The early signs say that he probably will be able to come back then; that's what it looks like. We're certainly hopeful of that. You don't even know for sure. The information I've gotten, to this point, I view as positive. There's nothing new in there and nothing that's torn.

He really changes the dimension of our infield. He is so steady. And the amazing about him that I only noticed when I got the chance to see him play every day is how well he does with the rockets hit right at him. Most players do not catch many of those; he seems to catch all of them. He's fearless.

He's got a body that looks different than most athlete's bodies, but he's more athletic than most athletes.

He's now completed about a year and a half of superb performances. For him to be knocking on the door at 20 wins really shouldn't surprise anyone.

He's not a guy we're trying to trade. If I wanted to, I probably could, but that is not something we're looking to do right now.

He told me that it would be O.K. to go north of what we had planned.

I really don't think we have what you would call a weakness. I'm confident we've got the talent to win our division. The one thing that all clubs are concerned about, in terms of wins or losses, is health.

In some ways it was a successful season, but we didn't get what we wanted,

I'm not opposed to longer-term deals, but both parties have to see eye-to-eye,

These two pitchers have really solidified our bullpen the last few years. They have continually responded to late-inning pressure situations.