Our record is pretty much toast, ... That's OK. Something tells me it will probably get broke again.

We definitely had the makings of a championship-caliber team — 1995, '96, '97, '98, all through there. Basically, until Lou left. We had the right personnel, the right mentality, the right manager. Unfortunately, we got a couple of division championship banners, which are great — at least we have some history now — but no World Series.

I think everyone knows he made a mistake. If he could have just stepped back and said, 'I tried to play hardball and it didn't work. This is where I want to be . . . greatest place in the world . . . love these fans . . . I started here, want to end here . . . sorry for all the miscommunication.'

That was the one time we choked. We felt the pressure like a knife. I'd never experienced pressure like that.

We definitely had the makings of a championship-caliber team — 1995, '96, '97, '98, all through there. Basically, until Lou left. We had the right personnel, the right mentality, the right manager. Unfortunately, we got a couple of division championship banners, which are great — at least we have some history now — but no World Series.

You don't get that many opportunities, as we're finding out now,