«I think the market is probably going to be pretty fair. I don't know if there's an ace pitcher out there that's going to be available. But there are plenty of position players, and some No. 3 starters.»

«We would like to do something sooner rather than later, so we can get the maximum benefit. But, at this point, so many teams are still in it that they're not ready to part with players, to go down that road and go ahead with it. That's what the wild card has done. It's kept more teams in it.»

«Everybody is obviously open to be traded, or eligible to be traded,»

«When it became known that I was going to come up here and interview, a lot of friends from the Boston area and New England who grew up here and went to school here [called me], ... About half of them said, 'Good luck and go up there and do a good job.' The others said, 'What the [heck] are you thinking about?' So you have to keep that in perspective. You can only go out there and do the best job you can. And in this case, for me, I have a World Series ring as a player; I would love to have another one. This is one of the best opportunities in baseball to get there.»

«To be honest, I haven't always been a Red Sox fan, ... The first game I went to was when I was a player [with Yankees]. My dad hated to drive in Boston, so we never came down to see any games. And back then, there was usually only one game a week on TV, and it was usually the Cardinals. I can't tell you I'm a Red Sox fan through and through, but certainly I'm a guy who has admired what's gone on with the Red Sox.»

«There was a time when I would not have felt ready to take on this job, just based on my experience, ... There's more to this than just sitting down and taking over the position. There's a lot of things you have to work with as a leader of an organization.»

«I came in and we had a pretty good club when we got there, and our payroll was not going to keep pace with everyone else's, ... So we were given choices of letting guys become free agents or trading them at some point where you felt you could get some pretty decent players in return. It was a very tough decision. I remember calling [Martinez] the night I traded him.»

«I called the team last week, ... I had the opportunity to sit at home for a year and collect a paycheck and do something, but at the same time, I want to get out [and work]. I've been in baseball for a long time, and I want to go out and work and help the club win some ballgames.»

«After that, I'll be here until Bob tells me different.»

«I am just trying to get a sense of how things have operated, as well as get a sense of the talent, the players. In the minor leagues and major leagues - trying to find out how healthy guys are, are they looking to have better years, worst years, did they have career years ... just trying to get some sense of that so we can get an idea looking forward to the club this year.»