There was no way he was going back out after that. When a guy gets hit in the head, he’s done for the day.

Our bullpen did a great job.

He has a ways to go,

It was not going to be in my best interest to be in the dugout as a lame-duck manager, … I asked myself the question, ‘Could I get the club back to where it was...

We had a very poor — poor — pitching performance. We pitched poorly — right from the get-go. We … pitched … poorly.

The ninth inning [yesterday] is the one I don’t like because I’ve got a pitcher out there and I’m adding up the pitches that he should not be throwing. You don’t want to see him...

It’s the difference in the game. I give him a lot of credit. He battled. This kid, in two starts, has shown me an awful lot of character, and I know he is capable of...

With our cut-down (Tuesday), we are getting closer and closer to what some things are supposed to look like. The tone of the games now in spring training has changed a little bit due to...

It’s better than nice. Better than nice. That says a lot. The mere suggestion of it says a lot.

This is about the time to get him going.

It was exceptional. And that was from day in, day out, working with John Shelby. One thing you’ll see us do is constantly work with players on their versatility. Having Shelby around makes a big...

One of the toughest things in the world to try to stave off is when you walk somebody, especially the leadoff man in the bottom of the ninth, and that’s exactly what happened, … It’s...

When he was down on the ground, he was having shooting pain that was really bothering him, but beyond that I don’t know.

They huddled up. They got it right. That’s the bottom line.

That’s why you come to the ballpark every night.

A day like today — that’s something that happens even with an ‘ace’ of the staff.

Every time he comes up in a situational at-bat, the job gets done.

Zach’s doing what he needs to do to get his work done. It takes time — that’s all part of spring training.

It goes without saying that if you continue to work behind in the count that it makes it extremely tough to compete. It’s not what you want to see.

We’ve had a few like this. The record may suggest differently, but when you look at the games we’ve played, we’ve had our fair share of games like this.

It’s been suggested to J.D. for the time being to back off as far as swinging the bat. Am I saying we will not see him for the rest of the year? I’m not saying...

Both plays were close. It was a run we didn’t get and a run they did get. But you don’t point fingers.

What I’ve been very impressed with — and I think you need to give a tip of the cap to Lloyd McClendon and [his] staff here — is that they played the game every time...

There’s nothing not to like with this guy. He’s a solid major league player that’s just going to get better and better. You’ve got to find time for him … he’s got to get some...

This kid has done everything you can ask him to do and then some. I know he was already on the map as far as the organization is concerned. He’s fully convinced me why they’re...

We are grooming a young guy to be a ninth-inning pitcher, but I don’t think initially we have to throw the guy into the lion’s mouth and say, ?Here, let’s do it now. There’s a...

This club as a whole swung and missed entirely too much. Putting base-runners in motion where you’re gong to swing and miss, it’s not really pretty when you do something like that. It’s pretty ugly...

He’s one of those special players I’ve dealt with in the six years I’ve managed in the big leagues.

Pitching and defense has been the name of the game in baseball forever. I don’t care what level you’re playing at. My philosophy since I started managing has been that, before you can look at...

You need the other guys now. I don’t want spring training to get stale. With the other guys coming in, the program changes somewhat. We’re at the point now where they are needed.

He’s going to get the ball in the ninth inning. We’ll see how it goes. We’ve got a guy who is a complete novice in that environment. But what I see is a player that...

They put constant pressure on the other team, … It’s a very difficult style of baseball to compete against.

I like challenges. I like it when people say, ‘You don’t have a chance to succeed there.’

He’s been very professional about this right from the start of spring.

First of all, I happen to think he was a pretty good player before he was selected to play for his country. I don’t need to see him go play for Mexico to see that....

This kid just has an eye at the plate, a talent for the game.

He’s done a great job. And there’s more of it to come. He’s a terrific talent.

We’re not quitting, that’s for sure. We’ve been in every single game and we’ve had a chance to win every single game.

He’s a good little offensive player. He looks like he belongs in the majors. This kid knows how to play. And he’s a winner.

It’s pretty close right now, yeah.

We have the better part of five months of baseball to play.

He didn’t hit it very well at all, but he hit it in a wonderful spot. That’s baseball.

We did everything we could do to try to win the game, but you have to give credit where credit’s due: They played very well all weekend long.

It simply boils down to the fact that they got a hit when they needed it and we got a base-on-balls.

Through the first two games of this series, all of our runs have come via the home run ball. We were not able to, when we tried to get something going, sustain it offensively to...

We’re not going to say we’re not going to see him for the rest of the year, … We’re going to take it day-by-day.

I thought our pitching was actually pretty good. I thought Victor Santos had a good day’s work. He got the ball up a little bit and didn’t pitch ahead in the count as much as...

Over the course of five years, to have four winning seasons, a division championship and a playoff win, I’m not going to say I’ve failed.

nothing but the very best

Oliver was not good at all. He had no command. He had a decent first inning but after that nothing to speak of.