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AL WILDCARD GAME: ASTROS VS YANKEES

October 5, 2015

Joe Girardi

New York, New York: Workout Day

Q. Did CC come to you in Baltimore, and if so when did he come to you, what did he say?
JOE GIRARDI: Yes, yesterday he came to us before the game and talked about that he felt that he needed help, and we fully supported that.

I give CC a lot of credit because it takes a lot of courage for someone, a man to step up and say I need help, and you think about where he is in his career, obviously the coverage that is going to take place, but I give him, like I said, a lot of courage. He's got a lot of courage to step up when he did because he knew that his family and his children were first.

And when he came in yesterday, I was no longer a manager. You know, I was someone that wanted to make sure that the proper course of action was taken.

And you know, CC has been a warrior here. You think about 2009, 10, 11, 12, when we were having all that success, he was the guy leading us. He was the guy that was extremely competitive, give me the ball on three days' rest, I'll do whatever it takes to win.

And he always showed courage then. And he always showed an inner strength, and I'm probably more proud of the inner strength he showed yesterday than any day I've had him as a manager.

And he did the right thing.

Q. Thoughts about Dallas Keuchel, what have you seen of him this year and what did you think of him?
JOE GIRARDI: He's really good, bottom line. Obviously over the next month or so or whenever it comes out, either he or David Price are going to be Cy Young. That's how good he is. So he presents a challenge for us.

He's pitched very well against us, and gotta play the game tomorrow.

Q. In your conversation with CC yesterday, did he relate to you an incident or a series of incidents that led him to come to you with the admission that he made?
JOE GIRARDI: No, when he came in yesterday he said he needed help. And from that point we moved on.

You know, I really believe that we have a wonderful clubhouse in there that does a really good job of supporting each other, policing each other, taking care of each other, and like I said it took a lot for him to step up.

This is what we all work for this time of year to play. And CC's been a part of this a number of times for us. But he knew what was important. And if CC's a guy that can step up in a situation like that, I hope it gives courage to other people to step up.

That maybe aren't going to have all the media attention, but life is just as important to their family and their children and their wife.

Q. Speaking of your clubhouse, I'm sure some of your meeting today was dedicated to discussing this. What was the reaction from your team and do you think the fact that your guys have dealt with enough distractions before will prevent this from becoming one?
JOE GIRARDI: Yes, extremely supportive. Everyone in that clubhouse loves CC like he's a brother.

We call ourselves a family. And he's one of us and we know how important he is to us. But the guys are really supportive of him and have the utmost respect for him.

Q. Also, Cash said he was surprised, he was not expecting the phone call. Were you surprised when CC came to you with this?
JOE GIRARDI: That's not what I was expecting yesterday. But it happens. I mean, in life these things happen. And as I said to our players, when you have issues you have to deal with them now. You don't wait. Deal with them now.

Take care of whatever your struggles are. We talk about getting the distractions away and there are other distractions that players go through. And I tell them take care of them. And CC did.

Q. Joe, there were some people that have a problem and you find out about it and you're not surprised. A guy like CC comes to you, was that a shock to your system, and to everybody else for that matter?
JOE GIRARDI: I was surprised yesterday. When I basically was summoned to my office, I was shocked, you know, with what happened. And I know players have drinks. That happens in the game.

Adults have drinks. But I was not aware that it was at that level and that he felt that he needed help.

Q. Since you mentioned you think Dallas is one of two that can win the Cy Young, talk about Carlos Correa and also his potential to win rookie of the year?
JOE GIRARDI: Well, there's two guys that can win that, too, I think. And they're both young shortstops from Puerto Rico, which is really amazing. You look at their numbers and they're very similar, the dates that they got called up, the numbers that they've put up. But I think when you look at Carlos, you know, I think we're all somewhat surprised sometimes how good a player can be at such a young age. When you see so many players, they work so hard, and I'm not saying -- Carlos worked extremely hard -- but at 25, maybe 26, the kid should be in college.

And he's playing at an extremely high level, hitting third in a team that's going to the playoffs. He's an amazing young talent.

Q. I know the circumstances are completely different, but you were in the room when Joe Torre told you during the playoffs in '98 that Darryl Strawberry was leaving the team because he had cancer. Any of what you felt telling the team this, the reaction you got compare in any way?
JOE GIRARDI: Yeah, it's similar in a sense. I think the support and the love for the teammates is very similar. And the respect for the teammates is very similar.

And I asked our guys to pray for CC. I think that's what you do for him and his family during this difficult time. But we all know and believe that CC's going to be back, and he's going to be in the clubhouse again one day with us and we look forward to that day, just like we felt that about Straw.

