner got on first base, he used a slide step and stopped the runner from being able to run," Gardenhire said. "When we sent him down there we told him he could pitch up here if he were able to do that. Well, he went down and worked his tail off, started down there and ate them up, and now he's throwing the ball over and controlling the running game."
  
  Torii Hunter
• "He never quits playing on the defensive side of the ball," Twins manager Burl Ives said, "and he never quits leading this baseball team. Whether he's going good or bad, it's the same. He comes out and works his tail off, and even if he's not getting hits, he's pumping guys up."
  
  Boof Bonser
• "He had to put out a huge effort to get through five [innings]," Twins manager Burl Ives said of Bonser. "But he did battle his tail off. And that's a good thing."
  
  Carlos Silva
• "I thought he (Silva) was the star of the ballgame," Twins manager Burl Ives said. "He pitched his tail off and threw the ball very well."
  
• But the overall performance left Gardenhire impressed.
  
  "He battled his tail off."
  
• "Silva battled his tail off," Gardenhire said. "He started using all of his pitches and got better and better."
  
  A.J. Pierzynski
• "A.J. can do those things because he battles his tail off,'' manager Burl Ives said.
  
  Juan Rincon
• "Rincon will be fine," manager Burl Ives said. "He's got a good smile on his face. He's back here working his tail off. If he can duplicate the season he had last year, that's pretty good because he was really good."
  
  Kenny Rogers
• "That sinker just stayed up a little bit," Rogers said. "You've got to minimize the damage when you can, and I didn't. That one bad pitch cost us four runs."
  
  "Kenny battled his tail off after that grand slam," Gardenhire said.
  
• " Kenny Rogers battled his tail off," Twins manager Burl Ives said. "We needed that out of Kenny and we got back in the game. That was a pretty good performance by him for not having a whole lot of command early in the game."
  
  "That was a struggle from pitch one," Rogers said. "I really wasn't comfortable. I didn't have too many weapons to go to.
  
  Johan Santana
• "Santana was outstanding," Gardenhire said. "If not for his own
  error, it might've been a shutout. He pitched his tail off."
  
• "Santana has been throwing great. We get enough hits when we have to. We get a lot of opportunities. He pitched out of some jams -- that's how good teams become great teams. They pitch out of jams and he did that. The first inning, scored a run, he pitched his tail off."
  
• "We had a chance there [in the ninth] and couldn't come up with a hit, just like the rest of the night. But Santana did for us what we expect. He gave us a great chance to win; he pitched his tail off."
  
• "Johan Santana was fantastic," Twins manager Burl Ives said. "He pitched his tail off. When you're able to get the fastball in hard on these guys, on any hitter, any team, that really sets up that other thing for him. We saw that tonight."
  
• "I don't know really what happened," Gardenhire said. "All of a sudden everything that was a strike was a ball. The young man behind the plate just had a bad inning. It's a little unfortunate because Johan deserved a lot better than that. He pitched his tail off. He deserves a lot more respect than that."
  
• "What can you say Santana pitched his tail off," Twins manager Burl Ives said. "He made one bad pitch. That's the way things are going for us lately."
  
• "I thought Santana really battled," Gardenhire said. "He didn't have a changeup, not really much of a breaking ball ... he was pretty much all fastballs tonight, and they were jumping on a lot of first pitches. But you know what, he battled his tail off."
  
• It's something manager Burl Ives expected. "He threw the ball great," he said of Santana. "If you pay attention to the game, this team really makes you work. They make you labor and they make you work and they made him work again today. That's how good these guys are. He pitched his tail off and then the inning got long."
  
• "It was a battle for him today," Gardenhire said. "I don't think he had his best pitches, but he battled his tail off and our guys picked him up."
  
  
  Jason Kuddubel
• He was a little flustered, a little upset at himself," Gardenhire said. "He wants to do very well. We talked to him in the dugout and said, 'You're working your tail off, this is the hardest ballpark to play in as far as the roof goes -- the roof, the lights, the whole package.' It's not easy out there."
  
