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MLB WORLD SERIES: GIANTS v ROYALSOctober 24, 2014Bruce BochySAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA: Game Three Q. I always like to give you the first question. Just get you warmed up. BRUCE BOCHY: What's the question? Q. Lincecum's MRI, how did that turn out? And what is the story with him today moving forward? BRUCE BOCHY: Yeah, it turned out fine. It was a clean MRI. So he's good to go. Now he'll go out and play catch, so we'll talk to him afterward to see how it felt when he throws a little bit out there. But my guess is he's going to be fine to go, if we need him tonight. Q. (No microphone). BRUCE BOCHY: He'll do some flat ground work. Q. Over the last couple days, how much time have you spent thinking about 6th and 7th inning? And how do you feel about your options in terms of your bullpen? BRUCE BOCHY: I've thought about it quite a bit. Options, you know, Petit, Timmy. It's nice to get him out there, give him a little work. So now if we use him, there's got to be a little sense of comfort for Timmy and us, the fact that he's had some work. So you wouldn't feel bad about putting him in a high‑stress situation. So those two guys could help out there. As a manager, that never stops. So you're thinking of your options. But those two could come into play, and whether we bump up Jeremy and use him a little bit earlier, that could happen, too. Q. When you didn't put Petit in last game, was it because you were saving him for longer situations? And maybe does his role change now? BRUCE BOCHY: He has not had that role all year. He's been a long guy or a starter. I was talking to Buster even earlier. I said, "If I get in a situation, I'm going to use Machi", who has really done an incredible job all year. Now granted, he's had some hiccups in the postseason, but he had the experience of coming in with men on base and finding a way to get out of it, where Petit hasn't had that role. But with that said, hey, you've got to change things sometimes, and I think Petit could handle that. I do. But I was going matchups there, where I went Machi for the one hitter, then add Lopez, and then Strickland for the next hitter, then I could go with Jeremy or Petit, whoever. But, no, I wouldn't plan on using him in that situation there because of the guys that have been doing it all year for us. Q. How nice has it been having Barry Bonds around a little bit this year after all those years he was scapegoated? What do you think he's brought to the team? BRUCE BOCHY: Barry came in Spring Training and talked to the hitters. He was working with some hitters there for a week, and he's moved up here. The great thing about being a Giant, once you're a Giant, you're always a Giant. You're always welcome here. You walk in here and you have Willie Mays and Willie McCovey, Orlando Cepeda, all these great players, and Will Clark's here, Barry's here. We welcome these guys, and encourage them to talk to players, and players love having these guys around. Another mind to talk hitting or pitching with. Q. Along the lines of what you were talking about earlier, is there any way to really measure the impact of losing Matt Cain? I mean, obviously you got here without him, and by consequence, the importance of your other starters, not named Bumgarner, to give you at least six innings? BRUCE BOCHY: Well, I think anytime you lose a guy like Matt Cain, who we look at as a No. 1 along with Bumgarner, it's hard to measure how much you're going to miss a guy like this. His experience in the postseason, he's a horse, he is a guy that consistently gets you deep in the game. It's hard to replace. Now, Brian Sabean helped soften that blow by going out and getting Jake Peavy, who just has done a really nice job, an incredible job for us to help soften that a little bit. But still, it would be nice to have Matt Cain here helping you out. But you know what, you have to deal with injuries. And the great thing about this club, they don't dwell on whether it's Cain, Pagan, going back to Scutaro, these guys, there is just nothing we can do. They focus forward and that's what you have to do. Q. You said the other night that you were going to sit down and talk to Hunter Strickland about what happened to him and how he reacted. Did you have a chance to do that? What is your feeling about going to him in a tough situation again? BRUCE BOCHY: No, I did talk to Hunter. First of all, I complimented how he handled himself after the game. You have to own up to any of your actions, and he really did a nice job of saying, "Hey, I made a mistake and that's what it was." He fessed up to it and he told me, "It's not going to happen again." This is a young kid that his emotions got away from him. That's exactly what he said. He wished he could take it back, but you can't. What needs to be done at that point is own up to it and say, "Hey, I was wrong." He did that. I still have confidence in him. He's still