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NL CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES: CUBS VS DODGERS

October 14, 2017

Joe Maddon

Los Angeles, California - pregame 1

Q. Was there any factor at all with the Seager and your choice of Rondon over Willson? And what did go into that thinking for sure?
JOE MADDON: No, there wasn't. We had decided that kind of last night, but we wanted to sleep on it before we decided to tell everybody this morning, which we did. Just looking forward. The way the bullpen has been playing out, there was a part of Willson being pertinent against that lineup with Washington, although we didn't use him that much. We thought that Rondon could be more pertinent versus this lineup based on -- regardless of Seager.

So as it turned out, as of right now, it looks even a little bit better with Rondon. They have all those lefties on the bench, I get it. But we just -- part of it was strike throwing. Although some of our guys that are on the group right now have not done their typical job of strike throwing. Justin's got a great arm and he's making some great strides. I'm just being very transparent about it. These were our thoughts.

So going into it, we thought Rondon was a better bet right now. We want to keep Justin throwing just in case something else were to happen. But we did not know what L.A. was going to do at that point.

Q. First, your choice of Quintana and why you chose to go with him as your Game 1 starter? And the other one, Dave Roberts talked about a little gamesmanship with releasing the lineups. When he was asked, he said, I'll send it along to you. He had not released it yet. Then he sort of alluded to some gamesmanship with you or the Cubs. Could you address that too?
JOE MADDON: What was the first part?

Q. About Quintana.
JOE MADDON: Oh, Quintana. Q's fine. He only threw 12 pitches the other night day, and he felt good about it. We talked to him, and he said he was fine. He's been throwing the ball great. So he's not overextended his last outing was 96 or 97 pitches, 12 out of the bullpen, which he was very impressive doing that also. So we didn't think it was that difficult of a decision.

Gamesmanship, I have no concerns about sending lineups over early. I don't know that we -- if we had been late at all, it's only maybe somebody had been injured in the past, that's the only reason why we'd ever be late.

I do the lineup in the morning. I get my iPad Pro out with my iPad Pencil, and I sit with a cup of coffee. I know we're into Apple products, so I wanted to make sure that I throw that out there. That's how I do my lineup every day.

I don't worry about holding it back. I don't worry about anybody getting more time to divulge anything that we may be able to do. Because once the game begins, if your players play better than their players, your team wins. I really believe that. A lot of this numerical, statistical information, I'll say it again, is more pointed towards acquisitional moments as opposed to in the heat-of-the-moment moments. I prefer heartbeats.

PETER CHASE: We had a 12:45 bus to the ballpark. Got here at 1:15, and it was posted at like 1:24, so I don't know.

JOE MADDON: I apologize for being so late with the lineup today.

Q. Can you describe what Quintana has been through the last couple days here, maybe starting with the plane ride?
JOE MADDON: Yeah, we had an issue on the plane, as everybody knows. And his wife was a part of that. Everything's fine. We had to land in Albuquerque, and we did. We spent five hours on the tarmac, which I've talked about yesterday how proud I was of our guys. Nobody complained. It was an empathic moment. Everybody understood what's going on. As a human being, you're concerned for other human beings.

So I thought our guys were wonderful the way we handled the entire situation. Q got off the plane. He spent some time, our team doctor, everything seems to be well. Q got his rest. We contacted him. He felt good about pitching today. So we're ready to rock 'n' roll.

It was a human moment. We're playing a game. When you're dealing with human beings, human beings, people, take priority, I think. So I was really pleased with the way our group handled the situation, and I really respect Q's word. He said he's ready to rock 'n' roll, so we believe him.

Q. In these kind of games, relief pitching is very important. Last year you had Chapman as a workhorse. How about this year? Is it Miller time?
JOE MADDON: Oh, Miller time? Oh, Davis time. Davis time. See, Miller time, that would be what Cleveland is saying right now. Wade was outstanding the other day. I'm sure you watched it. Wade having grown up as a starting pitcher I think really helps him in moments like that. That was a little bit above and beyond what he did.

The way that whole game was playing out, I was thinking before the game six outs, so I guess that he needs seven outs. So if the guy's going to get six, why not get seven. I thought his best inning, the 9th inning was his best inning worth of stuff. You wanted to be able to do that, but you can only do that on a limited basis.

Last year when we relied on Chappy more heavily, we were down three games to one, there is no tomorrow. There are still eight games to win. So there are different thought processes going into it right now.

So we're very fortunate. The bullpen, you're absolutely correct. Bullpens, we're bullish on bullpens this time of the year. For us to win eight more games, we have to utilize all of our guys. Some guys struggled a bit in that last series. That does not mean they cannot pitch this series, and it does not mean they're not going to pitch this series. Of course they are.

