It was a very tough decision. Probably for about five or six days I went back and forth a lot, talking to people. With Dave Dombrowski and Jim, we won a World Series and I had a relationship with both of them. That made it tough, but in the end my obligation was more important.

I talked to a few of them. They didn't want to get involved and try to sway my decision. What they've said is they wanted me to do what was best for me and not to worry about anything else.

We won't let him go days without throwing. It's important for him not to lose ground. I don't like guys in the middle of an arm rehab not be able to throw if they're healthy, because I think it can set him back. We'll make sure to exercise the arm while he strengthens the knee. If it all goes well, he should be long tossing and continuing the program fairly quickly.

He's a young guy. It's like Billy Martin said -- if you tell him 10 times, tell him 11. Hopefully, that's the one that catches. He's gotten better and better at a lot of things. Obviously, there's room for improvement in concentration and not getting distracted by things. That's something we'll keep striving for. A lot of pitchers face that. Hopefully, we'll get through that.

He's going through treatment. We'll see how he reacts in the next couple days and then draw up [a program].

Woody knows what I'm going to say to him before I do. It's been repeated enough and he's attentive enough.