That was his game to determine. It was his baseball game at that point. You have to give him the opportunity to finish it.

We had our chances to win that game, but it boils down, night after night, to the kind of game we had, and I say the same thing. We needed a situational at-bat to tie the game, then a two-out hit would put us ahead.

We had opportunities for this game to be different than it was. We let it get away from us and that happened in the top of the first inning.

We got the three runs in that inning and we didn't do anything else. That's our offensive game tonight.

We're not quitting, that's for sure. We've been in every single game and we've had a chance to win every single game.

When the first pitch of the game gets thrown, we've got four games to try to win. I'm certainly interested in doing that now that I am sitting in this office.

We were pitched to death. It's the best game that's been pitched against us all year.

Each and every time we creep back into the game, it's followed up by additional runs by the other side of the field. And when you're trying to play catch up, and it continues to go further and further away from you, you're trying to get back in the game three or four times a game that's tough to do.

Each time we creep back into the game, it's followed up by additional runs from the other side of the field. When you're trying to get back into a game three or four times a day, that's tough to do.

I started to fall in love with the game of baseball when my dad gave me my first set of baseball cards, ... I kept the ones I recognized. The guys I didn't were the ones I put in the spokes of my bicycle with clothes pins.

Think about the ... significance of ... how many at-bats he takes this year with men on base because the guy (Casey) hitting in front of him is going to be on base. There's going to be a number of times that he's going to come up to the plate with people on base and have the opportunity to either extend the inning, put a game away or extend leads. All those possibilities will be there.

I've never seen Curt Schilling go out and start a game with the intention of hurting people. But if you start hitting people in the head... you need to be very careful of that.

Sometimes it takes one at-bat in one game for the light to go on. You can accomplish a lot by doing what we were doing with Duffy today.

Offensively, we did some great things. To get back in the game in the manner in which we did took some great at-bats.

That's his game to determine at that point. You take him out of the game like that there, you bring in the bullpen and a mistake is made, a ball gets hit in the gap, and he's the pitcher of record in the losing decision, and he got to watch it on the other side of the dugout. I don't handle pitching that way.

As small an aspect of the game as bunting might appear to be to a lot of people, it's really important to me. The complexion of a game can change because you have the ability to advance a runner 90 feet. It's huge.

It's a tough game to lose after the manner in which we came back. One of the first things to stave off on the road is a leadoff walk in the bottom of the ninth. More often than not, it comes back to haunt you, and it did.

It's a tough game to lose after the manner in which we came back.

It's going to be just another game to those guys because they've been given at-bats. That's why they've been given at-bats, so that in a situation like this, they're ready and not rusty.

It was a great game. We did everything we could to win the game to avoid being swept.

That's a tough game to lose, and obviously we're being tested early.

I know he wants to retire from the game knowing he did it physically competing at the end, ... You have to admire that.

He's the consummate professional. He plays the game only one way and that's to win. I really think the fans in Pittsburgh are going to love this guy. He's their type of player.

The kid has the pitches to be very good. This was definitely a game for him to build on.

You want this whole environment to be fun for them. You want the game of baseball to be fun. You can have fun and also be involved in a businesslike manner and continue to utilize the techniques that we have been talking about over the course of these four days. You can get something done and have people going into the clubhouse with a good feeling about themselves.

The ebb and flow of the game was how you'd like to see it.

Let me be very clear. When the decision was made that there would be no type of extension offer, I felt very strongly that it was time to move on. In the midst of (a conference call with reporters), the phone at the other end of my house rang and a message was left. Please call.

If this kid maintains the same type of mentality and approach that he possesses right now, it's a matter of time before you start strongly talking about the fact that he is a candidate to come here and start a Major League game. I look at this guy as being a very good starting pitcher some day.

I don't know that we'd be asking that same question ... he had a start in Milwaukee that was awfully good. He had a tough time today.

He had a tough time today, but that happens. You have to keep in mind that he's only 22 years old. He isn't going to be great every time out. I thought his mechanics were off a little bit.

I thought he had a very good workout. ... I think it's a good one to build on. His next time out, you get him out there a little bit further, he's set up to go for Opening Day.

That's the plan right now. But until we see how the leg responds in game-type situations, there is nothing that is completely certain. But there has to be a plan. And for the time being, that is the plan.

Wilson has got a lot on his mind, and he's trying to sort through a lot of difficult things. He's got to mentally take some time and sort some things out.

We have two kids there. Both are very competent kids -- smart enough to understand what we're talking about -- and they will figure it out. We've got to find opportunities for both of them. We'll take it a day at a time and go from there. As I've said all along, with these two guys on the club, I don't want to see either one of them sit for too long a time and not participate. It's advantageous to both of them to do it that way.

We've got to find opportunities for them. I don't want to see either of them sit for any period of time and not participate. We can't let these guys sit for days on end and then ask them to do something special in the seventh or eighth inning.

Exposure is the best teacher, ... It doesn't always work out the way you want it to, but with time and exposure, they grow.

There does come a point in time where reality sets in.

Every time he comes up in a situational at-bat, the job gets done.

Each and every time we creep back into the game, it's followed up by additional runs by the other side of the field. And when you're trying to play catch up, and it continues to go further and further away from you, you're trying to get back in the game three or four times a game that's tough to do.

Each time we creep back into the game, it's followed up by additional runs from the other side of the field. When you're trying to get back into a game three or four times a day, that's tough to do.

Is he a candidate to have an opportunity to make the club? I don't know the answer to that. We'll take it a day at a time and see how he progresses from a health standpoint. If he comes along quicker, that obviously creates more options for us.

At some point in time you always face a little adversity. The good clubs overcome things like this.

Zach's doing what he needs to do to get his work done. It takes time -- that's all part of spring training.

This is about the time to get him going.

This is about the time he should get started. You're not looking for this guy to be out there for two- and three-inning stints. It's completely unnecessary to do that with him.

It's been suggested to J.D. for the time being to back off as far as swinging the bat. Am I saying we will not see him for the rest of the year? I'm not saying that.

Derek Lowe, for the fourth time in a row, was phenomenal, ... Not good. Not great. Phenomenal. ... I can't say enough good things about Derek Lowe the last four times he's pitched. Unbelievable.

Derek Lowe, for the fourth time in a row, was just phenomenal. Not good, not great, phenomenal.

It's important for Duffy to find a way to reach first base without getting a hit every time he's up.

Not all of our starters are 22 years old, but we do have four of them that are 24 or less. We have to allow a little bit of time to allow these guys to have the opportunity to stabilize themselves.