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MLB WORLD SERIES: NATIONALS VS ASTROS

October 25, 2019

AJ Hinch

Washington, D.C. - pregame 3

Q. Talk about Yordan and what your plans are going forward after this.
AJ HINCH: He's going to get a really big at-bat today off the bench. And he's a good weapon to have in a National League game, for hopefully the biggest at-bat of the game if needed. He's likely to play outfield at some point. I know that's a big question. He's not playing today, and as you know, I love talking about today's game. So I would look for him to get loose whenever I have an opportunity to make an impact.

Q. Have you made a decision on the starter for Game 4?
AJ HINCH: Nope.

Q. Was there anything in the first two games about the Nationals that you learned that maybe you didn't know before coming into this series?
AJ HINCH: That's a good question. First off, we've had a lot of respect for them coming into this series. We saw them in the spring and then we didn't get to follow them very closely throughout the season. But obviously the names on their roster, the amount of winning they've done, specifically in the last hundred-plus games, the way they went through the playoffs, all got our attention.

I think the way the games have played out there's been a couple of plays and a couple of at-bats that have really shown the depth of their roster and the length of their team, whether it be a couple of guys walking that don't normally walk, whether it be contact with two strikes, whether it be some of their power. Their star appeal in the middle of their lineup, not surprising, but on full display.

And then ultimately the trust in their starters. We worked those first two guys pretty hard and they continued to go out there and answer the challenge. Especially Strasburg at the end of that outing when he had the big at-bat against Tucker.

I don't know that any of that surprised us as much as I see the complete offense that they are when they're at their best, whether it's a homer off the bottom of the order, whether it's some of their guys that don't walk walking, and then ultimately their best players doing what really good players do, which is be key to their outburst.

Q. Can you talk a little bit about the work of Alex Cintron and Joe Espada. In the case of Espada, the interest of other teams in him maybe for manager?
AJ HINCH: So we've had a number of coaches in the last couple of years make great impact. We've had a number of them get asked about by other teams. They've interviewed. We've turned over part of the staff because of that. And I'm proud of the opportunities that are being given to the coaches that have been on our coaching staff.

In respect to the two guys that you mentioned, Cintron has done an incredible job of adjusting to being a hitting coach after being at first base. He develops great relationships. He's very, very thorough in our game planning and our mindset as an offense. I think the players trust him. I think they rely on him and Troy Snitker heavily in the hitting department to be prepared for every at-bat and ultimately fix their swings when their swings are off or continue to encourage them when times are good.

Joe Espada as a managerial candidate, I've said this before, any team that asks about him or that goes down this path is heading down the right path with a really quality person. He's got leadership skills. He's got a feel for players. Players respect him. He's been exposed to a lot of different things in his career, from his Miami days to his Yankee days to now his Astros days, where he can draw from that experience and be a really impactful leader of a dugout and a clubhouse.

Not going to comment any further on anything that's going on with him. But they're looking at the right guy when they're looking at him.

Q. How challenging is it for the Nationals to try to get through October the way they are with their pitching with basically six guys that they've been going to?
AJ HINCH: Yeah, that's an answer for them. I think it's incredibly challenging to get through October with any pitching in any series because it can be very unpredictable. You can have a blueprint for something and then one game can change that, albeit an extra inning game or maybe a game where a team busts out and we score a lot of runs early and it changes what your initial game plan is.

Anything is possible in October. I see a lot of different ways to the finish line. In the first couple of games things have gone about as perfectly for them as it can and their players have stepped up and answered the challenge, whether it's a couple of guys that maybe didn't expect to pitch or their starters having to endure a little bit of pressure.

But I think it's a better question at the end of a seven-game series on did it work, did it not work, how much of an impact was their game plan, and how did we adjust to it.

Q. In an era where so often the philosophy is work the count deep and run the pitch count up, how do you make the judgment when it's a pitcher on a night where the best pitch you might see is early in the count?
AJ HINCH: Yeah, it's changed over the years. As teams have deployed the bullpenning idea and the willingness to pull starters in the first third of the game to the middle third of the game, and oftentimes they're pulled certainly before the latter third of the game. From an offensive standpoint you never know when that pitch is going to be there.

I think aggressiveness is what this era is all about. OPS is what this era is all about. People are hunting pitches that they can do damage against. And you can't be too picky when it comes to that against elite pitching.

So it changes a little bit. It's funny, I get asked this question about, we worked Scherzer and Strasburg and their high pitch counts quite a bit, got them out of the game in the 5th and the 6th. Are we going to do that against Sánchez tonight? You've got to come to the game to find out.

You've got to be careful if you take pitches early in the count that you should hit, you may drive up a pitch count and miss an opportunity to score and do damage.

I don't really care what approach teams take or what era we're in. We need to find a way to score runs, and that might be the first pitch of the at-bat.

Q. Two members of the 2017 World Champions have been mentioned as potential New York Mets manager, Carlos Beltran and the reports mention you, as well. What's it like for you to be mentioned and what kind of manager do you think Beltran would make?
AJ HINCH: Beltran is a great baseball man, and I hope he gets an opportunity to continue to pursue this. I'm proud that he wants to be a part of the managing circles. I'm glad he wants to work. I'm glad he wants to impact the next generation of players and make decisions and be in what I consider one of the most fun jobs in baseball, as a manager of a baseball team and a leader of men.

Again, another good baseball man that deserves attention. I know he's gotten a lot of attention the last few seasons, just barely coming off the field. If you talk to any player on our team they are steadfast in their belief in him as an impact.

In regards to me, I'm the Houston Astros manager and I'm proud to be that. I don't need to reference anybody else because this is the team I work for and I'm proud to be a part of.

Q. We got a chance to talk to both Justin and Jose after the game and then George referenced them both as leadership that guys respect them so much. What kind of impact have you seen them have in the last couple of days as you guys venture into this thing?
AJ HINCH: We have a great vibe in our clubhouse and chemistry amongst our guys. If one guy is down the next guy steps up. If one guy is struggling the next guy helps him. Part of that is just the experience. We've been around a lot of winning. But winning doesn't come for free. It's not easy. It's not just throw the balls out there and end up at the end of the game doing well. It's a lot of preparation. It's a lot of dealing with some adversity. It's about dealing with slumps or not a lot of people just lay fastballs right down the middle for these guys.

This is the nature of being on a team and riding this roller coaster in this sport that gives you immediate feedback if you're not at your best or if you're not -- performing is hard at this level. These guys make it look easy a lot. But it can be really difficult. The players that we've had that have been here before, that have done something, that have some hardware, that have credibility in our clubhouse are huge right now. Not because we feel like we're up against something is that we haven't done before, but just because of the nature of the success failure and the magnitude of the moment.

These guys dream about playing in the World Series. And we're here. And we've got another opportunity to win a game today. And the way that we approach that and the enthusiasm that we approach that needs to be positive and ready to go.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

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