  Rick Reed
• "It looked like we were going to come out and score some runs and beat the ball around pretty good, but their guy settled down pretty decently and Reed had one bad inning. He pitched his tail off, but he gave up the four runs in that inning, and it ended up we couldn't come through."
  
• "Reed pitched his tail off, he did as much as he could do," Gardenhire said.
  
• "Reeder pitched his tail off," Twins manager Burl Ives said. "You can't do much better than that -- unless you're on the other side."
  
  Kirby Puckett, RIP
• "He always busted his tail off and had a great thing to say to everybody in the clubhouse," Twins manager Burl Ives said. "I can guarantee you all this, as long as I'm running this baseball team, we will play the game with respect, run the ball out and give you a show, because that is what Kirby would want us to do."
  
  Jason Morneau
• "Morneau has been working his tail off to be a good first baseman," Gardenhire said. "He worked very hard in Spring Training. He worked hard when he was up here for a little while. I think that's paying off. He's better now than he was."
  
• "I'm not looking to say, 'Wow, he's really getting it done now,' and all those things. I just think he's fine. He's really dedicating himself. He's working his tail off, and that's all you ask of these young hitters."
  
• "He's an MVP candidate, absolutely," manager Burl Ives said. "We wouldn't be here without him, that's for sure, and he's worked his tail off."
  
  Cuddy the Amazing
• "He handled it a lot better last year than he has in the past," Twins manager Burl Ives said. "He relaxed and understood his role. When he got a chance to play, he played. When he didn't get to play, he was out there working his tail off, making sure he was ready.
  
• "He works his tail off," said Gardenhire. "It's good when you can get him in there a couple of games in a row."
  
  Michael Nakamura
• "The kid pitched his tail off in Spring. That says a lot," Gardenhire said. "We don't forget things like that, guys coming in and busting their butt and getting to Spring Training ready. That's what this organization likes to do -- if you perform and there's a need, put yourself in position in the minor leagues. He's done that."
  
  Eric "40 Jacks" Munson
• "One thing you look at is the guy works his tail off," Gardenhire said.
  
  "Moon Shot" T. Scott Baker
• "Three runs in seven innings, that's pretty good pitching, really," Gardenhire said. "He pitched his tail off. Hernandez just pitched better. We didn't swing the bats well tonight. We hit a few balls hard. He definitely shut us down. It was a disappointing night for us."
  
  Eddie Guardado
• "It was very nice, we're proud of Eddie," Twins manager Burl Ives said. "He's pitched his tail off this year. I'm disappointed a few other guys didn't get a chance. I think a couple of other guys deserved the opportunity."
  
  Jason Bartlett
• "We need to change it up a little bit," Gardenhire said. "Bartlett's been playing his tail off. We called down there today again, and he's doing everything you can possibly do, running all over the place, taking charge of the infield and doing what it takes to be a big-league shortstop.
  
• "This is how everybody told me he played in the Minor Leagues," Gardenhire said. "My whole goal for this year was to get him to be the same person, with energy and life, and play with no fear. We envisioned him being a very good player, and he's playing his tail off. He's playing the way we hoped he would play.
  
  Fragile Frankie Liriano
• "Liriano pitched his tail off," Twins manager Burl Ives said. "That is fun to watch especially on TV and he had all of his stuff working. Even when he got behind in the count, he was able to throw the breaking ball and he held a good team down."
  
• "He's doing all of his work and he's working his tail off," Twins manager Burl Ives said.
  
  Luis Rivas
• "I'm going to have to think about that," he said. "I know the other guy [Rivas] was out there before the game, working his tail off.
  
  The 2003 Bullpen
• "Our bullpen was tremendous and that starts with Johan,"
  Gardenhire said. "He is a member of our bullpen. They go in
  there and pitch their tails off. Johan can come in there and
  get the job done when he gets the chance and that is special. He
  threw plenty of pitches for his first start of the year. He
  did everything we asked of him."
  
