7th inning stretch: Bill Mueller, Red Sox third baseman.

Q: You have played with Barry Bonds in San Francisco, Sammy Sosa in Chicago and Nomar Garciaparra in Boston. Who is the best of that group?

A: "It's hard to rank just one person because each guy offers a lot. Nomar offers so much to our team as a No. 3 hitter and (with) his defense. Barry hits homers and Sammy hits homers and plays pretty good defense. I don't think you can really put a number on how valuable they are to their teams, other than that if you took those guys off those teams, their teams obviously would not be as good.

"But I'm not awed at how great they are as baseball players. I'm privileged to be in the game of baseball. Those guys are good players but they're human beings, just like I am. They go about their business like everybody else."

Q: When you suffered a fractured kneecap at Busch Stadium trying to catch a foul ball in 2001, did you think your career might be in jeopardy?

A: "Not at all. I got an opportunity to get my legs back to full strength. That had been lacking for the last year-and-a-half, but when I got it back, then I'd be fine. You don't forget how to play the game just because of an injury."

Q: Did you make adjustments going to the American League after spending your career in the National League?

A: "It's an ongoing adjustment. There are still people out there that I haven't faced. And the pitchers are still trying to figure how to dissect me. In my good at-bats, I've been finding some holes, and (in) my bad at-bats, I've been getting away with (it). Playing in Fenway Park is interesting but I'm not adjusting my stroke at all because of that wall. If I could hit a ...