the thing sat up and hissed at us, with those nasty teeth showing. We had guys running out of its way.

A good game for us, although I was worried about Eddie [Guardado] in the ninth, he was out of sync so much. Not only did we get key hits late, but we had real good pitching and got key outs when we needed.

Willie certainly has been a sparkplug for us. He's done a good job for us, and after we gave him a chance [to play everyday], he has really shined.

He's come a long way since he first came to us in the trade [from the Chicago White Sox]. His stroke and plate coverage are much better.

It starts with him in the middle, particularly in the running game. He's a hammer for us and we needed that.

I think about all those meters running in that training room and the amount of revenue that represents to us.