Twenty games is the magic figure for pitchers - .300 is the magic figures for batters. It pays off in salary and reputation. And those are the two things that keep a ballplayer in business.

The difference between winning nineteen games and winning twenty for a pitcher is bigger than anyone out of baseball realizes. It's the same for hitters - someone who hits .300 looks back on the guy who batted .295 and says 'tough luck buddy.

When I throw a ground ball, I expect it to be an out, maybe two.

A pitcher needs two pitches, one they're looking for and one to cross them up.

Pitchers are smart. They know they are much better off if they mix things up and keep you off-balance.

When a management with a reputation for brilliance tackles a business with a reputation for bad economics, it is the reputation of the business that remains intact.