If you try to give them a scheme, most hitters will rebel.

[Carpenter is] really going after hitters, and ... getting in situations and making pitches and staying away from the big damage. I mean, that's what he's been doing consistently.

There are always distractions, if you allow them.

I think there's a growing number of pitchers who want to have a plan going into a game about how they're going to go after that lineup. I'd say 75 percent want to have an idea, and they plan their attack. I know that 75 percent of hitters do not have that same type of plan against a pitcher.

When you don't have the deepest pockets, you better have the best scouting and development.

I think the guys that get to the All-Star Game deserve a lot of credit. They deserve their opportunity to get out there and let the baseball fandom see them.