Ozzie on Walker:
"A lot of people ask me about Greg Walker. If Greg Walker isn't doing what he's supposed to do, he's not going to be here. I want my coaches to work, work hard and help those guys. And Greg Walker is doing it. If you're going to blame it on Walk, they should because he's one guy to blame, but give some blame to the hitters, too. Give some blame because we have professional hitters. They've hit in the past, they know they can hit. They should have to take some responsibility also."
So, is Ozzie starting to put some of the blame in Walker?
Via Dave van Dyck, here's a baseball scout's opinion of the potential value of Jermaine in a trade:
"Dye has a lot of value and to some teams, a lot of value. He's a run producer and still a big-game player. He doesn't run real well anymore and his range has declined, but I believe he has a lot of skills left."
* Nowhere
* The Atmosphere
And look inside for how Ozzie will use Thome in NL parks and Jenks late in the game.
Ozzie, will you play Jimmy in the upcoming games in NL parks?
"We have to play (Thome) one game because, first of all, we don't have another first baseman, and we need to get him at-bats.
Aren't you worried he's going to aggravate his strained right rib that landed him on the disabled list earlier this season?
"one game isn't going to kill him"
Thome will probably start in Wednesday's game against the Phillies since the Sox are off the next day.
And Ozzie doesn't want to use Jenks for more than an inning:
"If we have a lead, we'll think about [having Jenks pitch two innings]. But Bobby has a history of elbow surgery. If I put him in for two or more innings, all of a sudden the elbow gives up because he's not used to that, then we don't have a guy for the ninth. Believe me, it's not just Bobby, not just Ozzie and not just us. It's baseball. I don't know for what reason, but [teams] can't get to the closer. Sometimes I have to bring two or three guys for just one inning. In the meantime, I want to win, but I have to save guys for the rest of the season, for the rest of careers."