I think (if) Thome stays healthy, he's going to help this team. Besides that, he's a great guy in the clubhouse.

Vlad is a quiet guy around people he doesn't know. Besides being his coach, I was his interpreter and I was helping him off the field, and we pretty much hung around a lot when we were playing. I think Vlad got a lot of sense of humor and he's just shy around people.

Besides the rings, it was the only exciting thing.

Besides that, we've got a Plan B. We're always prepared, just in case he couldn't make it. But that's pretty good news.