MLB WORLD SERIES: GIANTS v ANGELS

October 27, 2002

Dusty Baker

DUSTY BAKER: I guess so, yeah. Seventh round, I guess. Title fights are 12 rounds. Yeah, it does. I mean, this has been a heavyweight fight. You know, it's been the ups and downs. Overall, it's been fun and very gratifying. We'll see who's standing in the final round.

DUSTY BAKER: Well, I don't like to judge another manager. I know that he handles his players to play for him, which I think is number one. His tactics are good. I know Mike's not scared. Mike is calm and cool in the dugout over there. It's been a pleasure to enjoy a match against Scios, to see progress in a young man - well, he's not that young anymore, younger than me still (smiling). Seeing him from the day he came in as a little rookie, now he's a very, very good manager.

DUSTY BAKER: I don't know. Probably a man that was firm but fair, and was prepared, because I pride myself on being prepared daily. Above all, a person that's a winner.

DUSTY BAKER: Well, I think Jeff said it very well. It's not only this season, it's been the past five or six seasons. This team deals with adversity just as well as any team I've been on. This team is a team that invariably - I don't know what our record is after tough losses, but I think we play 750, 800 ball if you look over the course of time. We have a way of letting yesterday go, especially if it was bad, because you can't bring it back. That's the mark of a true professional and a man, to me. You let whatever happened negative yesterday, let it go, and dwell on the job we have to do today, because you can't bring back yesterday. That's probably the thing I'm most proud of this team. This team has been a very, very, very resilient team since I've been here.

DUSTY BAKER: No, there was no doubt. Benny is swinging the bat right now. I don't know what kind of bones and muscles this guy has, but he heals quicker probably than anybody I seen. He did take a beating. You try to take him out of this lineup today, you might get a beating. He's ready. He comes to play. As far as what made my decision on DH today, young Pedro Feliz, who is going to be a star, number one, I think he can handle it. Number two, I think his swing and where he likes the ball in his happy zone is most conducive against Lackey. Also, it gives me options where I can use Goodwin later, Dunston later, without locking them into the DH situation. Also, Lackey has been much better on right handers -- I'm sorry, left-handers, than he has been on right handers. I think right handers are hitting .317 with nine home runs, and left-handers are hitting .210 with one home run off of him, with almost .200 at-bat. That's pretty clear, for some reason he's better against left-handers than right handers. Plus, they don't know a whole lot about young Pedro Feliz, his power, straight away, which is probably the most successful part of this ballpark. All those variables and factors there. I called him last night, midnight, to tell him he was in the lineup. He said thank you, because his family is here, and I'm sure he'll respond.

DUSTY BAKER: I mean, right now, I don't know what's going to influence anything, other than us winning today. I mean, it's been a great, great ride since we've been here. Have been here a long time. We're at a point where we're about to reach a goal that we wanted to reach years ago. We just have one more game here before we reach that final goal that we've always wanted to reach.

DUSTY BAKER: Well, that's always something that is our concern, you know. Right now, everybody is injured to some degree because everybody's tired and worn. These guys have a lot of miles on their body this year. I mean, the one thing we're proudest of is probably the fact, you look at our team record as far as injuries, as far as injuries to our pitchers, we have to be amongst the league leaders as far as our pitchers not getting hurt. Other than Joe Nathan having an operation on his shoulder, I can't recall any major operations to anybody on our team, other than just minor cleanup work that's happened. I think we've done a very good and a very conscientious job of protecting our guys.

DUSTY BAKER: I don't know. You got two high-scoring offenses, I think, number one. Plus, you got some guys that are on both sides that haven't been this far. Very few guys have been this far, especially the pitchers. There's only a few guys out there with post-season experience. Like I said, this extra whatever it is, 17 games, is a lot on some of the guys. Right now, it appears that the hitters are still stronger than the pitchers. You don't get tired hitting. You can hit, like, all day long (smiling). You get tired playing defense, you get tired pitching.

DUSTY BAKER: I thought about it. But Jeff is just now starting to get going, himself. We don't want to have two guys possibly starting to tail off because of whatever situation. I thought about it. But I said, "Hey, man, we got to go with what got us here to this point."

DUSTY BAKER: That had something to do with it. He's most rested. Rueter would be out there on three days' rest. As you've seen in the past, a guy on three days' rest hasn't pitched too well, in modern history anyway. Kirk is available today as well as everybody else, except Russ Ortiz.

DUSTY BAKER: How was I showing him up? I don't care what they like, really. You know what I'm saying? I mean, that wasn't intended for them at all. That was intended as a gesture straight to Russ Ortiz, a gesture of appreciation, thank you, you pitched a heck of a game, you've had a heck of a year. That was a gesture of thank you to Russ. It had nothing to do with the Angels. The Angels weren't even in the equation. Nobody should flatter themselves they were in this situation. You know what I'm saying? If they took it the wrong way, I'm sorry. But I'm not sorry that I gave Russ the ball.

DUSTY BAKER: Well, I think you enjoy the experience once the game starts. Pregame, postgame isn't that enjoyable (smiling). I'm honest. I don't mean anything by it. I say that every day. You hope you win today's game, and then it would be enjoyable for everybody, the city and everything. The name of the game is to win.

DUSTY BAKER: I don't know right now. That's not the most important thing right now. Right now, the most important thing is to win this game. If somebody wanted me back, then they would -- a lot of times you wouldn't wait till the last minute to tell them. Who were those Angels?

DUSTY BAKER: Thank you.