(Sunday) I did not see Oliver pitching. I saw him just throwing and relying on stuff. If you do that and you fall behind in the count, you're not going to have much success.

It's not about the velocity. What impressed me was the movement Oliver had with his fastball in the hitting zone. He pitched great. He pitched like the ace of a staff.

He may not have seen live pitching, but he's the type of guy who wouldn't take long to resurrect his hand-eye coordination. I don't think he hit 700-and-something home runs by accident. I think you would have to be aware of him.

His (left) elbow is lower than it should be and he's not pitching like he's coming off a slope. At times, his arm was where it was supposed to be ... but his inconsistency with his arm slot is what leads him to throwing pitches that no major-league hitter would swing at.

He (Woolf) can be dominant when he's throwing like that. When he's pitching well, he's the guy that we saw tonight.

Are Oliver Perez and Kip Wells important pieces as far as cogs in the wheel are concerned? Sure, they are. But I don't like any of my players -- and I go back to having Gary Sheffield , Kevin Brown , Shawn Green -- coming to work and feeling like, 'Hey, if I don't do it, then we as a group can't get it done.' This will be my sixth year as a manager, and that won't change. I believe you'll get more from the individual if he feels like he's a part of something and can, from that point, just relax and be who they're capable of being.