looked like an impossible task.

Doug’s a believer that he wants these guys playing deep into September and into October so that they can get used to it, … That’s a place we want to play in the near future.

I’m going to address our pitching after the day off (today). I’ll make an announcement then.

Billy is like the pitching coach of the bullpen. He’s a great compliment to (pitching coach) Mike Maddux and he has played a big part in the success we’ve had out there. When those guys...

He (Sheets) was lights out. Both pitchers threw phenomenally well tonight. They both had great stuff and were hitting their spots. Benny was about as good as Benny could be.

I told him he’ll never know how good he can be if he doesn’t go out and try it.

Rodriguez was really good today. The last time we faced him he was just OK.

It’s more precautionary than anything. I don’t think it’s anything major. They’ve backed off a little bit. They’re just being real cautious with him.

He sets a great example every day, from the second he walks in the clubhouse to the second he leaves. In every phase of the game — starting with his preparation and his work ethic....

It’s hard when you’re going to take the best 30 players out of the United States. It’s a tough task. It doesn’t motivate us. We have good players. We have confidence in what we’re trying...

Sometimes when a young pitcher gets to the point where he’s pitching pretty good, he thinks he’s being lucky. (Capuano) is realizing he’s pitching good because he is good.

Any time you get the tying run to the plate (late) in a ball game you’ve done a pretty good job. But the score really doesn’t reflect that.

The first time we saw him in Spring Training, we realized real quick that he was the same old Maddux. I don’t see anything different about him now than when he was in his heyday,...

It’s a transition in his mind, more than anything else. It’s a matter of being aggressive and being in control, and he was in total control (Tuesday).

He was throwing as hard a fastball as he’s had all year. He got it up to 93 [mph] a time or two,

He pitched a phenomenal game.

He’s been an important piece to our starting rotation, along with Ben Sheets and Doug Davis. They’ve really solidified the first three starting spots.

I don’t see where it’s going to get any more glaring than it’s been from the minute he signed. How much more hype does a player have than him? So it’s not going to get...

That was just what the doctor ordered. He was as sharp as he can be. He really pitched great.

Brady is seven days out and still four or five days away in the best-case scenario. Going into Houston another left-handed bat off the bench will help us.

The only way he doesn’t go out is if we get to his spot and there’s a runner in scoring position, … Then I probably would have hit for him, even though he was 2...

He’s fine. Right now, it’s almost as if nothing happened.

That’s something that we talk about every day: You pitch to contact with your good stuff. That’s what you look for. You want guys to have good, quick, clean innings. You want to go out...

Billy knows his role. His versatility gives us a weapon at more than one position. He will get his playing time.

I thought it was beautiful. It thought it played real nice. I think it’s a real classy ballpark — a clean ballpark.

Every day is a different day. These guys are all professionals. They’ve got a real good ability to forget what happened yesterday, good or bad.

We had struggled to that point. We were going down in order, boom, boom, boom.

We said all along he would struggle in the first half, then take off.

[Maholm] had a good idea. His fastball was sinking. He had a good changeup, a good slider. Our reports were very true on him. He’s a kid who’s made a rapid rise.

We beat [Johan] Santana — and we should have beat him twice,

It’s more of a reward to him for doing such a great job down there.

We finally put together some offense and great pitching it was a nice combination. Bush shut down a really talented offensive team in Cincinnati.

Billy looked like he was playing in for the bunt.

This is not a strict platoon basis. It doesn’t have anything to do with the numbers (which favor a right-handed hitting batter against a left-handed pitcher). This has to do with finding Billy Hall playing...

How do you get to the top of the stairs without getting on the first step? It’s a building process, and your first major step has to be playing .500 baseball.

I guess those people haven’t been around here the last 12 years,

We’ll just have to wait and see. There’s some concern. But major concern? Not really. Some of it could be a little mental too.

A lot of this stuff you learn in games. That’s where you learn because it’s at game speed. Experience you gain in a game is farm more valuable than going out and practicing something.

He’s done everything we’ve asked him to. He’s worked very hard on his defense and played very well defensively.

He was as sharp as he could be. He was just great. He was so sharp through the seventh inning that I hated to take him out.

Experience. You play it, day in and day out. You’ve got to do it on your own. It’s the same thing Billy Hall went through two years ago. Look where he’s at now. There’s no...

It all revolves around talent and ability and he’s got the talent. Rookie or no rookie, he can play.

I didn’t want to take him out of this game,

(Davis) was happy about it. Matching up against Roger Clemens it looked like an impossible task. Really Doug labored throughout the whole game. He didn’t have his best stuff. He ended up getting through it.

I don’t see anything different with him now than in his heyday when he was at his best.

We were really pressing for a run right there.

(He) didn’t even really make a bad pitch to Jason Bay.

The last thing he’s normally going to do is hit the ball over an outfielder’s head going the opposite way.

He went around the side and came in through the laundry room. He’s already lost.

Capuano had too many walks. We have been struggling to get runs, and we just can’t afford to put runners on base. He just struggled all day long.