CINCINNATI -- For all the attention that has been heaped on Pete Rose in the past year -- at his Reds Hall of Fame induction and number retirement ceremonies last season, and the unveiling and dedication of his new bronze statue on Saturday -- the all-time hit king never wavers from his insistence to bring his former teammates into every conversation.
Rose still has plenty of bravado and bluster -- and as he will attest, he's displayed plenty of it over the past five-plus decades -- but rarely is there a moment when he is reflecting on his career that he doesn't somehow relate it to how his Big Red Machine mates contributed.