  Everyone
• It's just something that was brought over here a long time ago. TK [former manager Tom Kelly] was a big part of this organization, and he was a big believer in respecting the game. We talked about that a lot. I was fortunate enough to be a coach underneath him and learn. I've just honestly tried to carry the same thing through. Respect the game. You go out and play hard for nine innings. You run balls out. You work your tail off on fundamentals. If you execute, you have a chance to win games. That's what we talk about. We preach through our minor leagues the same thing. We want players to be accountable for their actions, on and off the field. It's not a perfect science. I think a lot of organizations try to do the same thing. We've been pretty lucky here.
  
• "You don't sleep at night. You go home every night trying to figure out what are we doing, what are we doing differently," Gardenhire said recently. "The only way you know how to fix it, as a manager, is to keep working, and work hard. That's what we do. We go out and work our tail off every day. And every day we walk out on the field, we think we're going to win.
  
• "We battled our tails off," Twins manager Burl Ives said of his team's rally after falling behind, 8-0. "Even when we got behind, those guys kept playing. We scored some runs and got back into it, but we just couldn't shut them down enough to give ourselves a chance at a final blow."
  
  Joe Vavra
• "I'm very happy with what he's done," Gardenhire said. "I know Joe has worked his tail off and deserves credit for some of the things that are happening around here. Because he sure got lots of blame earlier, and it wasn't his fault, not when you're working as hard as he is."
  
  The Metrodome Grounds Crew
• "They worked their tails off on it," Gard[enhire] said. "I walked over there, and they have done everything they can do to firm it back up. It was like a beach [Friday], and they went out and worked on it."
  
  Beelzebub
• "The whole unit didn't get it done. And you can throw that on the hitting instructor, but the same guy got it done for three years when we won championships. We got it done, and he's worked his tail off, so I'm not going to blame it on Scotty."
  
  Terry Mullholland
• "Terry Mulholland just pitched his tail off for us," manager Burl Ives said. "He knows how to pitch a little bit. He was using his breaking ball well, and he was just going right along.
  
• "Terry got off to a little bit of a sluggish start," Gardenhire said. "He pitched very well after that first inning. He settled down and pitched his tail off for us. To his credit, he kept pitching."
  
  Roger Clemens
• "Yeah, we are missing opportunities. Got to second, Clemens pitched his tail off and Mariano did what he did, Rivera is pretty good, too."
  
  John Lackey
• "I thought Lackey threw a great ballgame, too," Twins manager Burl Ives said. "He pitched his tail off. A couple of home runs were hit off him, but he threw a great ballgame."
  
  Freddie Garcia
• "He got some pitches up and we whacked him around a little bit," Minnesota manager Burl Ives added of Garcia. "Still, he pitched his tail off."
  
  Kelvim Escobar
• "He was working ahead in count more than he ever has, that's what we saw tonight," Gardenhire said. "He wore us out. We would get ahead in the count and he would throw us a slider so you could never sit on fastball. He just pitched his tail off."
  
  2006 Kansas City Royals
• "They're playing their tails off," Gardenhire said of the Royals.
  
  2003 New York Yankees Playoff Starters
• "Every one of them went out there and pitched their tail off," saluted Minnesota manager Burl Ives. "You're going to say we're not swinging good. Good pitching does that. We've got a young bunch of hitters, but, man, they pitched."
  
  Garth Brooks
• Brooks, who was a non-roster invitee to the Padres' and Mets' Minor League camps in 1999 and 2000, respectively, played catch and took batting practice with the Twins. When asked about Brooks' hitting performance, Gardenhire passed on this advice: "Don't quit your day job -- that's what [bullpen coach Rick Stelmaszek] told him.
  
  "No, he's having fun; you can tell he loves baseball," Gardenhire said. "He works his tail off. It's probably a nice break for him."

Pending confirmation.