part of this bullpen. This is a tough kid. He's bounced back before after a rough outing, and we may need him. I need him to keep his confidence, so he said he'll be ready. Q. You've had Hudson slotted in Game 3 in the last series. He's pitching Game 3 tonight. That also would mean he's pitching Game 7. How much of it, I know you go rotation pretty much rolling over, but how much of it is this is a guy that would also like to be there for Game 7? BRUCE BOCHY: I'll be honest, I haven't thought about it. I'm worried about Game 3. Worry about tomorrow tomorrow. If you get to that point, then you start thinking about it. But we just try to win every game and don't try to look down the road in the series and say, well, I need him for Game 6 or Game 7. We just slot these guys when they're available, our best guys, and we pitch them. Q. You've worked with Brian Sabean for a few years now. What makes him good at his job? How does he help you do your job better? BRUCE BOCHY: Well, I think to start with, he's so smart at finding a way to fill the holes that we need here. He's done a great job of keeping the continuity here with our core players. But when something happens, he's very proactive. He's going to do whatever he can to help us. We talk a lot. He'll ask what he needs or what we need and he'll find a way. He's the architect of all this. So he deserves so much credit for what he's done for us and giving us resources to being in this situation. Going back to '10 or '12, it doesn't happen without him. But he just has a great way about how he goes about his business. When he needs something, he'll talk to us, he'll talk to me. He wants to help out in any way he can. But ultimately, he'll make that decision. He's got great people that work for him, and he uses everybody. He's not afraid to pull the trigger anytime. Q. Did you ever get to know or meet Robin Williams, who was a Giants fan? BRUCE BOCHY: I did briefly. He was a big Giants fan. He came out to the park a couple of times in my early go here. He was in the dugout. So it's an honor to meet him. I mean, what a tragedy what happened there, but I was honored that I did get a chance to meet him. Q. Was there ever any thought of using Bumgarner in Game 7 or using him three times in this series, which would mean he'd have to pitch Game 4? Is there still any chance he would pitch Game 4 if you were down 2‑1? BRUCE BOCHY: Well, sure, we talked about it. I mean, we discuss everything, our options. That would be an option. As I said, we have really ridden this guy pretty good. Doesn't mean he can't do it or won't do it. I mean, it's a little different in today's game with the Wild Card and then you have two teams to go through. It is something that Dave Righetti and I have discussed, but right now Vogelsong's our starter. Q. Strickland's given up five home runs in the postseason and publicly lost his composure. Okay. Would you still use him in a high‑pressure situation? BRUCE BOCHY: Well, yeah. Would I? Yeah. As I talked about earlier with his ups and downs and Machi's, sometimes you've got to tweak your thinking in those situations. But sometimes you may not have that option. If you've used guys and he may be your best option, I don't want him to think I've lost confidence in him. I still think this kid has a chance to be pretty special. A late‑inning guy, he bounced back well through the one great inning in Kansas City. Really got ahead of the first hitter. He just yanked that slider. But you know what, I think you've got to stay behind these guys. They need to know it. So I'm not going to sit here and say, "No, I will not use him in a high‑stress situation." But what I'm saying is, if I have a chance, I may tweak things and try to find another spot to use him, like I did in that first game, to get him back on track. Q. Huddy is taking the mound today, and he's accomplished so much in his career, and finally he gets to start in the World Series. Just the emotions for him and how much he pretty much deserves this opportunity. BRUCE BOCHY: Well, he'll be focused on the game. I don't know if he'll be thinking about he's finally getting a chance to pitch on this stage. I will, personally. Before he throws the first pitch, I'll be really happy for him because he has had an incredible career and a nice long career. I guess it shows you how difficult it is to get here, because you have so many players that have been in the game so long, and I have had great careers never get a chance to participate in this series. So the fact that he'll be out there, not just me, but a lot of his teammates. We saw that in the celebration when we won the pennant, how guys want to acknowledge him, and they were really grateful that he's getting a chance along with Morse. That was part of the motivation, too, to try to get here for Huddy and Morse and some guys who have not been here. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
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