I put him up there with the intent of him winning the game. You know, he’s had such a great spring for us, he’s such a veteran-type player who really is comfortable in those situations.

He just struggled all night long. They weren’t smashing balls all over the place. They hit some balls off the end of the bat and they found some holes.

That’s a big decision,

He’s a professional player, a pro that you want your younger players to emulate. He will see a lot of time for us at third base. He could really help us.

They enjoy what they’re doing. But they’re not a real excitable bunch, to the point where it affects their performance.

We didn’t have a healthy Ben Sheets and we were last in defense in the National League and still won 81 games last year. If you can make some minor improvements, we can surely pick...

The offense is starting to kick in now and that’s a good sign. It shows the character of your club when you’re down 11-2 and come back.

That shows the kind of hitter he is.

It really surprised me that they were able to turn (the double play). I didn’t think they had a chance.

I was just trying to maximize our matchups, … It didn’t work out.

We played solid and consistent baseball all day long. We didn’t make any glaring mistakes. That’s our goal, to try to be as consistent as we can be, day in and day out.

They’ll go a long way if they have a good September in terms of production and getting the job done for next year.

It would have had to been a perfect feed. Reyes is very fast.

You’d be foolish to envision that.

He was dead on. It just seems like when he pitches we match up with a pitcher who has a great day.

Everybody has to pick up the slack with Ben out. All the guys have to chip in and help out.

We’re not there yet.

That’s why I was so interested in this job. That’s the reason right there.

He might get an occasional day off but he’s not coming out of the lineup.

You’d like him to get as many balls as he can, to get used to playing the position. He looked good out there. He’s going to be fine. He’s got the athletic ability to be...

They’ve been playing great since they got here. A huge part of what makes this so exciting is watching those kids get an opportunity and do well with it.

There was some confusion at the end of the inning, whether there were four or five home runs. We just knew that we hit a bunch of home runs.

The reason we don’t use him is because we’re not going to just throw him out there. This is exactly the reason he is here. We’re saving him for situations like that.

That was a nice job of damage control.

He was on the attack, he had command of his pitches. He felt good.

I’ve been waiting to break them out but you can’t do that before the first Retro Sunday.

Not everybody is cut out to be a Cardinal. There’s a certain standard, a certain type of player you have to be if you’re going to play on that team. That’s a tradition with them...

It didn’t take long to feel comfortable with Doug, because he’s so approachable. He told me at the start, ‘If you have a problem, let’s talk.’ If I’m upset about something and I talk to...

He just provides so much depth for us, so much protection.

The guys in that locker room have brought respectability back to this organization. I don’t think there’s a team that enjoys coming to Milwaukee anymore, or looks forward to Milwaukee coming to their hometown.

We’re calling up a hitter,

We’re playing pretty sound, fundamentally. We’re going from first to third when we need to. We’re picking up big runs. We’re running the bases good. We’re doing a lot of little things right.

We’ve got a lot of kids who are still growing. They’re going to get even bigger. We’ve got babies out there.

Power-arm guys in spring training generally take a little longer.

Not only are they so good talent-wise, they’re so good in every phase of the game. You come in here and play them, you know they’re not going to beat themselves. They’re going to play...

Every day is a different day. It’s just a day-by-day game. That’s why it’s such a great game.

He had no problems whatsoever.

He wanted to go back out in the sixth, but for me, if it’s getting tight, the best thing to do is shut it down right now and look at it [Tuesday]. We didn’t want...

Lehr was up seven straight times, ready to come in (for certain situations). Getting up and sitting back down takes more out of you than coming in games. You can’t keep doing that.

He’s working on his fielding and arm. We’re not thinking about moving him to third.

You can’t have your defensive guys everywhere. It wasn’t like Brady was playing with his back against the wall. Brady came in a few steps. He just hit it under the coverage. It would be...

The average person probably doesn’t understand what he has done and the accomplishments he’s achieved. To win 14 consecutive years, it’s like Joe DiMaggio’s 56-game hitting streak – it’s a record that never will be...

That was a tough play but it was within (Weeks’) reach. It’s a play, if you’re going to win the ball game, that’s got to be made.

I think his improvement has come more on the mental side than the physical side,

Is that a problem? Yeah. Is that a good problem? Yeah.

He’ll fit in quite nicely. You can’t win without talent and we couldn’t pass up the ability to pick up someone with talent and experience, too.

It’s ridiculous to say that we don’t enjoy it. It’s a great start for us. With young clubs, you get off to a good start and you can carry this roll deep into the season....

(Fielder) has been in a major league clubhouse his whole life. He’s not awed or wide-eyed by this. He knew he was destined.

But those things all turn around. Our pitching will get back on track and we’ll be in good shape.

Experience tells you he’s not going to do it every time, but he’s sure going to do it the high majority of the time. That’s all you ask for.