28 Quotes by Ben Cherington

We believe physically he is doing pretty well. He had his knee cleaned out after the season and he's been in Phoenix rehabbing and working out. We've been in touch with him. The mental part is harder to answer. Obviously, he struggled last year. It's important to remember that he struggled at another point of his career and bounced back and had a string of success and had dominant years as a closer after he struggled. He's done that before and we're optimistic he can do it again.

The word prospect means absolutely nothing to us. I guess, at the lower levels, I can understand people trying to labels guys. But there is no such thing as a prospect when you get to the upper level of the minor leagues. You either play well or you don't. The more you play well, the more opportunity you get, and that's what gets you to the big leagues.

It's a challenge because we all love winning. We're trying to find the balance between doing something that will make us happy today but could hurt us in the future. It's not necessarily true that making a move to help the team this season won't benefit us later.

It's good for them (young players) to see that.

David had a strong finish to 2005 and made a good impression in big-league camp. We simply believe that there are still things for him to accomplish at the Double-A level. . . . He's got a very bright future.

In the long run, I don't think (being called up last year) will hurt him. Did it have a short-term impact? I'm sure it did to some degree. But he's got incredible makeup, toughness. He's going to be a good major-league pitcher.

For Murphy and Moss, there is no specific adjustment that we are looking for. More ABs against good competition will hasten their development. For Delgado, this is an opportunity to have him pitch in a more controlled environment than he would with a team in Venezuela, and gets him under our supervision.

A lot can happen in 3 1/2 months. We've got a lot of holes to fill, and there's a lot of ways to fill it.

All I can say is we're actively looking for a center fielder.