He's the best hitter in the league that nobody knows about.

He's the best hitter in the league that nobody knows about, from my perspective. He's starting to get talked about more, but he's a real good hitter.

If you watch the game, you know why. He's the best defensive catcher we have had here. Defensively, he is a playmaker . . .

It's not something we drew up in the dirt. Our best chance was to put him on.

With respect to the privacy of himself and his family, I'm not going to make any comment on his condition, other than the fact we believe it's in his best interest to put him on the disabled list. The doctors acquired all the information they needed.

We weren't at our best offensively. Batista didn't make it any easier on us.

He didn't crack. It was a good outing for him, not having his best stuff and the conditions as they were with the wind, and to keep making pitches through the four innings and put zeros on the board, it was a good outing.

We've got to play and win games. That's the best answer to all the baggage that any group will carry here that plays in Colorado from the previous records. This group has an opportunity to define itself and separate themselves from some of that baggage.

He understands the mentality of why we use him in the ninth in close ballgames because he's the best pitcher we have available out there,

I've had a number of people come up to me this spring, unsolicited, and tell me that he's the best defensive catcher in the National League.

His counts got cleaner. He started with an inconsistent command, behind in counts. He got better as the game went on. There's better there, but that's winning without your best stuff early and then tightening up as you go along.

His demeanor, his rhythm, the pace of game -- all of that is what you expect and what you need from your No. 1 starter. That's something he can bring every night, whether his best stuff's with him or not.

He didn't have his best stuff tonight. His command wasn't nearly what it has been in the past. He had a four-run cushion, wasn't really able to capitalize on it. But he still left the game with a lead, so it wasn't a lost effort by any means. He battled.

I'm just going to keep pushing and try and be the best of version that I can be of me.

If you are not fighting and not training, it does have an effect on you no matter who you are.

I treat every camp the same. Every fight since my debut has always been a must-win.

I'm too professional, too much of a perfectionist to take my eye off the ball.

I concentrate on myself and make sure the best version of me turns up, and if that's the case, I believe I beat anyone in the world.

Number one is somewhere I always believed I would be.

It's never been Badou Jack or James DeGale that I want to fight, it's the World title that I want; it doesn't matter to me who it is.

I'm a big believer that, if you're good enough, then why wait around fighting a load of journeymen for a few years? If you're good enough, then step up.

I want to see how good I am, and the only way to do that is to fight the best in the division.

When I was about 17 I was on the G.B. squad and that's where I wanted to be. I went to the Commonwealth Games and got silver there, but the three years I was on the team it was London-this, London-that. It was all preparation for the Olympics.

Everyone aims to get close to me and I've got to learn how to be able to cope, and that's what we work on all the time.