Everybody says, 'Play the kids, play the kids.' But I've got seven games against Houston. Against Houston, I've got to play my best team. We could have a direct impact on who goes. There's always something to play for.

Every time I think about giving him an off-day, he hits two or three home runs. Maybe I'll start thinking about that off-day. You don't want to give him time off against the Cardinals.

We knew what we were getting with Juan. We've seen him do it so much against us. We did it a couple of times last year. I keep pointing out that you have to have the personnel to do something like that.

We're going through a real tough stretch now. We've got to find a way against two tough pitchers the next couple of days to try and get out of this.

It's very intense. It's probably intensified more since Tony and I came here. When you play 18 times against a team that's had a long-time rivalry, and my former manager and my former confidant, that just increases things.

We were a lot closer before I got here. When you play 18 times against teams that have been long-time rivalries, and then it's against my former manager and my confidant before I came here, it increases things.

So it can?t be good. There?s no way it can be good. It?s not good for our country. It?s not good for the game. It?s not good for your system, and it?s certainly not good for these kids. I?m definitely against them.

I can remind Carlos all I want. But when you get out there against Cuba or whoever and start banging it around ... I think he'll forget exactly what I told him. That's how your competitive juices flow. If you know Carlos, when was the last time you saw Carlos take it easy?

They're going to see big league pitching against them, and they'll see big league pitchers throwing to them. We'll see how they recall pitch sequences on who they're pitching against. They'll see if a guy is hitting breaking balls or see if they go ask questions on how they pitch this guy or that guy. Does a guy hit this -- what are his strengths or weaknesses. They have to pay attention because they're big in this equation.