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NL DIVISION SERIES: BRAVES VS DODGERS

October 4, 2018

Dave Roberts

Los Angeles, California - pregame 1

Q. Dave, take us through those final roster decisions, the choice to go with the number of relief pitchers you did and what sort of tipped the scales in the end.
DAVE ROBERTS: I think the toughest one was the Stripling. Obviously he's pitched very well for us this year, and carrying eight relievers, so to kind of -- the need for length is a little bit lessened. And the way Dylan's been throwing the baseball and kind of how he matched up with certain guys on their roster, we felt good about that. But Ross is going to continue to keep his arm in shape, and depending on what happens going forward, he'll still be in play.

Q. Dave, you mentioned yesterday, I guess, that the workload for Kenley would be a little bit lighter this postseason. And I'm just curious, I know you can't script out how you want things to go, but do you see yourself riding your starters maybe more than you have the previous two Octobers?
DAVE ROBERTS: I think that's a fair question. It's a different composition in the pen than we had last year. And so I think that any decision I make as far as going to the bullpen has to be: Do I feel there's better option? And that's kind of weighted on how the guy is throwing the baseball, how I see it coming out, the swings that those guys are taking against that pitcher, and again, is there a better option.

So I think the way that Ryu is throwing the ball, I think the way all our starters are throwing the baseball, obviously we have a lot of confidence in those guys. So I guess in a vacuum you could probably say -- it's probably a safe bet that yeah, we might lean on our starters a little bit more than we did last year and, conversely, the relievers a little bit less.

Q. We all talk about the pressure players feel. How much pressure do you feel going into this knowing every move is scrutinized, although you're scrutinized all year long.
DAVE ROBERTS: Yeah. Nothing new for me, Bill.

Q. But do you feel it?
DAVE ROBERTS: I wouldn't say I feel pressure. It's more of just trying to -- my mind doesn't stop as far as kind of thinking through different scenarios and what potentially could happen, good or bad, and how we react to it. So I think that I'm just kind of so focused on each play and each pitch and a little bit getting ahead of things. So that kind of occupies my bandwidth, so I don't really -- I guess the pressure really doesn't -- or criticism or potential doesn't kind of get into my head.

Q. In making your decision for Game 1 for Ryu, what was the overriding factor? What was the most important thing that went into that decision?
DAVE ROBERTS: I think if you look at each game individually and put as the same importance, which we do, how can you put both of those players in the position to -- the best position to succeed. And we felt that with Clayton getting an extra day and Hyun-Jin getting one extra day as well, as opposed to two, would do that.

And so if you look at it that way, Game 1, 2 and 3 are guaranteed. And so to look anything beyond that, I don't think that we wanted to do that. And so that's what kind of made our decision.

Q. What was the process in letting Clayton know? And what's been the mood between the two of you since?
DAVE ROBERTS: The mood between the two of us is great, hasn't changed. Same. Took batting practice yesterday, had a workout. We talked, had a little get together with the team yesterday after the workout. It was good. He's ready to go pitch a playoff game.

And as far as how it went down, Rick Honeycutt and I got on a conference call and just kind of let him know our thoughts, the organization's and what we feel that we want to do.

Q. Dave, could you see a scenario if one of the relievers that you called on at the end of the game was going well where you could choose just to ride that reliever without going to Kenley?
DAVE ROBERTS: Well, it's -- obviously the game, the score kind of will dictate that decision. But if you're talking about a traditional save situation, that's hard to envision. It's possible. But I think that Kenley is a guy that was a big part in getting us here at the back end of the game. And I expect him to perform well on this stage. So very unlikely. But I wouldn't say impossible.

Q. How did the adversity at the end of the season kind of shape the team's focus for this playoff run?
DAVE ROBERTS: Every team has adversity, but I think that our guys have done a very good job of kind of trying to focus their energy into winning baseball games. So whether it's playing time, whether it's injury, whether it's you lose a game that you thought you should have won, any type of adversity, our guys are very good about kind of resetting. And so I thought we played really good baseball in September and won games that we needed to win.

And I don't talk a lot about momentum, because I think it's kind of that day's starting pitcher. But if there is such a thing as momentum, I think we have it, but more importantly, I think we got a good club, really good ball club that's playing good baseball.

Q. You said you had a meeting with the team after the workout. Do you want to share what your message was to them?
DAVE ROBERTS: No, it's really -- not to get too much into it, it's just understanding that we've been through a lot this year. And we've all put ourselves in a great position and have an opportunity to do something really special for each other and this city. And so it's a talented team, but how we're going to win 11 baseball games is by doing a lot of the little things, and so just kind of making sure that we all understand that.

Q. Dave, Ryu obviously at one point had a pretty significant shoulder operation, a lot of guys don't come back from that. Could you just talk a little bit about how he gradually worked his way back to being the pitcher he was before the operation?
DAVE ROBERTS: It's remarkable. It really is. And I think that you see guys that are a lot more emotional, vocal, but don't have the same compete as Hyun-Jin. And it's -- a lot of it is that inner drive and fire and compete. And so many teammates have told me that this guy has ice in his veins, and he's a big-game pitcher. And the more I've gotten to see him execute pitches in big spots, it's kind of come to fruition. And this year, even with what he went through, he was determined to get back here. And once he got healthy -- he didn't like not being a part of the roster last year. And that hurt. I know it hurt him. And so he was going to do everything he could to force our hand by performing to be in this position that he put himself in. So he's in as good of shape as I've seen him in. And he's worked his tail off to get here.

Q. Back to what you said to the team, I'm just wondering, obviously the decision with Kersh to go Game 2 is so momentous. Did you feel a need or did you say anything to the team explaining anything about that to them or was that just you, Honeycutt, and Clayton? You kept it between you?
DAVE ROBERTS: No. Scott, I don't think that it's something where -- you look at the way, what our team's done this year, and individually the sacrifices they've made and putting their trust in me, the coaches, the organization and understanding that we have the best interest for the organization. And so you look around that clubhouse, and they've all had to make some type of sacrifice.

If you look at this situation -- and Clayton is this generation's best pitcher. And so it is a sacrifice. Obviously it's a huge sacrifice for him. But to not let it influence his mind or psyche, that doesn't surprise me because he doesn't have to look too far at other guys that have sort of done the same thing on a different level, which respectfully so. But that's why for Clayton, his focus is to pitch a playoff game and help us win.

Q. I feel like one of the themes of this series could be the way each team scores runs. You guys I think out homered them by like 70. And one of the sort of themes all summer was what you guys did in quote, unquote clutch situations, runners in scoring position. You were among the worst at it; Braves were among the best at it. Curious if down the stretch you have seen any sort of effort by your guys to move toward more situational thoughts, more two-strike approaches, more of those sort of things that will maybe allow you, if the home runs aren't coming, to score runs with the Braves?
DAVE ROBERTS: I have seen a much better effort from our guys, and to expect you're just going to face quality pitching in the postseason and just tee off and hit homers is very unrealistic. So I think that over the last couple of weeks I think that you have seen guys, whether it's Cody, Muncy, J.T., Manny, do some things with the bat to give themselves up to use the other side of the field, and I think that's winning pitches taking a walk. Yes, Monty has done a considerably better job this month. So I think the home run will be a by-product of us having good at bats. So yeah, I have seen a much better effort from our guys.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

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