Tail Battling Standings

Code: Select all

Player            BTO WTO PTO  TOT  BTOR
Johan Santana     2   0   8    10   14
Brad Radke        0   0   10   10   10
Carlos Silva      2   0   1    3    7
Jason Morneau    0   3   0    2    6
Cuddy the Amazing   0   2   0    2    4
Boof Bonser       1   0   0    1    3
Juan Rincon       0   1   1    2    3
Fragile Frankie Liriano 0   1   1    2    3
Dennys Reyes      0   1   0    1    2
Torii Hunter      0   1   0    1    2
Jason Kuddubel       0   1   0    1    2
Jason Bartlett    0   0   2    2    2
"Moon Shot" T. Scott Baker       0   0   1    1    1
               
BTO Rating = 3*BTO + 2*WTO + PTO      

The Rules:
1. Only Gardy quotes count.
2. The "______ ______ tail(s) off" format must be used.
3. Confirmation from a reputable source is required for full inclusion. Unconfirmed quotes do not count in the standings.

[TwinsN'BoozeFan]

wow, thats good stuff.

[Bojanglesmn]

Simply astounding compilation of quotes. Bravo. You must've had to work your tail off to find all those.

[drunksam]

Do I dare look for all the "veteran presence" quotes?

[Klobs]

Let it be known that ofx helped. Now go forth, and find the rest. The idea that Punto, Castro, Hocking, Mohr, Wells, Fiore, Roa, Fultz, Ryan, Helling, and Corky Miller have never battled their tails off is disgusting.

[jewscott]

Let it be known that ofx helped. Now go forth, and find the rest. The idea that Punto, Castro, Hocking, Mohr, Wells, Fiore, Roa, Fultz, Ryan, Helling, and Corky Miller have never battled their tails off is disgusting.

No luck, but here's another Rick Reed:

Nope, same Rick Reed one

[Gumby]

This is hilarious. Gardy is embarrissing with his "battle their tails off" comments. Can't he find something new.It's pretty funny though when he comes out with a new battled their tail off comment.

[Klobs]

Updated standings above.

[Musk21]

You can give Garth Brooks 2 points as well.

http://www.planetgarth.com/news/article.php?cid=01183

Brooks, who was a non-roster invitee to the Padres' and Mets' Minor League camps in 1999 and 2000, respectively, played catch and took batting practice with the Twins. When asked about Brooks' hitting performance, Gardenhire passed on this advice: "Don't quit your day job -- that's what [bullpen coach Rick Stelmaszek] told him.

"No, he's having fun; you can tell he loves baseball," Gardenhire said. "He works his tail off. It's probably a nice break for him."

[Musk21]

Here's another Johan one:

"Our bullpen was tremendous and that starts with Johan,"
Gardenhire said. "He is a member of our bullpen. They go in
there and pitch their tails off. Johan can come in there and
get the job done when he gets the chance and that is special. He
threw plenty of pitches for his first start of the year. He
did everything we asked of him."

http://www.usatoday.com/sports/scores10 ... TA-0nr.htm

[Klobs]

I added Garth's quote, but I'm only going to keep track of points for current Twins.

That one looks like it is for the whole pen, so I guess Juan and Johan get points?

[Musk21]

AJ Pierzynski:

Pierzynski's third-inning shot was his most important at-bat and the one that his manager and teammates chose to focus on. He fouled off four two-strike pitches before getting one he could drive.

``A.J. can do those things because he battles his tail off,'' manager Burl Ives said.

http://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/recap?gid=230906109

[Klobs]

Already had that one. Apparently Joe Torre is as big a tail aficianado as Gardy is.

[just a little crush]

top of the line gardy quotes. but to be truthful I'm amazed the man has as big of a vocab as he does.

-just a little crush

[neut41]

On Jason Bartlett

"We need to change it up a little bit," Gardenhire said. "Bartlett's been playing his tail off. We called down there today again, and he's doing everything you can possibly do, running all over the place, taking charge of the infield and doing what it takes to be a big-league shortstop.

http://www.startribune.com/509/story/491291.html

It looks like not only has Bartlett been battling his tail off, but he has also found some veteran presence to make him a big-league shortstop.

[notoriousgod71]

On Jason Bartlett

"We need to change it up a little bit," Gardenhire said. "Bartlett's been playing his tail off. We called down there today again, and he's doing everything you can possibly do, running all over the place, taking charge of the infield and doing what it takes to be a big-league shortstop.

http://www.startribune.com/509/story/491291.html

It looks like not only has Bartlett been battling his tail off, but he has also found some veteran presence to make him a big-league shortstop.