Q. In terms of baseball preparation, what does losing CC from postseason do, how do you fill in?
JOE GIRARDI: I mean, you have to be a little bit, probably more creative, but it's something I've gotten a lot of practice over the three years of being extremely creative.

And we've had to do it during the course of this season with the rotation of the relievers, the shuttle between Scranton, the starters that we've had to replace at different times, starters going down and someone stepping in.

So we have to be creative a little bit, but we'll do that.

Q. Following that up, pragmatically how do you set up the game tomorrow now, and behind Tanaka have you got a roster yet that --
JOE GIRARDI: Our roster doesn't have to be announced until 10:00 in the morning. But the whole idea in playing a game tomorrow is getting one more run than they do. That's the whole idea.

Q. Did CC come to you with this plan in place or was he coming to you saying I have this problem; I need help. Or did he come to you already having decided basically telling you I'm going into a rehab facility?
JOE GIRARDI: The first thing he said is I need help. And I think in his mind he thought that that's what he was going to do. And as we talked through it, we believed it was the right thing and he was making the right decision.

So I don't really know how to explain it except the first thing he said is I need help. And then it went forward.

Q. Emotionally for the team will this almost be like a win-one-for-CC type of thing, do you think?
JOE GIRARDI: I think that's probable, I do. Because those guys in the room know what CC has meant to this club and this organization over the years and how important he is inside that clubhouse and how he's a fun-loving guy that just loves to compete.

So I think that will be part of it, yes.

Q. How as a manager are you respectful of what's going on, this is bigger than baseball, but at the same time keeping your guys focused on what they have to do?
JOE GIRARDI: Well, I don't think that will be an issue, keeping our guys focused on what they have to do. I think the fact that we dealt with it today will allow our players to do that. And there won't be speculation tomorrow why he's not on the roster or that. And I give CC a lot of credit by putting out his statement today, because he doesn't want to be a distraction.

He wants us to go play and win and he's not trying to hide anything. And it's not easy. I mean, there aren't a lot of people that necessarily come out and say: I need help and I'm not going to hide from it. They just go get help. That's not CC. CC manned up.

Q. CC said after pitching the game that got you guys into the playoffs, he was talking about his relationship with you and how your families have spent time together and gotten to know each other. Do you look back on any things that have gone on this season with him, specifically the incident in Toronto, maybe some other things the way he's carried himself and looked back on those and think, geez, maybe there were some warning signs?
JOE GIRARDI: You know, I don't know. Obviously when things happen, you try to evaluate exactly what's going on with players. But I'm not with him 24 hours a day. And that's where the clubhouse becomes important, my coaches become important, families become important.

And were there warning signs? I don't know. The fact is we're here. This is where we are today. And we're dealing with it, and he's dealing with it the right way.

Q. First off, in the meeting, when he said he needed help, was it just you and him in the room?
JOE GIRARDI: No, there were some other people in the room. And a lot of these questions I'm sure at some point CC will address. I think it's proper for him to tell a lot of this. I don't want to speak for him, out of respect for him, out of respect for his family, because those are the two most important things here. More important than this, this uniform.

So for him, I'm sure the fact that he put it out there, which tells me that he's going to stand up and answer questions one day. And I think he wants to, because I think he wants to, as he said, he knows he has fans out there, and he wants to stand up and answer those questions.

Q. Joe, will Adam Warren be in the bullpen? Will that be dependent on --?
JOE GIRARDI: I'll give you a roster tomorrow, you'll see.

Q. Knowing Tanaka the way you do, what makes you feel he'll do well tomorrow? What are the strengths that he has that plays into that kind of game?
JOE GIRARDI: I think he has the ability to mix pitches extremely well. He has a swing-and-miss -- he has a couple of swing-and-miss pitches and he loves to compete as well. And that makes me feel really good about him.

Q. Do you plan on starting Chris Young tomorrow?
JOE GIRARDI: I'll have a lineup tomorrow.

Q. What are the toughest challenges facing Keuchel, I know you faced him twice and he pitched well both times. What do you do differently or how do you try to approach him differently to succeed this time?
JOE GIRARDI: First of all, try to get some runs. That's the first thing. To me, he's a guy that keeps the ball down in the zone, and you have to make him get the ball up is what you have to do on him. But he's really good at what he does. You can't chase on him. You have got to try to get his pitch count up. In a sense, maybe put some long at-bats on him.

He's one day short on rest and hopefully it will work.

THE MODERATOR: Thank you.

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