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AL DIVISION SERIES: YANKEES VS INDIANS

October 4, 2017

Joe Girardi

Cleveland, Ohio - Workout Day, Canada

Q. Joe, what was your thinking in terms of your pitching?
JOE GIRARDI: Yeah, we decided to go with Sonny first. You know, if you look at some of the outings he's had against them, the raw numbers he's had against them, he's fared as well as any pitcher that we have.

CC will go Game 2, and then we have Tanaka scheduled for Game 3. We looked at a lot of different things. We could have gone a lot of different directions. When it came down to it, it was pretty -- it was a long conversation. We could have went -- we could have went another way, but it's just what we chose to do.

Q. Joe, would you use Severino out of the bullpen right now?
JOE GIRARDI: Definitely not tomorrow. Our plans were not to use him out of the bullpen, but I didn't plan on last night either.

Q. Joe, just how important has Brett Gardner been from on the field perspective and then being a veteran in the younger clubhouse?
JOE GIRARDI: Yeah, I think he's been really important on both fronts there. We look at the game that he had yesterday, 20-plus homers from the leadoff spot. I think it was really close to 100 runs scored. The defense that he plays, the energy, the intensity that he brings every day on the field.

Then I just think the personality he brings in the clubhouse is great. He'll stir it up and have some fun, but he also expects everyone to be prepared every day to play, and I think that's a great mixture.

Q. Joe, how available do you think the guys that you pitched last night will be tomorrow?
JOE GIRARDI: You know, I'll check. Probably not real available, but I would think after that they should be pretty good.

Q. You think Robertson wouldn't need another day to bounce back?
JOE GIRARDI: Yeah, I mean, we're going to have to wait and see.

Q. In your mind, is Severino going to start Game 4?
JOE GIRARDI: That's our plan, yes.

Q. Joe, was it tempting to bring Severino back quicker than that because he threw so few pitches last night?
JOE GIRARDI: No. I was asked, Could you bring him back Friday? I just think, with his workload and what he's done this season, it's probably not in his best interests, and the full rest will probably do him some good.

Q. Joe, how important are Warren and Betances potentially in a game like this? And did you consider bringing in Betances in in that 8th inning?
JOE GIRARDI: I think they're extremely important. I figure I could get two innings out of Dellin and two out of Warren tomorrow. Since Tommy's pitch count was down, I figured I won't use him, and then I'll probably have to use Dellin a couple of innings.

Q. Dellin's numbers, I think he went like five appearances without giving a hit up until Friday, but is there something that you're not seeing -- or seeing in him that doesn't allow to you have the same level of trust that you might have had early in his career?
JOE GIRARDI: No, I'm going to use him. He's going to be used in important situations. We need him. His issues this year have been walks. Those have been his issues. It seems, when he gets on a roll, he doesn't allow them. When he gets ahead in the count, he doesn't allow them, and that's the most important thing for him.

Q. Joe, how close are you to deciding on your roster?
JOE GIRARDI: We're pretty close. I mean, I think we have to announce it at 10:00 tomorrow morning. We'll go over it one more time tonight, and then it will be put out tomorrow.

Q. Are you going to carry more pitchers in this series?
JOE GIRARDI: Yes, absolutely, especially in light of what happened yesterday.

Q. From what you've seen from Trevor Bauer this season, what's different about him this year?
JOE GIRARDI: I think it's confidence. I think he understands who he is. You know, it was the young pitcher that has always had really good stuff, and I think he's just kind of found his groove and what works for him.

Obviously, his curveball is very good, but he has a high velocity fastball, and he has other pitches that go along with it, and he's got some deception because of he kind of jumps at you.

I just think it's a pitcher just each year taking the next step.

Q. Joe, is there a reason you had Tanaka, Severino, instead of Severino, Tanaka.
JOE GIRARDI: Tanaka, we don't want him to go too long. Sevey, the extra rest isn't going to hurt him that extra day, so that's why we did it.

Q. Did you need to talk to Dellin at all in game when you needed 26 outs in your bullpen?
JOE GIRARDI: I haven't. I'm telling you, he's going to be important in this. If we're going to win, he's going to be extremely important, and I'm going to use him. I chose not to last night just because the guys were kind of rolling along, and I liked what they were doing, but we're going to need him.

Q. Andrew Miller was saying earlier just this time of year you find a way to get ready. He went through it last year. He was used a lot. So for your guys, do you find yourself -- you pushed them, obviously, a lot in the Wild Card game. Are you going to keep kind of putting the pedal down for these guys and doing things you wouldn't normally do as far as uses and stuff?
JOE GIRARDI: As much as you can. I was asked the question by Clint Frazier today, if it was a regular season game -- we were watching the game on TV -- would you have approached it different? We were watching the Arizona game.

I said, yeah, you probably would have approached it a bit different because you might be playing 10 days in a row or 12 days in a row, or you don't want to fry your bullpen because then you've got to make a bunch of moves, and you don't want to upset the apple cart.

Yeah, you push it a bit more, and the reason you can is because of days off and what you do during the course of the season.

Q. Joe, do you anticipate lineup changes?
JOE GIRARDI: There could be. Again, we'll talk about that tomorrow and some more tonight, and we might do something a little bit different.

Q. Joe, are you surprised not to be seeing Kluber in Game 1?
JOE GIRARDI: You got a number of guys over there that seem to have 18 wins. It's interesting. I think we probably expected to see Corey Kluber in Game 1. I know for them it still allows them to pitch twice, and I'm sure they have a great reason for doing what they're doing, but unfortunately, I wasn't invited to those meetings.

Q. Joe, when you faced the Indians last year, they were at their most dominant. You started playing better after that last series. Does that help you in any way knowing that you're not the same team you were before?
JOE GIRARDI: I think it does. I think we're healthier. I think we have played better in the month of September. We were part of that 22 games. We were in the early part of that. And they've really been on a roll the last 50, 60 games, playing as well as anyone.

But I like the guys in the room, and I like their fight, and we saw it on Tuesday night. Obviously, we're going to have to play our best. We know that. But that's the way the playoffs should be.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

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