Jim Hickey Quotations

There are some guys down there I have no idea about. They lived in small homes that weren't all that sturdy to begin with. I haven't seen much about Grand Isle on television. I would imagine it's not even there, but I don't know.

He makes my job a lot easier. He's very in-tune with what guys should be doing and he's very good at seeing it. A lot of times, he'll correct the problem and get him back on the right track.

He came out of it feeling good, and he'll get a day off and do it again. It was just what he was supposed to do. He was nice and long in his delivery, which was good. He wasn't short. He wasn't cheating.

We've been through so much already, it feels like a speed bump right now,

What we've seen out of Carlos has been very encouraging. I hate to see somebody who's not a relief pitcher be gone 14 to 17 or 18 days. But if gets some innings and he's impressive, we'll be really aware of what he does.

He's fine. It's not an issue. I checked with him and Dave (Labossiere, the trainer). He was in no pain. He was just tight. He had a hard time getting loose.

He did a very good job of sticking with what works.

I wouldn't be surprised at all if he starts,

It could happen, ... But I don't think that's what's going to happen. But things change real quick, especially if you find yourself in a hole. But I just don't think that would happen. It's not very probable right now.

I think it's the most important decision we have left. It's a golden opportunity these next couple of weeks.

I was worried that he wouldn't even make it through three innings.

We're trying to get those guys that are part of the (World Baseball Classic) out of here early, so we do it in order of seniority and hierarchy, and Wheels is a senior member of the club.

We got some kids in the bullpen some good work in a tough situation. Maybe that will pay off down the road.

Andy is ready to do anything that will get us to the promised land, ... I know what Andy's history is in the postseason and I'd feel very comfortable sending him out there.

They all kind of wallowed around there for a little bit. But I think they all understand there's only two or three starts left and they've got the opportunity of a lifetime.

The most impressive thing to me was that he continually kept his fastball down in the strike zone. He had a nice downhill plane and kept the ball down in the strike zone.

That, to me, speaks louder than the fact that he got roughed up in the first inning -- that he was able to put it behind him. He was able to get six outs on 14 pitches.

There's absolutely room for somebody to show something. Up until these last couple of outings, the door is open.

It's fair to say he's not prototypical (as a setup man), but when you talk about eighth-inning guys I can't hardly imagine a better one. When (closer Brad) Lidge was down (in July) and he was the last man, he did the exact same thing he had always done.

It's a chance to say 'thank you' and provide a unique experience.

It's the first time he's pitched this long into the season. He's close to 200 innings. It's nothing really unusual. Since the start in Chicago, he's been fine. He's ready to roll. He's done pretty good, considering he was pitching in Double-A last year.

It's simple. Wheeler's got more time in the big leagues. He's got seniority. We do it by the hierarchy, and Wheeler's the senior member of the club.

Once he first tweaked it, it was a two-or-three-start kind of thing, ... Then he started to get some other aches and pains, to some extent because he was trying to compensate for the hamstring. But I really thought he was past it. He was able to make two or three starts before this with no effects at all.

That might as well have been 100 years ago. I have no concerns whatsoever that this will have any effect on Brad at all, other than a positive one. It'll make him even better, make him even stronger. He's so strong mentally, he'll use it to his advantage.

I really thought we were past it and I think he thought so, too. It actually surprised me yesterday.

He told me he was plenty willing to go back out there, to eat up some innings to help the bullpen. But I wouldn't call it an argument. We've run into situations like this before and he's argued a lot more vehemently.