We knew what we needed to do to improve. We targeted some guys and we were hoping to get one or two of them. You never expect to get your whole wish list and we...

There was no reason at all to toss me,

If it all clicks for this kid, you’ve got a very good player because he can do everything. He’s a five-tool player and those guys are very rare. So when that does happen, those are...

There were days in spring training when I would approach him after he got a couple of at bats and ask him if he had had enough. If there was someone pitching who we were...

He’s had a heck of a year. We knew we had something special when we saw him last September and with what he did in the Minor Leagues last year. He keeps getting better and...

Guys when they get tired they lose their location. What happens is they got reach back and give a little extra to maintain what they got and your location suffers but you maintain your velocity.

We’ll bounce back (today). It’s the second game of the year.

I just think it’s his timing. He’s off-balance a little bit more — and he’s getting caught out front a little bit more. But he’s always hit. He’s going to hit. It’s just one of...

Anytime he goes out there, you know you can count on him. You look at the last couple years here, and he’s always won for us. But he’s always been the odd man out, too....

You don’t worry about that stuff, man. I’m still on the losing end. Someday, I can say I at least got to 100.

He’s out there and he’s healthy. They found some holes, but I thought he pitched OK. He was around the plate.

They won two of three [against the Yankees] the other day, … If you look at what they’re doing, they’re one of the top teams since the All-Star break. They can hit and they can...

We left some guys on. We had some chances to get to Leiter, but we just didn’t cash in there. It happens.

What a difference an offense makes. From day one we’ve been swinging the bats, and that was big. If we don’t have the offense we have, we don’t come back.

That gave us some breathing room.

Towers and McClung pitched great, … (Towers) has been on a roll and (McClung) can overpower you with his fastball and when he gets his curveball over he’s tough. He has a great arm.

He got the number of pitches he needed. He didn’t look bad. That one inning, he was scattering a little bit. Other than that, he pitched okay.

He’s going to be a heck of a pitcher some day,

I’m sure there’s been some guys who have been using it for a number of years. Like anything else, some do, some don’t. I guess we have see when there’s day games after night games.

His location has been off,

I think he may be a little tired, to be honest with you. He’s in his first year doing it. I think what’s affecting him right now is his location — and you usually don’t...

Nobody expected him to be here when he came up, but I think it’s done wonders for him. [But] I don’t think he’s got enough innings under his belt in the Minor Leagues.

I thought he had another one. Nixon made a nice play over his shoulder. Couple more feet, he at least clears the bases with a double.

I can’t put a finger on it, but he’s been struggling — there’s no question about it. He’s feeling it right now, but we know what he can do. He’s a big part of this...

Ryan’s up-and-coming, pretty new to the job himself, but already he’s one of the top closers in the game. Anytime you’ve got a shot at a guy like that, you’ve got to make that move.

Any time he goes out there, you can count on him. At times he’s been the odd man out but he’s as good a competitor as there is.

I knew it was going to be a tough day when they scored those four in the first. When you come in this place, you know you’re going to slug it out with them.

He’s guaranteed a job. It’s got to [boost his confidence]. When you’re always fighting for a spot, it makes it that much tougher. Now, he can just relax and get ready to go.

He’s experienced. That’s why we brought him here.

We’re on a tough little stretch right now, no question. But we always seem to bounce back, that’s the character of the ball club. In this business you take your lumps sometimes, it’s just how...

We wanted to make sure he was all right. He proved that he was today.

The walk to Gomez hurts.

He’s off to a good start, but he’s getting caught up in good starts by all of them. Good starts are contagious. But he’s a good hitter — he’s proven that.

It’s still nagging, still bothering him. It’s not 100 percent. If he’s got to go out there, he can go out there.

He’s a big part of our team. We win together, we lose together. Yes, he’s still the closer.

I expect his command to be a little bit better. I talked to a couple pitching coaches that I ran into last week and they said, ‘Hey, you’ll find out that when he’s on, you...

It’s a big day for him. I saw him yesterday and wished him luck and told him to have fun out there. You only get that debut one time. He’ll be nervous. He’ll be scared....

We hit some balls hard right at guys today. That’s baseball, we also benefit from that, too.

He’s a threat when he just stands in the box. That’s what we brought him over here for to drive the ball and be a presence in the middle of the lineup.

He looked strong. He’s got over-powering stuff.

He wants to pitch, but you know it’s not worth it. You’ve got to look at the big picture. If this was September and we’re in the thing . . .

I don’t really want to juggle [the order] unless I’m forced to like we did last year. It doesn’t have to be right, left, right, left, right now, though.

He’s a money player,

[We’ll] keep in touch with the doctors. [If] he starts feeling good and goes out there and pushes it, he might make it worse. Then where are we? That tournament is a nice thing, but...

Every time you run them out there, you have a chance to win. That’s all you can ask for.

If that happens to Lilly, we’re kind of in a jam. You’ve got some young kids down there in Triple-A, but, ideally, you don’t want to have to go to that, because they aren’t that...

It was his first start of the year, and there is a lot of focus on him. Once he gets the innings that he needs, he will be all right for us.

He’s doing everything everyone wanted him to do. He’s been doing a great job.

We had some good at-bats and some clutch hitting there in the ninth. That’s the first time we ever did anything with Baez this year.

He’s using the whole field. Last year he was primarily pull — when he did things he was pulling the ball. He made a conscious effort to go back to using the whole field like...