We're not 10 games back. We're a half-game back. We've been in first place or fighting for first place all year long. This is not season-ending by any means. |
We're playing well in all phases of the game and hitting September where we want to be, with a chance to go to the playoffs. We have a lot of confidence. |
We're pretty beat up and banged up. We've been going quite a bit. I'm sure the guys are going to relish a day off. Hopefully heal up and cool down mentally. |
We're pretty beat up and banged. I'm sure the guys are going to relish the day off. It means a lot. |
Well, after I talked to [U.S. manager] Buck Martinez, I've got to be able to make this team first. Like you said, it's a Who's Who. There's quite a few big names there. I may have to really try to work hard to carve out my own spot. |
What happened to us happens to every champion. We've seen it in basketball. We've seen it in football. We've seen it in boxing. You see it in every sport. Every champion tends to not necessarily relax, but I think maybe you win and you feel like you can take a deep breath. |
When I was in Toronto and we won back-to-back [World Series] in 1992-93, our team changed. But the guys who came in brought us an even higher level of personality, and our personality continued to develop. Change is part of baseball. It's part of any business. If you don't change, you're stagnant -- and that's not good. |
When you start this game you believe you're going to play forever. That's the reason you play this game, is because it becomes part of you. It's what you do. It's a gift from God. So, you use it to the best of your ability and do what you can with it and then whatever happens in the end, happens in the end. |
You never know what kind of product you have until you put it out on the field. |
You never want to sigh too hard, |
You never want to sigh too hard. It's going to be a tough two games. |