It is important to use the bench and take advantage of the impact those players can make. We have laid solid foundations and it is now about growing as a team. We need to be able to play the game in three or four different ways.

Sometimes your bench players are your most important players.

If the guys on the bench were as good as the guys you have out there, they'd be out there in first place.

They've got [Alfonso] Soriano and [Luis] Castillo. I wouldn't be playing. I don't want to sit on the bench. I'll go to spring training and get ready for the season.

You have to have energy off the bench. That's an area we can get an advantage, so our reserves have to bring energy to the floor.

I've been a starter in this league a long time. I've come off the bench some years, too. I've been effective at both. So for me to step in in the absence of somebody and start and be effective, that shouldn't be a surprise to no one.