The Cubs have played us so tough all year, ... We had (Greg) Maddux going against us so we knew it would be a hellacious ballgame and it was.

That would be unique. You play the schedule, however it works. They've played us very well, so I'm not going to go in there and expect anything but another tough series.

It was his first time, and he's been so critical for us. That was a really memorable moment right there. He made a little speech, and that's a keeper. It's an extra-special day.

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'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 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.