AL DIVISION SERIES: ASTROS VS WHITE SOX

October 9, 2021

Tony La Russa

Guaranteed Rate Field

Chicago White Sox

Workout Day Press Conference

Q. Hey, Tony. Who is your starting pitcher for Game 3 tomorrow?

TONY LA RUSSA: Dylan Cease.

Q. Can you explain the reasoning behind that decision?

TONY LA RUSSA: Well, the reasoning was it's a short series, and you have all hands on deck in the first two games, and you never know if it is going to be one of those extra inning games. You got length. He was the longest guy there. So other than that, you know, looking forward to starting him.

Q. Does Carlos's health factor into that decision as well?

TONY LA RUSSA: It does because there's more certainty, but we have some optimism about we can get a win tomorrow maybe and pitch him for Game 4.

Q. Tony, how do you manage or do you manage differently in an elimination situation compared to if you had two or three more games left in this?

TONY LA RUSSA: It's really an easy answer, maybe hard to believe, but I am what I was taught. I manage the spring training like it is the last game I am going to manage in my life. You get used to the urgency. Not that I can -- that's how I feel.

Obviously, you have different considerations about getting guys innings and all that stuff, but the urgency is you practice everyday from spring training until now. You kid many times about wanting to win a game in the spring training, but it's the truth. Therefore, you get to that top elevation of urgency and focus, and that's -- you can't go back. You can go below that. I try not to.

Q. Do you say anything to your team, or is it just go play like you played all year?

TONY LA RUSSA: We've been talking inside. The guys, they know that yesterday's effort was special, and they made some plays. They gained the edge, but there wasn't anything wrong with the way we competed. And a lot of the stuff that we made happen, almost made happen, is the way we are supposed to go about it. So you know, we'll talk amongst ourselves. I won't call a meeting.

Q. Tony, you said in the regular season at least you would never tell a team, "We need to go out and sweep the opponent," but obviously, that's what you have to do here. Does it become easier or harder to focus and drill down on just one game at a time at this point?

TONY LA RUSSA: I'll repeat what I said before. It's -- people may disagree. I go by what I was taught over the years. You know, I praise my mentors, and I have had the experience of knowing the game you are playing is the most important game. And if you have another level of urgency and focus, then you better have a really good club that can afford to play without those edges.

The worst thing you can do is going into the series thinking to get there, we need to sweep these guys. No, you can't do that. You try to win the game. So the level of urgency, if you do it right -- I saw it yesterday. If we played just as hard as we did yesterday, we'll have a great chance tomorrow.

Q. Tony, you made a comment -- you made a comment yesterday post-game about Craig Kimbrel, that he was -- I think it was not his usual -- not the role he has been used to in his career. Did you mean pitching the eighth inning, or did you mean coming in the middle of an inning and not starting an inning fresh?

TONY LA RUSSA: Ever since he has been in our uniform, I mean, it's been an adjustment. The one advantage I had there was I was with him in 2018 starting with the birth of his daughter, and all of the teammates, and I was one of them even though I was upstairs. You know the character of the man. He is a very, very special character guy.

Coming in here in a different role is a heck of an adjustment for the guy. He has Hall of Fame credentials, and that's what I mean. He is having to pitch the eighth inning, and there is a difference when those three outs you are targeting, you are trying to get to end the game, and normally you usually don't bring your closer in in the middle of an inning unless the outs that he gets are going to end it. That's what I meant. It's a heck of a mental adjustment. I know he would never make any excuses. That's why I'm just giving my explanation of why -- how hard it is for him.

Q. Are you thinking of switching anything around or is he still your guy going in?

TONY LA RUSSA: He will get the lead. He pitched in the eighth. I hope that we have the kind of situation where we have them the majority of the time that we get the outs and can save the guy for the role that suits him.

Q. Hey, Tony. You've managed against a lot of very, very good teams. How difficult is the Astros' lineup to work through?

TONY LA RUSSA: How difficult is what?

Q. How difficult is the Astros -- if difficult is the right word, how difficult is the Astros lineup to work through?

TONY LA RUSSA: Well, I have a unique perspective. It's exactly the same difficulty that all those years with those great competitions between the Cardinals and the Astros, and that's what they were. From one to eight, the pitcher was in there, but Berkman, Bagwell and Biggio and Kent, all those guys, Beltran, it's the same kind of issue, just professional hitters, good hitters up and down the lineup. They run the bases well and play defense. It must be an Astros thing.

Q. Hey, Tony, just what are some of the qualities that have stood out to you about Dylan Cease this season?

TONY LA RUSSA: Well, we've all shared -- those of us that have been watching the games, and you think about -- and I do. I think about his first bullpen, and you can tell he had outstanding talent, and I watched the progress where he got more consistent in his delivery and commanding pitches, and he takes it into the season, and all the different situations that he had to face. Sometimes it was good early and then got in a little struggle. Never quit competing, and quickly the tweak, comes to the dugout. He and Ethan were talking, and he would fix it.

Just watching him progress, I mean, it's been really fun for all of us to see him -- I don't know if mature is the right word. Just get better at a quicker rate than you would expect, and he was pitching for a team most of the time in contention -- all the time in contention, so there's extra pressure. So I mean, he is the right choice tomorrow. I'm fired up to watch. We all are.

Q. Something has been said so far about all the hits the White Sox have had have been singles. Do you see anything behind that that you can put your finger on, or is it just have good at-bats and extra base hits?

TONY LA RUSSA: Our hits?

Q. Yeah.

TONY LA RUSSA: How many hits do they have out of the park? You know, just --

Q. Two?

TONY LA RUSSA: I think there's good pitching on both sides. I can remember seeing -- what was it called before, Enron, the first time? What a bandbox, the ball goes out here and goes out there, and he kept playing. When there's good pitching against you, it's hard to get the barrel on it. They've had a number of years where -- that's what happens. It's tough. You know, the breaking ball with Tucker yesterday was -- Craig got under it, and if he would have made the pitch he was trying to make, he wouldn't have got a home run. There's been a lot of good pitching. I think as long as you make contact, that's your chance. Strike-outs don't give you that chance.