Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...

Florida manager John Boles had a quiet 45th birthday Monday at Wrigley Field: “I sat around and worried. It’s what most Irish Roman Catholics do.” . . . After seeing his 10-game winning streak end Wednesday in Colorado, St. Louis pitcher Andy Benes said, “If the ball (Andres) Galarraga hit back up the middle would have hit my forehead, it would have ricocheted out of the park.” . . . Mets manager Dallas Green said after a 12-11 loss to San Francisco: “I would say this epitomizes our year. You bang like heck to get back in the game. The bullpen does a good job, but can’t quite get it done. And we still battled back.” . . . Cards manager Tony La Russa, after a double play with the bases loaded allowed St. Louis to stop the Marlins 5-3 in the ninth. “It was like taking a 2,000-foot drop in an airplane where you spill your guts.” . . . More La Russa on the tight NL Central: “I’m as nauseous as I’ve ever been. I have a terrible headache. My head is pounding. I’m having trouble swallowing. And the beauty is, you want to feel like this every day.” . . . Ole! Padres CEO Larry Lucchino said of their three-game series with the Mets in Monterrey, Mexico: “A goal has been to redefine our market and this was a significant step. The finances involved were less important than planting our flag in Mexico.” . . . Atlanta’s Jerome Walton is tired of a five-month groin injury. “Something isn’t right,” he said. “They keep talking about a strain and I’m not believing that.”