Every year, there's going to be someone who's going to be a thorn in your side. This year, it's the Devil Rays. You look at their record lately, and it's not too shabby. They've always had talented people.

That's been a thorn in our side all year. We have to keep working on it. It's a mental thing. We're lucky that didn't bite us tonight.

To win the division, I was very proud of that, ... But on the other side of the coin, what enabled us to win the division just ran us dry at the end. We had to play every guy, every day, and we needed to win every single game.

I don't want to say he got used to it, but I think he understood this year, with his reduced role, that this is what he should be concentrating on. That doesn't mean he's not valuable.

You went from semi-hating him to appreciating him when you realized the sensitive side to him.

Earlier this year against this club, he played well. It's something that I think was important for him to do after last year. Right now, I think with all of the criticism he's gotten, that's pretty much behind him. He's certainly a big-game guy.