"I think it was another tough in-state rival game, very similar to the one we had up in Tallahassee."

"Our players knew we wouldn't have a home game, and at this level you have to be ready to travel and win on the road."

"We came out a little flat but we hung in there, especially our defense in the second half. We may not be the most talented team, but we do hustle."

"I think they understand how important the game against Duke is if they want to achieve their goals, ... Duke is a very good football team, it's not like they offered any of our guys scholarships."

"There's a lot of guys on this team who could be captains. There's going to be far more leaders than two if we're going to be any good."

"The crowd did help us. We have a big Dominican community here. But I think the game was so good, the players weren't even paying attention to the fans. They were focused on the game."

"I can see why they are dominating international competition."

"I don't think that, with the level of competition of every team, you need to have your 'A' team out there for nine innings every day."

"We're anxious to face Cuba. We've never played them before in this type of competition."

"It was full of blood. He only had about 10 more pitches before he was done, so we made the change. We appreciate his effort."

"I think it's going to be a terrific atmosphere. The four teams here are going to have good baseball."

"I would start spring training a week earlier so the players would get five or six exhibition games in before starting."

"They always say the most important pitch in baseball is Strike 1. It's even more important now."

"If you're going to get hurt, you're going to get hurt, whether you're in spring training or the World Baseball Classic. But I want everybody to understand, we're not going out there only trying to win and forgetting about our players. We have a responsibility to the organizations that are allowing the players to play, and we're also going to try to get them ready for the regular season."

"There are no favorites in baseball. You can do it in basketball or hockey or any other sport, but in baseball there are no favorites. Our country expects a winning team and we are OK with that. We are going to go round-by-round, but we don't want to let our country down."

"I believe that part of what the World Classic did was remind people that baseball talent comes from all over the world. There are a lot of people playing this game."

"There's still a lot of baseball left in Sosa, he's only had one bad year and has a lot to offer the Dominican team."

"It's a short tournament and we have to stay humble about it. It's baseball and anything can happen. We feel very good about the group we got here. We actually have the group we wanted and they seem to have the special love to play for their country."

"I think everybody in baseball knew, even before the All-Star break last year, that we were going to play this Baseball Classic, and everybody that had the desire to play prepared themselves to play for this tournament. Yes, they didn't have 100 at-bats or whatever before this, but we got all the way to the seventh game. We played two rounds, the guys saw enough pitches, they had enough at-bats. There are no excuses."

"All they'll be playing for is to have a win in their last game and it just gives them something to look forward to next season,"

"They remind me of our Ohio State defense in 2002. Teams are not going to score on them. They don't give up big plays. They pressure the ball and force turnovers."

"I asked him about that. They wanted to make the commitment to play one or the other. I brought up the basketball issue, but there was no interest in doing that. Right now, from an academic point of view, he needs to concentrate on one sport."

"He has great eye-hand coordination. He's a big-body receiver who also played linebacker. He's just a great athlete, with great running ability after the catch. We're very, very excited to get him."

"This will be their first game in this type of environment. I'm sure they'll be a little wide-eyed, but hopefully we've learned our lesson in terms of young players and how they prepare."