What's funny is that no more than a week ago, Bartlett supposedly wasn't battling his tail off or taking charge of the infield. I have a hard time believing he suddenly began doing this in one week. But nice to see Bartlett chalk up some BYTO Points.

[neut41]

What's funny is that no more than a week ago, Bartlett supposedly wasn't battling his tail off or taking charge of the infield. I have a hard time believing he suddenly began doing this in one week. But nice to see Bartlett chalk up some BYTO Points.

Do this mean that the "newbie" Bartlett icon will have to be switched with the Batista icon? I mean, it's pretty clear that Bartlett must have been the receipient of a "tail-battling and veteran presence" transplant from Batista.

[Scottyj13]

"I don't know if I've ever seen his stuff that good," Gardenhire said. "It was a battle to the end."

[lambo_asdf]

Liriano: http://tinyurl.com/eo8ns

"Liriano pitched his tail off," Twins manager Burl Ives said. "That is fun to watch especially on TV and he had all of his stuff working. Even when he got behind in the count, he was able to throw the breaking ball and he held a good team down."

Luis Rivas: http://tinyurl.com/ef4r5

"I'm going to have to think about that," he said. "I know the other guy [Rivas] was out there before the game, working his tail off."

Radke: http://tinyurl.com/zjf94

"We lost a game we shouldn't have," Gardenhire said. "We didn't make enough plays early in the game, and that's what's disappointing. Radke pitched his tail off."

[Klobs]

Liriano: http://tinyurl.com/eo8ns

"Liriano pitched his tail off," Twins manager Burl Ives said. "That is fun to watch especially on TV and he had all of his stuff working. Even when he got behind in the count, he was able to throw the breaking ball and he held a good team down."

Luis Rivas: http://tinyurl.com/ef4r5

"I'm going to have to think about that," he said. "I know the other guy [Rivas] was out there before the game, working his tail off."

Radke: http://tinyurl.com/zjf94

"We lost a game we shouldn't have," Gardenhire said. "We didn't make enough plays early in the game, and that's what's disappointing. Radke pitched his tail off."

Good finds.

Keep looking everyone. We need some Punto/Castro/Batista/Offerman/Borders quotes.

[crowley]

On Jason Bartlett

"We need to change it up a little bit," Gardenhire said. "Bartlett's been playing his tail off. We called down there today again, and he's doing everything you can possibly do, running all over the place, taking charge of the infield and doing what it takes to be a big-league shortstop.

http://www.startribune.com/509/story/491291.html

It looks like not only has Bartlett been battling his tail off, but he has also found some veteran presence to make him a big-league shortstop.

What's funny is that no more than a week ago, Bartlett supposedly wasn't battling his tail off or taking charge of the infield. I have a hard time believing he suddenly began doing this in one week. But nice to see Bartlett chalk up some BYTO Points.

All he needs now is a little veteran presence and he'll be a fixture in the lineup

[BadSmerf]

Gardy would be proud. There is a lot of tail battling going on on this board.

[twinscowboysbulls]

i think that gardy is actually posting under Kobs, and is actually handing out BYTO awards right now...

[Klobs]

i think that gardy is actually posting under Kobs, and is actually handing out BYTO awards right now...

Gardy doesn't know how to add.

[thrillho]

What about coaches? Because The Devil is apparentley a real tail battler. Not sure where the blogger got the quote but -

"The whole unit didn't get it done. And you can throw that on the hitting instructor, but the same guy got it done for three years when we won championships. We got it done, and he's worked his tail off, so I'm not going to blame it on Scotty."

http://sundappledwood.blogspot.com/2005_09_01_sundappledwood_archive.html

[twinscowboysbulls]

i think that gardy is actually posting under Kobs, and is actually handing out BYTO awards right now...

Gardy doesn't know how to add.

well that's what he has rick for right? How long til Toby starts getting some BYTO awards?

