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AL CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES: YANKEES VS ASTROS

October 15, 2017

Joe Girardi

New York, New York - Workout Day

Q. What is the latest on Severino, any new updates?
JOE GIRARDI: No, the guys were just starting to arrive. Again, he checked out well yesterday. I will find out later today if there are any tests planned. But I'm not sure what's going to exactly happen.

Q. Back in September I asked you about Tommy Kahnle, you said he provided depth. Can you speak to the larger role he's taken on in postseason.
JOE GIRARDI: It's been crucial to our success up to this point. And I look to the game where we lose 2-1, he kept it there. And he's done a tremendous job down the stretch here.

The one thing we weren't quite sure about him when we got him is how much we could use him multiple innings. It's not something he did very much in Chicago, and he was successful in Chicago. And we thought if we took him out of that type of role, would it change who he was. It hasn't. Which is very big in the playoffs, because some days you don't have certain relievers.

I look at a day yesterday we didn't have Green, so Tommy kind of picked us up in that spot and did a tremendous job, and didn't throw a ton of pitches, and again, should be available tomorrow.

Q. What can you learn from your experience in '02, coming home now?
JOE GIRARDI: I think it should give our players confidence going into this, yeah, we're facing a very good team. And we know that we have not done a lot offensively, but we have pitched really well, too. And if we continue to do that, you're going to have a shot. And understand that we were down 2-0 to a team that won 102 games and were able to come back. Just go out and do whatever it takes to win a game tomorrow and see where you're at.

Q. Comparisons between this team and the '96 team you were on, what was it about that team that allowed you to have that kind of success in that situation and what is it about this team that might be similar to that?
JOE GIRARDI: I think when you look at that team there were a lot of young players that played important roles, mostly Mariano and Derek. Our bullpen was really, really good back then. Mariano kind of would throw two or three innings on certain nights and was able to shut the opponent down. There were veteran players that played very well.

We faced a very good team in the Atlanta Braves and didn't do much the first two games. The first game we got hammered. And we were able to fight back. And it was -- the message then was go win one, one game, and see where we're at, and that's the same message.

Q. (INAUDIBLE)?
JOE GIRARDI: I expect him to compete and pitch at a high level when I call upon him. You know, for us, I'm going to say it again, he's going to play an important role. You look at the three innings that he threw in the last series, the first night he threw really well, the second night he threw really well. He struggled a little bit here the last outing, but he's been through that before and bounced back. His name is going to be called upon.

Q. Do you anticipate any kind of line-up change?
JOE GIRARDI: No, I don't. I'm going to stick with it. You know, one or two hits away from being 2-0. So I don't see many changes.

Q. Being down 2-0 right now, do you think this is something that could catch up with the guys or something they'll continue to embrace the mindset with their backs up against the wall?
JOE GIRARDI: You know, I think we've been through enough this year that there's no panic. There were times during the season where we were 15 games over and we fell to four games over, and you come out of the break and you lose a really tough one to Boston, we bounce back and win the next day. Guys started to understand that you have to be resilient in this game. It's just part of the game. You're going to have really tough losses and you have to learn to bounce back.

And obviously would you rather be 1-1 or 2-0 the other way? Well, yeah. There's no panic in them. They're going to do what they do and see where the chips fall.

Q. Not having workout today, do you look at this as a reset?
JOE GIRARDI: Just physical rest I think is the important thing. And I think this is -- a lot of times you work out on the road because it's not a field that you're on 81 times a year. We know what our park presents. We know the angles. We know all that. We know the infield. I think it's a physical and mental rest, which I think guys can use at this time.

Q. Just with Sanchez and Judge, the struggles they're having, do you think for guys the first time in postseason, do you think it is more challenging to try to fight their way out of it?
JOE GIRARDI: I think it can. I'm not so sure that I necessarily feel that with these two guys. I mean, there's been a lot of great hitters that struggled the first year in the postseason, the second year in the postseason and the third year in the postseason, and they have a big postseason.

You know, I think if a guy goes 2 for 20 during the regular season you don't make much of it. It's just part of the ups and downs of being a hitter and being productive and how careful they pitch to you.

So I think -- and the other thing is we don't have a ton of familiarity with these pitchers we're facing. In our division we do. And we're used to it. And some of that is part of being young. You don't have 20 at-bats against a guy. You just don't.

So I feel good about them. We've counted on them all year. We believe in them and I think they're going to come out of it.

Q. You mentioned not having the experience in postseason. Is that something that is going against them?
JOE GIRARDI: I think it's the guys they're going against. I think they made a lot of good pitches. Part of it is you can get a little off sometimes, the bottom line. And when I look at Aaron's at-bats, I don't think he hasn't continued to be patient. Gary's chased a little bit more. But Gary is a guy that we know that can really, really turn around quick and get locked in. And I feel good about that.

Q. Are you troubled at all by all the strikeouts offensively in the first two innings?
JOE GIRARDI: No, we have struck out during the course of the season, too. That's part of who we are right now. We walk. We're patient. And we hit home runs and we strikeout.

I've had years they said that we haven't hit enough home runs, that we've hit too many home runs, it's just part of who we are as a club. And we're going to strike out some. But I like the patience, I like the grittiness of the hitters, I like how they grind out at-bats. And we'll figure it out.

Q. You're a team of sluggers, bangers, and when you're scratching for runs, you're not a small ball team. Is that a problem when looking to scratch some runs?
JOE GIRARDI: I think you can look at it as a problem. I don't necessarily think so. I think we're capable of doing things. I think we're capable of running. We have certain guys that can run on our team. We have guys that go from first to third. We just haven't got a lot of hits.

So small ball really hasn't presented itself for us, because we haven't had a lot of baserunners. But I look on the other side, they haven't, either. They just had maybe a couple more hits in key situations than we've had. We've had some opportunities. We've hit some balls hard with guys on. And I thought our at-bats against Keuchel were better the second time through. They made some really good defensive plays.

I just think when you get to this point in the season there really is a lot of good pitching or teams wouldn't be there. You hope someone makes a mistake.

I thought Keuchel threw as good a game as he's thrown all year. And I think Verlander did, too. And that's part of it, too. We'll see what happens tomorrow.

Q. Can you talk about going to CC in the must game here?
JOE GIRARDI: He's been that guy that we've kind of relied on. And you know that the situation hasn't been too big for him. But, again, I look at what the other two guys have done, and they pitched really well, too. To me, CC giving us a good five or six innings, and us scoring a few more runs.

Q. (INAUDIBLE)?
JOE GIRARDI: No, it's not something he's accustomed to doing. He has been a guy when you've had success it's been consistent at-bats and he's played a lot. No, we'll continue to DH the guys we are.

Q. (INAUDIBLE)?
JOE GIRARDI: He's a great young player that's very mature at his page, when it comes to all facets of the game. You think about 22-year-old kid hitting middle of the line-up, playing shortstop on a team that won 101 games, drove in basically 90 runs, and he missed six weeks, maybe? I don't know. He's a pretty incredible player.

Q. You pulled CC early in the past when there's signs of trouble. Do you treat tomorrow as an elimination game?
JOE GIRARDI: Well, I think you maybe handle it a little bit different. And some other guys can play some key roles here.

But, again, CC, I mean, we know that it's a fine line and you have to watch the at-bats, and we'll continue to do it the same way. I'm not going to change my philosophy on him. It's kind of what's worked all year, and it keeps him going, as well. We'll continue to do the same thing.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

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