I've paid him a lot of compliments. He earned a lot of respect, with a lot of tough situations. There were injuries, they were forced to sell or trade guys like [Aramis] Ramirez. I thought he did a good job of keeping the club competitive every time we saw them.

I had started law school at Florida State University as a part-timer. I would go two quarters, and they allowed me to drop out to play baseball, and then I'd get readmitted in September. I was convinced I was going to be a lawyer and was using my baseball salary to pay my way through school.

I don't necessarily think you can separate the two, ... When you come into a game with a big lead, absolutely the worst thing you can do is to walk guys. That's the only time I'd yell from the dugout - whey they walked somebody. So when you get behind a hitter in that situation, it's more likely a ball catches too much plate.

We worked hard to get here. Our club has been so relentless, and we're in a great position. ... The club has been absolutely relentless, and as strong-minded as you can be. This club is mentally and physically very, very tough.

When you go against a guy like Greg Maddux or a Roger Clemens, I don't care if it's a regular season game, is a guy with that kind of command and if he starts getting an edge he pushes and pushes it so it's up to whoever the umpire is,

It's a really neat and special coincidence, but it's nothing but a coincidence. This wasn't set up to give Matt that honor. It's just the way it worked out. It's a neat extra.