AL DIVISION SERIES: ASTROS VS WHITE SOX

October 8, 2021

Tony La Russa

Minute Maid Park

Chicago White Sox

Pregame 2 Press Conference

Q. Tony, just obviously José must be feeling good enough to play first base. So what's the latest on how he's feeling and how easy a decision was it for you to put him in the field today?

TONY LA RUSSA: I wore this to hide the bruises because I have him down as a DH, right? He beat me up a little bit, and he's playing first base. I don't like pain. He feels good to go. He is being very honest, and he was good at play yesterday. So we all trust him.

Q. You made the decision on starters for Game 3 or 4. Anything further out from today?

TONY LA RUSSA: We'll wait for tomorrow and confirm it. We need some off day stuff to work on. Why give it today with all the other stuff. I'll give you some news tomorrow.

We're still seeking information from -- it's going to be Cease or Rodon, so we're looking at it.

Q. Tony, I think you said last night, you talked about how you guys have bounced back all year long. Do you see the same feelings in the clubhouse today that you were expecting?

TONY LA RUSSA: Well, if there's one thing I've seen with this club since Arizona, they're very consistent. Like I said, they like to come to the park. They like spending time with each other, and they like to practice, and they like to play.

It's the same vibe today except we know what's at stake. We're going to push hard for a win, get this thing even.

Q. Tony, I know that it's not a must win-game, but it's the closest thing to a must-win game. Is that how you approach it? How do you look at it in a short series like this?

TONY LA RUSSA: We just take the attitude that every game is must win. That way you get used to feeling I've got to pitch as well as I can, defend, hit. So if you just stop and think about it, if there's another level that you can get to and you're saving it for a must-win time, then you're never going to get a position.

As I mentioned, we try to get there 162 times, and you can't, but the playoffs, it's like Game 7 of the World Series. You've got to treat this. We still got beat doing it because they played better. Must win, you just take the attitude that that day you're playing, and you really control your mind. We've been really good about the urgency thing.

So we'll have the same urgency and hopefully get better results.

Q. Just what stood out to you about Lucas Giolito this season?

TONY LA RUSSA: I think what he's done shows the depth of how special he is because he's when he's been good, he's been real good. And when he's gone out there struggling, he's kept us in the game and found a way.

I really think it's just competitive. If you're competing with yourself, like when you're playing golf or something, it's one thing. When you're competing against another opponent, like tennis or a team sport, the other guy's got talent. The other team's got talent. Sometimes they beat you. They're on top of you. How do you handle that; being on top of them, them being on top of you.

Gio is a dead game competitor. He goes out there as a top of the rotation guy, and he wants to give you a chance to win. If it's not working, he's fighting to keep you in it. You see him do it a bunch of times. If it's working early, then he goes as long as he can.

I mean, he's been very impressive. I talk a lot about Tim and José, as far as position player. We have real pitching leadership as well, and he's one of them.

Q. I don't think we asked yesterday, but where exactly did Luis get hit by that pitch? For him to go ahead and reach base every time he got up after that, just what does it say about him?

TONY LA RUSSA: It's very scary in that area. We caught a real break. Maybe that's why he's got six tools. Maybe that other tool he's got is -- he's going to have this determination to use them all and play with pain and be consistent. That should be the sixth tool now that we think about it, mentally just you take your talents and elevate them.

What he did yesterday, that was a pretty good bruise. So now we know what the sixth tool is. It's what happens between his ears, very tough.

Q. On the wrist or the hand?

TONY LA RUSSA: Just above. So missed all these bones here. Just got him a little bruise on top of it. I think about it now, I get chills because that's -- we've played without him enough. We don't want to go through that again.

Q. Andrew Vaughn the last couple weeks of the season, he didn't really seem to be in maybe his best rhythm. Does it feel like a good matchup for him today against the left-hander? What have you seen of him of late?

TONY LA RUSSA: I came very close to playing him yesterday. Here again, we've been together how many months now? So I'm not going to wear you out with this one, but it comes to mind to answer that question. An explanation sounds like an excuse to some.

I think the explanation we all feel is it's his first long season. He got a little mentally and physically fried sometime there in August when he dropped this few hits for that many at-bats because he was still working. So he missed some games. Lately his batting practice has been outstanding. That's why I came very close to playing him yesterday and looking forward to playing him today.

He's looked like he's fresher. He's quicker. Everything is easier to him, and he's quicker. He just got tired. Think about it. What he went through, all the pressure of making the team in Spring Training and playing so much. You say, well, there's still X number of months to go in games. I think that's what hit him.

Q. I know you said you're not ready to announce the Game 3 starter, but the fact that Carlos is even an option for you guys in that game, you must be pretty confident that regardless of the health, he's healthy enough to be able to compete in what would be potentially a game where you guys need to win in order to not be eliminated?

TONY LA RUSSA: Well, confident enough to keep him as a possibility because, believe me, if we were certain that he would be pitching at where he was most of the season, then there wouldn't be any doubt which game you'd pitch him. You'd announce him.

So the fact that we're still optimistic means that he's showing enough, but the throws that he's got to make between now and Sunday and Monday, they dictate. He throws, you see how he reacts. Just don't know for sure, and he doesn't know for sure. We've had a lot of talks about it.

But we know it's there if it's there. So we'll see.

Q. As far as preparing for a game as a manager as opposed to back in the 80's when you were doing it, there's more media, different technology, but is it basically the same? Or is there a lot of different things that you have to do now?

TONY LA RUSSA: I think it's pretty much the same. The media's been the media ever since -- I started in '79, right? ESPN started a couple months later. So there's been a lot of media throughout.

That's the way our fans hear about our team.

As far as the preparation, I mentioned it before, for a lot of reasons -- I get tired of telling how bad it is because I don't like to hear and remind myself as a player. We're information fanatics every year all those years because of the coaching staff we had. So that part is not different.

The part now is that there are other sources, and they get deeper. They give more credibility to what we were thinking. Just like this thing about not facing a guy in the lineup for the third time, that's been going on for years. Mostly you looked at it, if a guy had a start or had limited ways to get a guy out after a couple, so the more weapons he has, the deeper he can pitch.

So there's more information that confirms. Just I keep saying it's got great value, but you've got to be really careful assuming the game's going to be played like the percentages indicate. Sometimes yes, and most times, especially with nine guys on both sides, there are differences and you need to make adjustments.