These guys are the reason we're here in the first place. They had great seasons. So we all stub our toes on occasion. Nobody's perfect. Again, this is not a robotic game. This is not fantasy baseball. These are real people playing it. So for us to win the next eight games, to win eight more games, we have to utilize this entire group, and I really like our bullpen a lot. You'll see them all out there.

Wade, not two innings right now, obviously. I don't even know if he's going to be available today or not yet. But you do need good bullpens to win at this time of the year.

Q. In terms of waiting for today to confirm Quintana, how much of that was related to the medical issue with his family?
JOE MADDON: That was part of it. Here's what happened regarding whatever. We had that long plane ride. We were celebrating, first of all, and I believe in celebrating after you win. The plane ride was raucous, and then all of a sudden we had that issue. So we don't get in until noon L.A. time on the off-day. Then I took a two-hour nap. Came over here, did the press gig. Went back, had our meeting, and after the meeting we decided we're going to do this but we wanted to sleep on it. I think we have the right to sleep on it at that moment.

Yes, it was important to get a phone call from Q. We had to get in touch with him to find out specifically, yeah, I can do this. Because, again, there are a lot of moving parts here. So there was no intention to be disingenuous about anything, we just needed to know. So once Q confirmed that we could, then we're able to announce it.

But still, we wanted to make sure that we were on point with everything that we were doing. So that was the delay.

Q. Since they had brought up the gamesmanship, do you think there was any or how much would there have been on their part, knowing that Seager's been hurt for a few days and they said yesterday he was optimistic?
JOE MADDON: We'll find out over the next several days.

Q. Really quick on Quintana, did he actually spend the night last night in L.A., or was he in Albuquerque?
JOE MADDON: He was in Albuquerque --

PETER CHASE: No, he was in L.A. last night.

JOE MADDON: Oh, I didn't know that. According to my Fitbit, I slept 10 hours last night, so I finally caught up.

Q. Also, just your decisions on the outfield today, what went into that?
JOE MADDON: Well, looking at the whole body of work -- first of all, Albert's going to play. Albert's been really good especially against left-handers. Jon Jay's been our catalyst at the top of the batting order. So you had to pick one. Now with Quintana pitching, you make the strong point about outfield defense, no question. Looking at the whole body of work again, Kershaw slightly -- lefties have gone to him a little bit this year, but you can't count on anything with this guy. He's that good.

I thought Schwarber's at-bat against Solis was outstanding. He was a pinch-hitter the other day, the last game in Washington. So had to pick one. So I chose Schwarber.

I think that based on the information, everything I'm seeing, right now, Schwarbs, you guys know, this guy competes. He just wants -- he's all about this time of the year too. So I thought it was a good play for tonight. We'll see. With all the lefties that the Dodgers have at their disposal, we get this kind of unearthed a little bit with him really seeing lefties better, it could be beneficial to us. So that's it.

Q. Was Lester kind of an automatic for you in Game 2? And if not, what went into that decision?
JOE MADDON: Yeah, as long as he was well. He threw 55 the other day when we pitched him out of the bullpen, and that's part of the gig the other day, too, keeping him at 55 when you have other games to win. We thought 50 to 55 before he came into that game was the maximum number. So, 55 with three days' rest going into this next start, I think he's going to be fine.

I saw him yesterday. I saw him downstairs with his family, talked. He says he feels great. He threw the ball wonderfully. So I think coming off his injury he's gotten progressively better. And furthermore, this time of the year these kind of battle-tested guys under these circumstances, they look for these moments.

So I have all the faith in the world, again. And you have to trust your guys. You have to trust the conversation, and I do. Jonny said he feels great, so Jonny's pitching.

Q. Jon Lester compared losing Seager to the Dodgers to you guys losing Rizzo or Bryant potentially. Thoughts on that comparison, and just how much of a break do you think you caught here?
JOE MADDON: Well, I don't know. Listen, that kid, Seager, he's really good. I know. I got to see it firsthand in the All-Star Game. One thing, he's bigger than you know once you get up next to him. He's got such a wonderful approach at the plate. He's that good. He's all of that.

Yeah, you could compare. It's kind of difficult to lose either one of those two guys for us, I think that's a fair comparison. I think it's fair.

But if you talk to all the Dodgers, they're definitely going to have that guy that's going to rally around and that's going to jump in there and do something special for them. I don't worry about stuff like that. I don't discount anybody. Furthermore, who knows if he's going to be available at some point during the series anyway, Seager.

So for right now, it appears that way. You go out and you play, man. You just go play. That's what I'm saying, some things look great on paper, but all of a sudden you've got to play nine innings, and things just turn out differently.

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