We are looking to be an aggressive, competitive team.

I really didn't have to say too much. It was an unexpected loss, but we knew what we needed to do to take care of things, and we went out there and did it.

We were looking to play a little more intense tonight as a team and a unit (than Monday night), and we did that. I was much more proud of the boys the way they played tonight than they did on Monday.

From a neighbour, I got a one-day-old duckling and found, to my intense joy, that it transferred its following response to my person. At the same time, my interest became irreversibly fixated on water fowl, and I became an expert on their behaviour even as a child.

For me, baseball just brings up a lot of nostalgic, happy feelings because I enjoyed it as a kid, and I liked being out there playing in the sun, and it was a simpler time for all of us.

The bond with a true dog is as lasting as the ties of this earth will ever be.