We built this team around defense and pitching. When you’ve got good defense, your pitching staff is going to be better because they’re not going to make that many mistakes.

We cannot relax. We have to fight all the way to the end. We have (six) games against Cleveland at the end of the season. It’s not over until it’s over.

Well there is a thing I would say to the mayor. I would say I’ve been in this country for 25 years and I don’t have American citizenship. He should help me do that. I’ll...

He was a tremendous ambassador for the team. I think Dave Winfield said the right thing: He was the only player in the history of baseball everybody loved.

Freddy is supposed to be a big-game pitcher. Everything is in Freddy’s odds. He should be all right.

I like what I see. He throws strikes. He did a tremendous job. Right now he’s going to be the talk of the next couple of days.

He just had a bad game. I expect a better outing next time.

I think that game set everything up for the playoffs.

The [poor] outing before was due to [bad] location and tipping the pitch.

A.J., because they boo A.J. everywhere. Even in his backyard, his wife and kids boo him.

[You are a White Sox fan. You are rooting for Kansas City to slow down the Indians, though your own manager didn’t sound very comforting when he mentioned how hard it is for the hopelessly...

You just saw, … a Chicago baseball game.

Marte showed up like a man, … He showed his teammates how sorry he was.

I thought I would see better pitching performances because our pitching staff is pretty good and so is theirs, … Right now, they’re not throwing the ball the way people thought.

You’ve got to give credit to a guy when he throws the ball well. (Washburn) kept our whole team off balance.

He makes any lineup stronger. This kid is a professional hitter. He knows what he is doing. I don’t have to worry about him while he is in the lineup.

If his health is good, yes. I’m not worried about his swing. If he’s got good health and he’s ready to run, then he will [start].

[They want to keep calling him one of their own.] I shouldn’t say ‘we’ because I don’t have the money, … but we want him here.

He’s aggressive. He has great instinct, and he isn’t afraid to pull the trigger. There’s a reason why they did so well. People will say they have a great pitching staff, but you have to...

Obviously, we’re disappointed. We had a chance to play better (but) we didn’t do what we did all year long.

I’ve got two people here that drive me crazy. They are all over me, and I’m like ‘Shut up, you drunk.’ It’s easy to make moves when you’re drunk.

The game will dictate whether they will pitch long if I will pinch-hit for him,

If we make the playoffs and if the time is good for him and if he is the best guy to throw the ball, he will be the first pitcher. If not, we will see...

This kid is the best player in baseball, to me. He’s always going to be running and he’s always going to make something happen. That’s why he gets paid a lot of money.

They executed better. We failed at moving guys over. We didn’t do the job.

(Crede) can miss two days or he can miss six days.

I was kind of worried about him leaving the ball around the plate and giving up a home run, and all of a sudden he’d lose everything he built for the whole game. He said...

It was amazing to see them like little kids, jumping up and down,

[Hernandez] has brought me all the way to here to this point. I have a lot of confidence in El Duque. He had one bad outing. We’re going to stay the same way, but in...

I think right now our lineup should be better offensively.

I loved that. You don’t see that everyplace. That shows that they knew Cleveland had a great season.

I don’t disrespect anybody. I want to make that clear. I’m not going to the White House because my kids are more important than anything in my life.

I’ve always got to have a Plan B. Always.

We didn’t finish it out.

I know with the staff we have that we will pitch better.

He reminds me of Greg Maddux. He goes out, throws 200-plus innings and throws as quick as he can.

Brutal. I think it’s really disappointing. … The way this kid played in this town, people should tip their caps. … I thought it was kind of embarrassing. Booing Jim Thome ? you don’t boo...

This is a team where you cannot mess around. With that lineup, you have to be almost perfect to beat them.

Jose, since the second half, has thrown the ball absolutely outstanding.

The velocity is there. But I talked to him early spring and before the last outing that I don’t want 97 or 98 [mph]. I want strikes. No matter how hard you throw, you aren’t...

No. I can’t imagine them being under .500, but you never know with injuries. No, Ozzie has come home. … We have an option on him for next year, so his contract really isn’t up.

First of all, I feel proud of my players. We went through a lot, a lot of tough times.

Yes. And that’s why I don’t want to hurry it. We have kind of an idea about what we’re going to do. I have to talk to [general manager] Kenny [Williams] about this, I have...

I think with Joe, this is what we are going to get. But when Joe is playing like he did, he is one of the best third baseman in the AL.

Bobby Cox called me last night and said, ‘You’ll never retire from baseball; make them retire you,’ … He called me like 4 yesterday and said: ‘You’re too good a baseball man; people like you....

He’s my true leader,

[The Angels] can beat you so many different ways

They never put their heads down.

You know, we don’t do the job and, when we fail doing that, it’s hard for us to win, … We don’t have the type of team that’s going to score 20 runs.

Most of these guys have never been in this situation, but I have, and I have to lead them,