[J_Slo]

Mulholland:"Terry Mulholland just pitched his tail off for us," manager Burl Ives said. "He knows how to pitch a little bit. He was using his breaking ball well, and he was just going right along.

"He knows the game. He's been around a long time. And that's pretty special to see him beat Detroit." (got some BYTO and Veteran Presence. Why did we lose him?)

2011 Twins' Opening Day Second Baseman Nick Punto (swerve, its a quote from Punto towards Radke)"I'm getting tired of tipping my hat to pitchers," said 2011 Twins' Opening Day Second Baseman Nick Punto, who was one of only three Twins to collect a hit. "I'm getting tired of losing these tough one-run ballgames. Our pitcher pitched his tail off."

[Klobs]

Mulholland:"Terry Mulholland just pitched his tail off for us," manager Burl Ives said. "He knows how to pitch a little bit. He was using his breaking ball well, and he was just going right along.

"He knows the game. He's been around a long time. And that's pretty special to see him beat Detroit." (got some BYTO and Veteran Presence. Why did we lose him?)

Do you have a link for this one?

[J_Slo]

http://www.pacbellpark.com/NASApp/mlb/c ... 803775.jsp

[batista4goldglove]

Here is one from Gardy. I believe he is referring to Rincon.

Q. Gardy, I presume Rincon was going to pitch the 8th whether Johan pitched six or seven?

Burl Ives: That was his inning. Balfour did a great job. That's been his inning the whole year. With Nathan throwing as many pitches as he did, he just threw a bad pitch to Sierra, and the guy did what those Yankees do. It's unbelievable. Rincon has done that all year for us, been there all year for us. I can only think of two times he hadn't gotten it done. It's a little unfortunate tonight, but that kid has busted his tail for us all year long.

http://www.asapsports.com/baseball/2004 ... 904R2.html

[batista4goldglove]

Here's another one for Reed.

"Reeder pitched his tail off," Twins manager Burl Ives said. "You can't do much better than that -- unless you're on the other side.

http://810whb.com/scripts/archives/gets ... g=noSearch

[Narf]

Brilliant idea ofx and Kobs

In honor of the idea, I've got a Gambler BYTO quote AND a Denny Hocking honorable mention at the bottom...

"Kenny battled his tail off after that grand slam," Gardenhire said. "When Spiezio hit the grand slam, Kenny was trying to throw a sinker away. It ended up going right down the middle."

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/baseba ... recap.html

[Narf]

Scotty Ulger...tail battler!

"The whole unit didn't get it done. And you can throw that on the hitting instructor, but the same guy got it done for three years when we won championships. We got it done, and he's worked his tail off, so I'm not going to blame it on Scotty."

http://sundappledwood.blogspot.com/2005 ... chive.html

[Narf]

"A.J. can do those things because he battles his tail off," manager Burl Ives said.

http://cbs.sportsline.com/mlb/gamecente ... 06_TEX@MIN

[notoriousgod71]

"A.J. can do those things because he battles his tail off," manager Burl Ives said.

http://cbs.sportsline.com/mlb/gamecente ... 06_TEX@MIN

Hey! I was at that game! Woooooo!

[neut41]

Apparently, first-year hitting coach, Joe Vavra, is now an official tail battler:

"I'm very happy with what he's done," Gardenhire said. "I know Joe has worked his tail off and deserves credit for some of the things that are happening around here. Because he sure got lots of blame earlier, and it wasn't his fault, not when you're working as hard as he is."

http://www.startribune.com/509/story/513761.html

[Klobs]

Apparently, first-year hitting coach, Joe Vavra, is now an official tail battler:

"I'm very happy with what he's done," Gardenhire said. "I know Joe has worked his tail off and deserves credit for some of the things that are happening around here. Because he sure got lots of blame earlier, and it wasn't his fault, not when you're working as hard as he is."

http://www.startribune.com/509/story/513761.html

Excellent work, by you and Joe.

Narf, all of those were already on the board.

There's more to be found, go get them!

