Barry Bonds was like Joe Namath or Muhammad Ali. He could make a statement and go out and back it up. Not a lot of guys can do that. In fact, managers usually cringe when guys make statements about what they're going to do. In Barry's case, I liked it. I think he did it on purpose to motivate himself. In a lot of ways, it's easy for Barry. I think he needs a little controversy around him.

When it’s time, it’s time … and it’s time.

I've managed 25 years, and I can probably count on one hand players that I didn't really care for, and that's probably thousands of players that I've managed. I think that's pretty good. I love the players and I always will.

We need our veterans to set an example, like being the first ones there. A veteran is entitled to a bigger paycheck, but not a special set of rules.

I knew we were in for a long season when we lined up for the national anthem on opening day and one of my players said, 'Every time I hear that song I have a bad game.'

We need to have preparation to win. A disciplined team will win more close games over a period of time.

My eight years in Detroit, obviously, were my most successful years managing. I think that Pittsburgh and Detroit are probably very, very similar. We kinda rekindled the fire of baseball in Pittsburgh. We did the exact same thing in Detroit.