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.

I've always felt that honesty is the best way to go. These guys aren't kids anymore. They are men. Sometimes you tell people some things, and they don't want to hear it. We've all been in that position. Deal with it. Here's what it is.

No question in my mind. You are talking about people who have great baseball minds and are tireless workers.

That's how people learn. That's our responsibility to make sure those things are taken care of.

There were periods like that a couple years ago where people might have thought the same thing, and he bounces back,

I like challenges. I like it when people say, 'You don't have a chance to succeed there.'

I'm certainly not the least bit shy or afraid of having young people out there competing,

I'm anxious, but I'm anxious everyday. I want to see this group of people perform.

If you have them, great. If not, there are people in every clubhouse in baseball that every player in the room identifies with. I don't think that he necessarily needs a 'C' on his shoulder or anything like that.

But if you start hitting people in the head, you got to be very careful.

Challenges are something that I like very, very much, ... I like hearing people say or maybe think that this is a situation you don't have a chance to succeed in, I'm very challenged by that.

I don't think Curt Schilling was out there to hurt people. Period. When you start hitting people in the head, you need to be very careful with that.

I am a big believer in the fact that stuff gets people out, not what looks cosmetically correct. Stuff is what gets major league hitters out.

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 challenge is something I like very much, ... I take a lot of pride in people saying this is a situation where you don't have a chance to succeed. I'm really challenged by that.

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.

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.

He has handled the situation very professionally and he's made a big fan out of me because of that. It's great to have a player like him on the bench that you can put into the lineup and the other team knows he's a significant factor to contend with.

He got out of his game. He got out of what helped to get him off to a great start. I saw a much longer swing in Houston. I saw a very short wall in left field and I saw somebody that was trying to reach it way too often.

He makes everyone around him better. It's not going to take him months to resurrect that great hand-eye coordination. It's safe to say he's a weapon depending on where he's at with his rehab situation.

We took great at-bats tonight. We hit four home runs. And the beautiful part of it was the run that we scored to go ahead was something that we worked at very hard in Spring Training.

He's a great athlete and a heck of a baseball player. You've got to like his future.

He's done a great job and he's really shown me he has a chance to be a very special player. He's a tremendous talent.

He's a clubhouse leader, great for young players to be around, knows how to play the game, accepts his role willingly and does it as well as any of the other top flight guys that come off benches and play, that you can think of. What's there not to like about this guy?

I thought they both did a great job (Saturday). They did exactly what you wanted to see and what they would have wanted to do.

I thought they both did a great job. I thought they both did exactly what you wanted to see. ... Both guys passed today.

I think everyone knows Ryan has a great arm. I think we owe it to ourselves to find out if he can help us a starting pitcher.

I think he has a chance be a terrific offensive player. But part of becoming a great offensive player is having a full understanding of the strike zone and understand what pitchers try to do to him in certain situations. The only way you get to that point is you keep carrying the bat to the plate.

We need some starts where we get seven or eight innings, and it would be great if we could even get one at some point in which the guys in the bullpen wouldn't even have to pick up their gloves one day.

Webb made great pitches. He was throwing curveballs and changeups for strikes.

This whole weekend shows how great a sports town Pittsburgh is. The people here really care about these teams.

To summarize for you, both guys passed (Saturday). It doesn't make any decision over the next few days any easier. But that's what you hope for. When you're in a position where you have to make choices like this, they're not easy. It's a great problem to have.

There's no closer in baseball that's perfect, though we lost one (Gagne) who's as close to being one as there is. Brazoban has done a great job.

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

No question in my mind. You are talking about people who have great baseball minds and are tireless workers.

As a two-hole hitter, this guy has the capability for doing great things for us offensively.

It's great to get him back in camp with us. I saw a guy on TV who really liked the arena that he was in.

It was a great workout. We got a lot done today and we accomplished a lot of things.

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

I'm not saying things would have necessarily been different if Sean was in the lineup but I think it would have helped to have a hitter who combined to strike out less 100 times over the last two seasons up in the situation. You need to make contact with a man on second and none out, and I think Sean would have given us a great chance of doing that.

The great thing about Roberto Hernandez is he understands the concept of what we're trying to implement here. Stay within the framework of what's being drawn up to create that continuity.

Back in May, when the Padres went something like 22-6, they had a chance to slam the door, throw the lock around the handle and close it off for everybody else. And it didn't happen. So it's not a matter of anybody putting on any type of serious charge thus far, it's a matter of teams just winning some games here and there.

It remains to be seen how this will affect us. Based on last night, not at all. But that's one game. We have 37 more games to be played. And it's not just the results, but how we go about it. Do we play with enthusiasm, with intensity, with passion?

This is a guy that as we go along you're going to find him pitching a lot of very meaningful games, games of major significance. That's who he is. That's who he's going to become. That's going to be a very easy thing for him to do because he's a person who's not the least bit shy about wanting that type of responsibility.

I don't want Jason Bay to do anything other than be the player he's been here for the last two years.

He has handled the situation very professionally and he's made a big fan out of me because of that. It's great to have a player like him on the bench that you can put into the lineup and the other team knows he's a significant factor to contend with.

He's been terrific. He looks to me like a very good baseball player and a very good number two hitter.

He's going to get the ball in the ninth inning. We'll see how it goes. We've got a guy who is a complete novice in that environment. But what I see is a player that an opportunity has been created for him and he's seizing the opportunity.

I think he has a chance be a terrific offensive player. But part of becoming a great offensive player is having a full understanding of the strike zone and understand what pitchers try to do to him in certain situations. The only way you get to that point is you keep carrying the bat to the plate.

You better believe he's having a terrific spring. He has a chance to be a real player at the major-league level.