It's just the environment that we're in right now. There's a lot of people who still don't want to believe that the program we have in place is a good program, and that it's going to work. They're just trying to find a way to shoot holes in it.

You can't tell me what we're doing right now is not working. The perception is, well, it's not. I don't deal in perception. I want to deal in reality. The reality of the matter is that the percentage of guys who are taking has gone way down.

Bobby Cox had the biggest influence in my career and probably the second- or third-biggest influence in my life.

I think everything comes together. I think it's me being more comfortable with what I am trying to do in terms of how I pitch, in using the curveball and stuff like that. It all brings the package together.

As much as you love to finish games and all that kind of stuff, at the same time as a starting pitcher you hate to come out of a game where your closer has no margin for error, ... So at least with one guy on, Braden's got a little margin to make a mistake.

It's just the environment that we're in right now. There's a lot of people who still don't want to believe that the program we have in place is a good program, and that it's going to work. They're just trying to find a way to shoot holes in it.

There is no second baseman in the game who can turn the double play better [than Mark Lemke]. Why are people always looking for offense at that position? What's more important is getting outs, and turning the double is a huge factor in getting outs.