On Oakland pitcher Dallas Braden:
“He’s pretty good, and really aggressive with the fastball.  He has a hard slider, a really good move to first base, controls the running game well.  I find him to be very competitive.  He’s a good young pitcher.”

On the “white out” planned for the post-game trip to Miami:
“I’ve already sprayed myself with Scotch Guard.  It’s something fun.  I was so challenged based on what we did last year with the Ed Hardy road trip and the ‘Express Yourself with a Hat’ road trip and all the different themes we had last year.  So you have to get into that topper mode, so I thought going to Miami, why not all white?  It promotes camaraderie.”

On bringing up David Price or Wade Davis, and the struggles of Scott Kazmir:
“We’ve been trying so many different things to help [Kazmir] out, whether it’s physical or conversational, drill work, it’s been very difficult.  When we feel David is ready, that’s when David will be here, and when we feel Davis is ready, that’s when Davis will be here.  It’s an ongoing discussion, but our main concern is getting Kaz right.”

On interleague play, which the Rays begin tomorrow against the Marlins:
“I’m not a big huge fan, but I’m not totally against it.  I thought it was an interesting concept, but [I’m not a big fan of] the fact that it causes us to play so many games within our division.  I would not be opposed to just playing our own league the whole year.”