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Clubhouse reaction

Red Sox manager Terry Francona:

“There are still things to play for. This was a very big accomplishment for the organization and for the city. We need this to just be the beginning, but it’s also a big accomplishment.”

GM Theo Epstein:

“Our players really wanted this. We felt like we were the best team in the division, and it was good to go out and get it. I’m happy for our fans, because they deserve this, too, they waited a long time.”

“We had half of our team watching [the Yankees-Orioles] in nothing but jock straps.”

“A lot of credit goes to the Yankees for winning this thing so many years in a row. It’s never easy in the American League East. They’re a great team, but it means that much more that we were able to win this division. . . “We knew they weren’t going anywhere. They are too good of a team. They never go away. It almost feels like you have a stalker when they’re in your division; every time you turn around they’re there."

"No one here gave up. We knew if we played our kind of baseball all year we would end up here.”

Curt Schilling:

“It’s game time. It’s October and that’s when great players play great, and hopefully we have a couple of those guys in this clubhouse.”

Dustin Pedroia:

“I’m proud of everybody. It’s an unbelievable accomplishment. It’s been a team effort all year and there are a lot of guys who have contributed. It’s been a great season and there’s plenty more to come. We’re not going to stop here.”

Kevin Youkilis:

“I love this. This is the best part about playing baseball. Not being able to do this last year was very tough. Doing this every year would be great. This was fun and this is what you play baseball for. To celebrate this after 7 ½ months, you put all the time and effort in and this is what it’s all about. Once this night is over we have to keep moving forward. We want three more celebrations, because that’s when it gets really fun.”

Jacoby Ellsbury:

“This is awesome. It’s a great feeling. This is unbelievable and I’m definitely going to enjoy this.”

Team owner John Henry:

“This is an incredible satisfaction."

Team chairman Tom Werner:

“We have the greatest fans in Boston. There were still thousands of people still standing there, watching the game. It’s a great night for Red Sox fans. This team played great baseball all year and they deserve to be division champions. They’re going to be dangerous in the playoffs.”

Jonathan Papelbon:

“This is awesome. What we’ve got here in this clubhouse is unbelievable. God, it pays off when you work hard. This is where we wanted to do this.”

Tim Wakefield:

“The one thing we said in spring training was we were going to do this as a team.It wasn’t going to be one person who is going to do it, and we’ve done it.”

Posted by Joe McDonald  at 11:39 PM | Permalink