It’s not as fun as being in the pennant race. But if you can help keep somebody at home, that’s fun.

It didn’t really bother me. It just tightened up a little bit. That was it.

We just tried to make a bad situation a little better.

It’s just a little tight.

I’m not going to Chicago. I’m in Pittsburgh with the Cincinnati Reds, and that’s where I’m staying.

It’s still spring training. I’ve still got things to work on. Right now, it’s just getting in shape.

They can’t look at mine. They can’t look at mine. You all know good and damn well that what you see is what you get. You can look at other people and speculate all you...

I’m a Red – that’s it. Till the organization tells me otherwise.

Nah, he wanted to talk to me about the cruise that was canceled. The White Sox or a trade? All he said was that there is nothing to report.

You have a commanding lead in home runs — for the No. 9 spot in the batting order.

It wasn’t one of those 10-day advance tickets, either.

I don’t worry about other people’s numbers. That’s for you guys to come to that conclusion. You guys know me. Your relationship with me is what I care about.

Early in the season, we shot ourselves in the foot. The last couple months of the baseball season, you want to make it tough on other teams.

I also need to get some deodorant. Which rookie wants to run out and get me some?

I walked out of the hospital after the operation and got in the car, and I gave the crutches back after two days. This [recent surgery] was a minor thing.

It’s just a knot. They rub it out, it comes back.

That’s the only bag I’ve stolen all year.

The main thing for me is that I’m just trying to get my hits. The home runs will come, and sometimes they come in bunches. I just look for the hits and if (home runs)...

Excuse me, sorry to break up your press conference. This is how we do it in Cincinnati, we don?t have like 35 (reporters) here.

Over the course of the season, you’ll get on a streak where you get a couple, but the main thing for me is to try to get my hits.

Those guys are legends. You can’t say enough for those guys and what they’ve done for baseball. Both of those guys are arguably in the top 10 players in the history of the game.

It was baseball hell in Colorado. For some strange reason, we weren’t getting it done. Eventually, it’s got to change. The big thing is we’ve got to stay positive.

It’s tough. I hate to not be playing, more than anything.

When I was 16, I was working at Queen City Speedway. I made $84 and change one week, then my mama told me to quit to concentrate on baseball.

I’m not going to Chicago. I’m in Pittsburgh.

To be around the guys who said yes to this was a treat in itself. I got a chance to know different personalities, and I think it was pretty awesome that we were able to...

He’s grown up a lot. His maturity level is night and day. When you get a chance to play every day, you have no choice but to go out and try to do a job.

I still have the same urge. But I try to understand a little more now. I still have the same desire to be out there. With the medical staff knowing me, it’s still an ongoing...

Just being able to go out there day in and day out where a lot of people counted me out says a lot for the work I put into it, and for the medical staff...

Certain things work good for the player and good for the team. It’s a mutual decision on what we needed at the time – they needed a spot for LaRue and things like that. So...

Now that the second round is here, I think the intensity is going to pick up.

He’s one of those guys, you’re just glad you had a chance to know him. He took care of me.

I’m just glad I’ll be on the field because this is one of the greatest pitchers who ever toed it up.

I was just trying to get a pitch I could hit. It hit a little off the end of the bat and just got out.

If I can’t do it myself, then I’m not going to do it. When I’m retired, I want them to at least be able to say, ‘There’s no question in our minds that he did...

It’s an opportunity I didn’t get before turning pro. I’d like to represent my country.

It’s just one of those things that it’s there, you know it’s there, and I just don’t want to get to the point where I’m out for a longer period of time because I did...

Awesome. It is exciting, and Mark’s a big, strong guy.

Good placement. The key is we were able to get some guys on base and the guys coming up behind them hit home runs.

What we’ve seen from Wayne is that he’s a guy trying to put a winning team on the field now. It’s not about six, seven years from now. It’s about what happens now. That comes...

Are we going to be a little more focused in the second round? Yeah.

We battled back to tie it.

We were able to get some runs. That helps out Ramon.

It’s getting better. But it’s tight.

That just means I’m old. I was fortunate enough to be able to play in ball parks when I was 19 and be able to hit them out.

It’s going to be tough looking at him. I’ll have to make sure I get a Sean Casey Pirates jersey for my house.

The nicest guy in the world.

I don’t worry about it. I just go out there and try to do the best I can. Whatever people think, that’s fine.

For a guy that doesn’t get a chance to hit a lot, he helped himself out, and it was a little boost for us.

It’s just a little sore. We’ll see how it feels tomorrow and go from there. They said I was going to get a day off in the next couple of days anyway, so I guess...