The Year in Quotes: 2004 Leftovers

"The last couple of weeks have been horribly difficult. The most important part of the year, and I'm in my biggest funk. I just feel awful, but I've given it everything I have."

--Scott Hatteberg, 10/2/2004

"Of course there's sadness. I grew up here. I've played with these guys for four years. It's almost like a family. That's what sucks about this game, but it's a business and you have to move on."

--Jermaine Dye, 10/3/2004

"I think you could make the argument that he has the chance to be the best catcher this franchise has seen since it moved to Oakland."

--Billy Beane, on Jason Kendall, 11/30/2004

"Obviously that's all you hear: Big Three, Big Three, Big Three. I'm excited, and it's going to be neat to work with guys of that caliber."

--Jason Kendall, 11/30/2004

"The A's window to sign Tim is open now. After March 1, the window is closed. He will not be in Oakland in 2006 if the team doesn't meet this deadline."

--Paul Cohen, 12/1/2004

"We felt fortunate we could get a guy like this. It's a position of need, and Keith (Ginter) will be an upgrade for us."

--Billy Beane, 12/15/2004

"This sucks. It just sucks."

--Tim Hudson, 12/16/2004

"It sucks."

--Mark Mulder, 12/16/2004

"I just want everyone to know how much I loved it in Oakland. In a perfect world, I'd have been able to play there forever, and me and Mark and Barry would always be the Big Three. But it ain't a perfect world, and I know that. It's a business."

--Tim Hudson, 12/16/2004

"I don't even know if they have a word for what I felt. I mean, it was complete and utter shock. I didn't know what to say. It's like I was paralyzed. Billy's talking to me about it, and I honestly couldn't carry on a conversation. My head was swimming, just trying to comprehend what it all means."

--Mark Mulder, 12/18/2004

"It's definitely weird in a way, no doubt. I mean, I've never pitched in a big league rotation without either one of them. We're all friends. We've been like brothers. And now they're both gone in a span of three days. So yeah, of course I'm bummed.

"But what can I do? As you get older in this game, you just realize more and more that it's less a game than it is a business."

--Barry Zito, 12/18/2004