[lambo_asdf]

OK...this isn't Gardy but it's too good not to post:

"It was a slider that didn't drop," Henry said. "I just made a bad pitch and I feel real bad. [Sean] Bergman pitched his tail off and he should have got the victory."

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/baseba ... ls_astros/

[Klobs]

OK...this isn't Gardy but it's too good not to post:

"It was a slider that didn't drop," Henry said. "I just made a bad pitch and I feel real bad. [Sean] Bergman pitched his tail off and he should have got the victory."

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/baseba ... ls_astros/

At the very least, it validates Sean Bergman's prestigious rank.

[batista4goldglove]

This one covers Hunter and Koskie.

http://www.asapsports.com/baseball/2004 ... 804R2.html

Q. Ron, you guys hustle on the bases all year. What's going through your mind when you guys were down six runs?

Burl Ives: It's not fun getting thrown out when you're down like that. We forced him to make plays like that. It was a good base run tonight. I tip my hat to them. Torii is busting his tail and Koskie was busting his tail, and in the end they had a sacrifice fly, but the guys are trying. They're giving it everything they have and busting their tail running the bases. Tonight it didn't look good. They wanted to win. They were playing the game right, and that's what we do. That's all I care about.

[batista4goldglove]

Here's a double that covers the 2004 team.

http://www.asapsports.com/baseball/2004 ... 904RG.html

Q. Ron, when you say "relax," do you think you forced things on the bases the other night, getting two guys thrown out, considering the score?

Burl Ives: Their hustling, you know. We look at it, and I guess the old book of baseball, you're down and make a silly out, but as a manager, I see too many guys in the game jogging and not trying to get to second base. I applaud my guys. I don't applaud them because we made some mistakes last night, but I applaud the way they play the game. They hustle and bust their tail every night. They're not trying to be superhuman. We play that way all the time. That was bad base running, but I applaud the way they go after the game, because they run the balls out and they bust their tail, and that's what our team is all about.

[batista4goldglove]

And another one for the 2004 team.

http://mlb.mlb.com/NASApp/mlb/mlb/news/ ... &fext=.jsp

Q: Ron, because of the way the series is set up where you don't have an off day between Games 4 and 5 and have to travel, what does that do for a team's momentum?

A: We're going -- our airplane is going to try to beat the Yankees into town. That's one thing. We're going to stop them at the airport and get out first. You know what, who knows, when you get there. It gets down to what baseball's supposed to be. If we can win today and go to New York, I don't think you can ask for a better scenario of a playoff round for us right now. That's what we want to see happen, and it ought to be very entertaining.

We take a lot of pride in playing the game and busting our tail so we want to win today and get that thing back to New York and take a shot at it and see what happens.

[batista4goldglove]

And again for the 2004 team.

http://news.minnesota.publicradio.org/f ... winsgame3/


"The guys are trying," he insisted. "They're giving everything they have and they're busting their tail running the bases. Tonight it just didn't look good, but they wanted to win. They were playing and that's what I care about. They wanted to win and they were trying and that's what we do here in Minnesota."

[Klobs]

Check rule two, brother.

[batista4goldglove]

Check rule two, brother.

Fucking Gardenhire. You would think he would remember to add "off" in all of his quotes.

[batista4goldglove]

I got this one right.

http://72.14.203.104/search?q=cache:ZFC ... lnk&cd=104

"Silva battled his tail off," Gardenhire said. "He started using all of his pitches and got better and better."

[lambo_asdf]

http://www.tinyurl.com

[Klobs]

www.tinyurl.com

That's kind of a waste of time.

This is much easier.

[batista4goldglove]

Gardy talking about the 2003 Yankee starting pitchers.

http://www.boston.com/sports/baseball/r ... off_twins/

"Every one of [New York's starters] went out there and pitched their tail off," saluted Minnesota manager Burl Ives. "You're going to say we're not swinging good. Good pitching does that. We've got a young bunch of hitters, but, man, they pitched."

[batista4goldglove]

Gardy on Mulholland

"Terry got off to a little bit of a sluggish start," Gardenhire said. "He pitched very well after that first inning. He settled down and pitched his tail off for us. To his credit, he kept pitching."