We said he would make a difference and that has been the case.

It was good to see him out there. He needed a little work, too.

We’re getting hit pretty hard right now, especially with the way spring was going. We were in excellent shape, right until the final days.

We’re in pretty good shape, everywhere from the bullpen to the position players. This is how you want to be at this stage.

Liney’s been unbelievable. He’s been giving us what we need.

The pitching staff has a sense of comfort with him. He has stepped in and done a great job. He has helped stabilize this team behind the plate, and given us some offense, too.

We had a quick meeting and addressed a couple things. We’re disappointed we haven’t played better ball on this trip. It was by no means a kind of sense-of-urgency type of meeting or anything.

I want them to get accustomed to playing together. I like the way the outfield looks. They are working well together.

Jake was feeling the effects of everything going on in his teeth and his hand. To me, that is major surgery. I made up my mind after talking to him. I was inclined to get...

Sanders killed us. He had a big series.

We had a great opportunity there, and (Cardinals starter Mark) Mulder, he got out of it, … We’re just not cashing in at this point. The double-play ball killed us.

Chan Ho did a great job. We need him to do what he did.

Overall we played well. We did a lot of good things.

People forget that Woody pitched well down the stretch. We expected him to bounce back this year. He’s in great shape. This will be a better year for him.

He’s exciting, a great all-around player. He gives you defense, offense, speed. He had a great game.

He’s in the mix. He can do a lot of things out there, and being a switch-hitter is a plus.

He was OK. Just OK today. He got through it, but when he misses he misses.

That was an impressive at-bat. He fouled one off his knee and he battled, then he got one he could handle.

Adrian has an opportunity, and he’s taking full advantage of it. We’re excited to have him, and he’s excited to have that opportunity. He looks like a man on a mission.

But wins this time of year are important. We don’t have to look at the scoreboard. You can’t help yourself because the board is so big, and it’s a natural thing to look, but we...

Early in spring training, I am fine with it because I need some guys to have at-bats, too. But once pitchers start going five innings, I want my pitchers to hit.

I got into the cab at the hotel to go to dinner with my wife (Kim) and sister (Terry) last night, … Same cabbie.

I thought overall we played well, and today bounced back well [from Saturday night’s loss]. We put some runs on the board, got the big hit and got a good pitching performance from Clay.

When you had the kind of injury Mike had, he’s going to have flashbacks and you’re going to have to deal with things.

because he’s getting on base so much.

He’s done a great job, … You know, there are different ways to skin a cat.

Chris has something going on with his thumb. We need to find out. With the cool weather tonight, he just couldn’t feel how much pressure he’s putting on the ball with the thumb. And he...

Once he gave up the home run, we really didn’t create any opportunities there. He was on top of his game. Sometimes you run into a well-pitched game, and I think that was the case...

We knew he had some power. But he is showing real good power.

I think you’ve got a club that is pressing as bad as it can right now. It’s frustrating for all of us, believe me.

This isn’t going to get it, this offense,

He looks like a very determined young man.

I thought all along he would be back at some point. Better later than sooner.

He picked a good time to get his hit. We needed something there. Anytime you get a two-out hit to win in extra innings, it doesn’t get any better than that.

It would be fair to say Ryan is searching for his swing a little. With the nagging injuries he has had, he just hasn’t gotten a chance to get locked in at the plate.

We caught lightning in a bottle.

They were perfect in their execution. We had our chances, and we were just missing a big hit today.

Wow. He’s doing a great job of coming through for us, of clutching up. He’s playing some great ball. That play in the ninth was huge. He’s playing inspiring ball right now.

I think it’s fair to say he is one guy we can’t lose, … That would be a tremendous blow for us if we had him go down.

It’s going to be tough to match the year he had last year. But if he makes all his starts …

The most important thing is getting the pitching in order.

We thought it would be good for him to get some playing time. He hit some balls hard, that were right at guys, but he’s a little rusty. He’s a Major League player. I like...

If we have to make adjustments, we’ll do it from St. Louis.

I need to get more at-bats for Sweeney and Johnson,

He [Barfield] is swinging the bat well and playing good defense. He is a good player and is only going to get better.

Jake easily could have won 18 or so with better luck and run support.

Tell me on the 13th [of September] we would have a five-game lead … I’d take it.

I think it’s been a while since there’s been a division that’s struggled as much as us, or has been devastated by injuries as much as we have. I think sometimes everybody loses sight of...

I thought he threw the ball fairly well. He got a couple of balls up there, but it was a pretty good effort by Chris.

took for granted that the ball went out and he tossed it into the stands. He thought it was out. That’s why he did what he did.