The farmer doesn't care for the pitchers' battle that resolves itself into a checkers game. The farmer loves the dramatic, and slugging is more dramatic than even the cleverest pitching.

It's better to get a rosebud while you're alive than a whole bouquet after you're dead.

It's the same with pitching. You talk to Greg Maddux and I'm sure he has a game plan, but he also sometimes can feel when a guy is looking inside or if a guy is looking for something else or it depends on which pitch he takes and how he takes it. Some guys get it early, some guys get it late, some guys never get it.

I'm not even close to those guys, but I don't think anyone loves the game more than me.

This is what makes pitchers: get out there and battle. You've got to battle your way out of some jams, and he did that. Superb effort.

We were calling pitches to pitch around Ovens, but the pitchers weren't pitching it. It's that simple. We weren't calling for fastballs down the middle with base-runners on with the best hitter on their team standing there. They couldn't hit spots, and if you couldn't hit spots, he'll hit the ball.