Texas Rangers pitcher Roy Oswalt and manager Ron Washington met Tuesday and both seemed satisfied that the veteran right-hander is ready to help the bullpen in any way he can.

"I never knew anything wasn't fine," Washington said. "We had a conversation today to clear the air, that was it. It wasn't like it wasn't clearing the air of something negative, it was just clearing the air of exactly what was said, and we moved on."

Oswalt talked publicly about the incident with a few reporters at Fenway Park on Tuesday. He threw 96 pitches in his start July 30 against the Los Angeles Angels. The Rangers announced the next day, after Ryan Dempster was acquired, that Oswalt would be moving to the bullpen.

But Oswalt also knew that he had to be ready to start on Sunday if needed, something Washington acknowledged. So Oswalt threw a long bullpen session Wednesday before being used in relief on Thursday and again Sunday.

It was after his second inning Sunday that Oswalt told the Rangers that he couldn't pitch a third inning.

"I think people are trying to make too much out of something that really was nothing to make anything out of," Oswalt told the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. "We're talking about throwing 200 pitches over a seven-day period, and that's the reason my outing got limited. I didn't say I was quitting. Everything got out of whack by people assuming things.

"You ask anybody that got demoted if they like it and they're not going to like it. I'm a starter, been one for 12 years, so that's what I see myself as. Anybody that has done something they've been pretty good at for 12 years and then you put in another role, they're not going to be real happy about it. But it's not like I'm going down there and saying I'm not going to pitch. I'm not that type of person."

According to the newspaper's report, Oswalt said he never asked for a trade.

ESPNBoston.com's Bill Humphrey contributed to this report.