He came in after the second inning and jokingly said to me, 'Well, at least I haven't thrown many pitches,' ... I told him, 'As hard as you've had to work, they only have two runs on the board. We're still right there. Go out and start over.'

He throws in the mid-90s. But we haven't seen him put up the numbers he did last night.

I didn't talk to him when he signed. But it's going to take some finagling and creativity.

In 2001, I was the pitching coach at Buffalo, and had to miss a game to come back to Minnesota for the 10-year reunion of that 1991 Twins team. I felt guilty being away from Buffalo, but Kirby was nice enough to sign 28 baseballs for me, to take back to all the players at Buffalo. Kirby was always a guy who was willing to give. He made people happy, and he's definitely going to be missed.

The thing I remember most is Game 6 of the 1991 World Series (against the Atlanta Braves). Kirby came into the clubhouse before the game and said, 'Jump on this bus; I'll drive you.' He went out and hit a home run to win the game.

The biggest thing, ... is Kevin always knows what he wants to do. Sometimes pitchers will get in those situations and feel that they got into trouble because what they were doing wasn't working, so they try something else. Kevin is really good at staying with his plan and just turning it up a notch.

Everyone says good pitching beats good hitting. That's what we're trying to do.

It's surprising to see how good a feel he has for his changeup. He has a great idea of what he wants to do. He can simulate facing a hitter very well.

Anyone can get people out when they are throwing the ball right where they want to, ... But that doesn't happen all the time. It's getting guys out when you don't have your best stuff that is the test of a good pitcher. Kevin's level of competitiveness is such that it allows him to step it up. I always feel good when he's out there. He may get into some jams, but he knows how to get out of them.

Tell me the youngest person you have ever seen play this game.