After all these games we’ve played, we’ve played ourselves into a situation where it comes down to two games. That’s just the way it is.

He sat down [Saturday] with Dr. [Thomas] Gill, medical personnel and Theo. A decision will be made pretty soon, on what’s going to happen. He’s got some issues this week. His wife’s having a baby....

He’s thrown all his pitches in the bullpen. He has not thrown them all in the game as much as he has as a starter.

It’s nice that he has that left in the tank because that’s the guy I remember. He could reach back and get more when he needed it.

As the game progressed, he got a little more comfortable. It probably helped that when he got into the flow of the game, the ball started sinking a little bit better, cutting. I thought he...

He likes to compete. If he hollers at somebody once or twice a year, it’s not really the end of the world.

He’s played through a lot. But he’s been very productive and scored runs. If his extra-base hits are down, you still have to tip your hat to the guy that he’s still playing, and will...

They had this thing kind of mapped out. I don’t think this is a real deviation from the plan. I just think they wanted probably to test him further with better hitters. I don’t think...

We’ll strive to be better than Chicago.

There’s no feeling-out process,

The ball, just when he throws it down, guys just swing and miss or they hit grounders. He’s in a little bit of a tough spot with us. We have a very full, veteran staff...

I asked him on [Thursday] if he wanted to make the trip [on Friday]. He could have stayed back. He wanted to get work against major league pitchers. He spent five hours on a bus...

Bell said. ”But he called about my nephew.

I believe in these guys, and I believe if you stay the course you get paid dividends. I believe it’s better.

The report was as good as it can be. Structurally, there was no damage. I think he bruised that area and got some swelling.

I actually went out there this morning because they told me not to. Somebody worked their ass off to get it ready. It looked pretty good, considering.

Oh, yeah. Because of what he did go through this winter, his showing up a little bit late, but showing up in the right frame of mind, is OK with me. We rely on him...

It was kind of appropriate. He had a real tough first month, but since the weather’s warmed up, he’s been about a .320 hitter. His bat has become so alive. He’s lined out about six...

David’s had a tough spring. That doesn’t mean he’s going to have a tough season. You look at him coming off the mound; it’s human nature to kind of second guess yourself a little bit....

From this point out, I think we’ll be doing it on an individual basis. I mean, we’ve already talked to a few guys. They’re going to stay in camp. How they do the paperwork, I...

I think he’s better prepared mentally and physically to not let that happen. I think he’s got his off-the-field issues pretty well behind him, and his knees, for the most part, feel better. So I...

The prognosis is very good. I think four months is when he’s allowed to start throwing, give or take. That’s the basic diagnosis. I think he’s very optimistic about being able to pitch again like...

Yeah, we talked about it afterward. Early in the game, if he had to do it over again, take the double play, give them the run, clean the bases and go from there.

I’m not interested in making the Damon-Crisp comparison because I don’t think it’s really pertinent or fair. This kid’s at a different time in his career. … We’re going to see probably the best years...

I don’t take any pleasure in sending people down. It’s the way they earn their living. But I try to do it very honestly. I do sit home the night before and definitely think about...

The stage isn’t too big.

When your starter gives you seven, it certainly makes your options a lot better. You don’t have to ask guys to do more than they’re supposed to. Your chances to win are certainly a lot...

His first outing, he faced four guys and didn’t get anybody out.

I’ll watch him throw, and if we think he’s doing great, then we’ll put him back in there. We’re just trying to factor in us winning and getting him back to throwing with confidence.

That’s why we took Trot and Manny out. If you’re gonna lose, rather than have them chase balls down all afternoon, try to come out [Sunday] and give a good effort and salvage something out...

He was a little more patient. He swung at some pitches in the strike zone. He?s a strong young man. The ball comes off his bat really well.

I wouldn’t trade it for the world. Trying to be a little bit better than somebody else at what you love is a great feeling.

We’re really pleased. They catch the ball. The offense, we’ll see. There have been ups and downs with both of them. If we can get in the middle with both of them, that’s probably what...

The doctor said he could see a fly on that wall. In other words, he’s got unbelievable vision.

If we’re talking about their pitching next week, then I’m probably not going to be smiling.

That’s hard not to get chills when that stuff is happening. That’s about as electric as you’ll see it.

I don’t know yet. It’s not good to get banged up. But I think we all view it as, ‘We’re the Red Sox, we’re going to do it together.’ And that’s how we approach it....

It means we have one of the most dangerous hitters in the game hitting back-to-back with David [Ortiz]. When Manny gets hot, he’s not going to hit singles. We hope he hits a bunch of...

When you don?t locate your pitches, major league hitters find a way of making you pay for it. I thought (Schilling) misfired a few times, especially in those first two innings, and that really hurt.

I’ve talked to him two or three times. I know he’s really enjoying himself, [so] whatever those guys need. If they feel the need to get right back in there, we’ll do it. If they...

The report was as good as it could be. Structurally there is no damage. I think he bruised that area. He’s got some swelling.

[Boston scored only eight runs in the three games against the A’s and a total of 24 runs in their last eight. Jason Varitek’s slump is at 4-for-41 and Damon’s at 5-for-26.] I don’t think...

Don’t get me wrong: These people love the Patriots. But they wake up and want to know what happened to the Red Sox. I mean, they really care. It’s unbelievable. I’ve never seen anything like...

I think he was frustrated, but he understood. He wants to get deep into the game.

He hit two lasers, and that’s a good sign.

It’ll be interesting to see how long that lasts. My bet is it doesn’t last too long. If we’re worried about Manny hitting, the world’s good.

Yeah, that was much-needed. We started getting the runs and spread the game out. He got in deep enough in the game where we didn’t have to overextend somebody. It ends up being a great...

I think he misses enough bats. I don’t think that this is going to be an issue. Is his ERA going to be higher? Well, I’ll bet you just about everybody’s probably is. There’s a...

I don’t think he feels like he’s 20 years old anymore. But I don’t think that’s why he left pitches over the plate.

A big goal of mine is I need to get back and get healthy so I could do my job, … I think physically, I felt like I got run over by a truck the...