There’s a lot of baseball to be played.

He pitched exceptionally well. He had a terrific day.

We have a decision to make. I have no interest in pursuing anything unless after the out clause is exercised.

If you have enthusiasm, thank God for it. If you don’t have it, get down on your knees and ask God for it.

I’m not saying things would have necessarily been different if Sean was in the lineup but I think it would have helped to have a hitter who combined to strike out less 100 times over...

Zach Duke showed us last year, and in his first start, what type of pitcher he is.

We’re seeing some of these guys beginning to escalate themselves in the direction that you want to see them going.

If I’m a pitcher and I’m paying close attention, I’m certainly not going to be afraid to attack somebody’s bat. I want the ball in play — because they’re going to make plays.

You can’t make a mistake against that club like we did in the fifth inning. I don’t know who was calling (for the ball), but obviously you need to catch that ball.

That’s the difference between Oliver Perez on Opening Day and Oliver Perez in Cincinnati. He was pitching uphill.

That will be a tremendous hit for Murfreesboro City Schools.

Stuff-wise, it doesn’t get much better than what you see from this guy, … The consistency of what’s thrown for strikes has improved. … Sanchez obviously has stepped up.

We did a good job of coming back against a very good ballclub.

No question in my mind. You are talking about people who have great baseball minds and are tireless workers.

We haven’t been successful enough when we have game-changing at-bats. We haven’t been successful in getting the hit that puts you back in the game [and/or] the hit that puts you out in front and...

As you saw the game unfold, we had many opportunities to put that team away before they got us. It’s that simple.

He deserves to be the first pitcher on the mound when we open the home schedule. I think our fans will be happy to see Zach.

We’re only two turns through the rotation. I don’t think it’s to the point where you start changing your pitchers yet.

A spectacular game. I don’t think you’d anticipate much less.

We’ve given him a substantial role due to some situations that’ve come up, … and he’s responded very well.

That’s a lot for nine innings, let alone five. He showed command, mixed his pitches, changed speeds — there were a lot of positive signs.

He has handled the situation very professionally and he’s made a big fan out of me because of that. It’s great to have a player like him on the bench that you can put into...

Let me be very clear. When the decision was made that there would be no type of extension offer, I felt very strongly that it was time to move on. In the midst of (a...

Some of the elements we had last year that made us successful were not here this year,

I would certainly hope not (intentionally) in spring training. I don’t think Curt Schilling goes out there to hurt people.

Every team needs people like that. It’s not just what he does as a third base coach, and I happen to be believe he’s very good at what he does. Having this guy as a...

A little thing like that can end up winning you a baseball game.

I’ve never seen Curt Schilling go out and start a game with the intention of hurting people. But if you start hitting people in the head… you need to be very careful of that.

They don’t have to be ashamed about performing [the way they did] last night and staying after it the way they did. Two days in a row, we’ve been in a position in the latter...

We took great at-bats tonight. We hit four home runs. And the beautiful part of it was the run that we scored to go ahead was something that we worked at very hard in Spring...

He pitched like an ace today — and he had the demeanor of one. I saw a guy who was extremely interested in wanting to be the ace of the staff.

He has to be, and should be, proud of the spring training he’s had.

I am a big believer in the fact that stuff gets people out, not what looks cosmetically correct. Stuff is what gets major league hitters out.

To expect to be able to score seven or eight [runs] is ridiculous. It hasn’t happened in the history of the game.

We know he’s very capable. He has the pitches to get major-league hitters out.

Derek Lowe, for the fourth time in a row, was just phenomenal. Not good, not great, phenomenal.

He gave us more than you would expect from a young kid, offensively, … and defensively, he made many nice plays at third.

You can’t have a better at-bat. He hit the [heck] out of the ball down the first-base line and Niekro was in the spot where he needed to be or that would have been a...

We’re going to have to get moving as far as trimming the roster some. Over the next few days, there is a strong chance we’re going to have to do some things.

That guy’s really something. Can you imagine a 95-mph fastball, and he goes up and gets it like that?

The wise thing to do would be to have him available [to pinch hit on Friday] and give it one more day.

We had our chances to win that game. We had the stage set. A two-out base hit would have put us ahead, and we weren’t able to get it. The consistency of that just hasn’t...

He had 13 ground-ball outs. That’s a lot of ground-ball outs for a nine-inning game, [let alone] a five-inning stint in spring training. That gives you a pretty good idea of how well he pitched.

I’m not going to sit there and second-guess my players. It’s a youthful player. Let’s be honest.

From my end, the biggest thing was the personnel factor and the evaluation of those players, … I just felt very strongly that the right thing to do would be to move on.

He gets it. He gets situations. He gets who’s batting ahead of him in the lineup and he gets who’s batting behind him. To have a winning-caliber team, you need players like that.

I think a group of players has to understand the type of baseball you have to play to play winning baseball. You have to realize the importance of the intangibles, the little things.

It’s the intangibles they have,

It has a chance to look like that.

The straightforwardness is something they really appreciate.