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NL DIVISION SERIES: BRAVES VS DODGERS

October 7, 2018

Dave Roberts

Atlanta, Georgia - pregame 3

Q. Dave, this team has played a lot of baseball games the last few years. I was wondering how you guys fend off the physical and the mental toll of going so deep seemingly every year, and if the depth that you guys have and all the moving parts helps keep the guys fresh mentally and physically.
DAVE ROBERTS: I think you answered your own question. Because we have so much depth and we can rest guys in the middle of games and kind of -- to win a game and just the versatility lends itself to kind of overcoming 162 games. And then also through a month of playoffs, over the last few years, it keeps guys sharp mentally, physically.

And I think that just the experience has really helped our ball club as far as playing in meaningful games, whether it be this year in the regular season, Game 163, and throughout the postseason.

Q. Dave, I know along those lines last month in St. Louis you said that you felt like your team was the least fatigued of any club in the Majors because of the way that you moved guys in and out and get guys rest. I'm just wondering how your views on that kind of thing have evolved from the time you were a player to where you are now.
DAVE ROBERTS: Considerably. As a player, you're always supposed to think you're the best option. You've got plenty of gas in the tank, you can withstand fatigue, whatever the case. And that's the lens you should look through it from. But as a coach, as a manager, you have to more think of the bigger picture and how to keep guys involved and understand what the demands are on a player.

So that's what makes it a lot easier when you have a lot of good players, but it speaks to the importance of having communication with the players and not to take away their confidence or understand that they still have value, though, yeah.

Q. J.T. talked about beyond Freese's work at the plate, his influence on some of the younger guys. What have you seen from him in that regard in terms of off-the-field stuff since he's been here?
DAVE ROBERTS: David has been great for our ball club. You hear a lot of good things about him from the other side. Coaches and players talk about him, the way he plays the game. But to see him over the last couple of months and how the young players, veteran players have gravitated towards him, spending time with him on the road, having the conversations in the infield during batting practice and the clubhouse. So for him to have that impact on a club this fast obviously is a credit to him, and I echo everything J.T. said.

Q. Walker showed up with such self-confidence. Have you had to manage that at all, or do you let that go, or how did you handle all that throughout the course of the season?
DAVE ROBERTS: Definitely it's not something I felt that we needed to manage. That's something that I think is real, the confidence. And so you definitely don't want to kind of take away from that. I think that, you know, from last year to this year and certain markers that Walker has had to overcome as far as the big game in St. Louis and to go eight innings, to come back in a big game against Colorado at home, which we felt was a must-win game, and to win that game, and then to pitch 163.

So now you're here against a good club in Atlanta on the road. But I think that that confidence is that much more justified, and Walker has always had that confidence. So for us to kind of harness it or manage it, I never thought we needed to, and it's just good to see that his confidence -- I've always believed it's real, yeah.

Q. Dave, you guys have played a lot of post-season baseball. When you have so much experience in the postseason and you've gone to the World Series, how does that impact a team's approach going into this year?
DAVE ROBERTS: Well, this year obviously we didn't start the way we had hoped. But I think that the experience guys pulled from is that there wasn't any panic. And, you know, you look at the beginning of May and we stayed the course, and we believed in each other and knew that we were going to come out on top and win the division, get to the postseason, and give ourselves a chance to win a World Series.

So I think the experience, the continuity that we have had helped us get through that. So now when you're talking about post-season baseball experience, it just -- I like our guys not letting any particular moment get too big for us. And so that's something I think that experience helps.

Q. Can you just take us through the lineup changes you made today? Obviously mostly matchup-based do you think?
DAVE ROBERTS: Well, there's a left-handed starter, so we went more heavy right-handed bats. Wanted to keep Cody in there, so if they do pivot and go to their bullpen. And I think it gives us a good way to counter anything that they do. So there's one side you want to beat the starter, but you also want to combat against potential matchups that they might pose. So for us to construct the lineup to have guys where we have them, get Kemp, Freese, Taylor back involved against the starter, Newcomb, I think that that gives us the best chance to win today.

Q. Following up on Andy's question from two days ago about Yasiel Puig and the discussion you had with him. Where do you stand with all that?
DAVE ROBERTS: It's over. It's over. Once they made the decision -- he's not in the lineup not because of what happened. He's going to be ready to help us off the bench in some way to win a game today, and it was a mistake that he made. Probably won't be his last on the bases, but we talked about it, and we've moved on.

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