Gerald [Perry] likes the guy's stroke. He's a bright guy and knows a lot about the game.

I think he realizes what they are doing. I talked to [hitting coach] Gerald Perry and he thinks he's starting to come around. But I just thought it was good to give him the day off.

I've got to get him a game sometime. We can't have total rust.

They were going to win a game sooner or later. They've got some equipment out there in the bullpen, guys throwing in the high 90s.

The nice thing about him is if there's a tie game in the eighth inning, I can pinch-run him and only use one guy.

We can make sure to get him game ready hitting-wise. He went through minimal rehab when he came back last year and hit 12 home runs in 100 at bats. I take that as an indicator he'll be fine.