NL WILD CARD SERIES: PADRES VS METS

October 9, 2022

Bob Melvin

Citi Field

San Diego Padres

Pregame Press Conference

Q. Bob, your players sure seem confident to have Joe on the mound. How confident are you to have him out there today?

BOB MELVIN: Yeah, look, starting on Opening Day at home, all he went through that, the run he was on early in the season, the impact he has in the clubhouse and on everybody on this team. It almost seems kind of fitting that he would pitch this game.

Q. Not your first do or die situation. What have you learned from the previous ones, and anything that you can share with your ball club?

BOB MELVIN: You know what, try to have fun with it because this is what you play are inform. These are the type of games that you think about as a kid. So embrace it, know there's going to be a lot of energy there. There's going to be a lot of energy in the ballpark. Try to have some fun with it.

It's easier said than done, but it's going to be electric. You expect guys to show up big time and try not to put too much pressure on themselves.

Q. Wil Myers in the first game, Drury yesterday, Wil Myers back in there today. You just like the matchups better?

BOB MELVIN: There are other different variables too that I probably won't get into, but we like either of these guys. Wil has shown to be a really good defender over there too, a couple of more left-handed bats in there. Either way.

Whoever is not in there is probably our one piece off the bench at some point in time, so we're comfortable with both.

Q. Aside from the stakes and the strategy, how is today different preparation-wise, or is it?

BOB MELVIN: You try to keep it the same, yet you might have to do things differently in these type of games than you have in any other ones. So it's when, similar to Diaz showing up when he did yesterday, there could be a leverage spot that maybe a couple of our guys show up that haven't pitched in that spot before.

So it's about communication before that kind of anything could happen during the course of this game, making sure all the guys know that so they're prepared for it. Obviously a winner take all game adds a little bit more to the urgency, especially probably in the bullpen.

Q. The fact that they used some of their high leverage guys for a lot of pitches last night, how does it affect maybe the way you would attack today, or does it at all?

BOB MELVIN: I don't think it does. It would be different if we had a bunch of different moves on the bench. We don't. Whoever shows up in the innings against us, we'll be prepared for them as far as knowing what they throw and whatever.

But I don't think -- it's more about how we're going to do things than how they would.

Q. In a few of the other Wild Card series over the weekend, we've seen managers go to their top reliever for more outs than maybe they're used to. In both of those circumstances, it kind of came back to bite them. With that in mind and considering Josh hasn't gone more than an inning so far this year, have you had a conversation with him about potentially trying to squeeze more than three outs out of him tonight?

BOB MELVIN: I have, and I know we'll have a conversation at some point in time today too. But there is that dynamic where, if a guy hasn't thrown too many pitches, to ask for too much can be a little bit dicey too.

So I think it's more about where over the course of the game than really how much. We'll have a handle on how much we think he can go, but it could be a different spot than he's used to.

Q. Morejon appeared to be having trouble with the pitch count last night, the way he was coming his ear. What is your preference in a situation like that? Would you prefer they just chuck it and go with the conventional signals? Do you think that he stayed too long trying to get the PitchCom to work for him?

BOB MELVIN: It depends. I like PitchCom because people aren't stealing signs. I'm not a big proponent of sign stealing everywhere. It seems like towards the end of the season that I don't know if these things are being worn out or used too much, they seem to be having more problems with them toward the end of the year.

Some guys are comfortable with them. Some guys aren't. I like it in the fact for the reasons that I stated, but it seems like an instance last night it was a little confusing for him.

Q. Do you leave it to their discretion as to whether they continue with it? Would you at some point say just kill it?

BOB MELVIN: I've gotten to a point where I felt like saying that at times, but I do think, once you get used to it, guys really like that. It speeds things up a little bit too. It's more personal preference for them than me.

Q. Bob, beyond all the internal clubhouse reasons for trying to win tonight, the payoff for the hard work, the long season, all those sort of things, what kind of a motivator potentially is it for a fan base that set a record for sellouts at Petco Park but haven't seen baseball in person in San Diego in the postseason since 2006?

BOB MELVIN: And we know that. We would love for them to be able to see some postseason games. To an extent, we feel like they're a part of us, and it's resonated all year long with the players, myself, the staff, on how influential they are at home in our games.

We would love to be able to bring some games back to them because they deserve it. The way they've shown up for us, the way they've been there at the end of games, all the walkoffs that we've had, they've been very instrumental in that.

All of our guys are very aware that we'd like to get this thing home so our fans can enjoy some postseason games.

Q. Bob, I don't think many people know Bassitt better than you do. Just beyond the stuff, what stands out about him, about his demeanor, about who he is?

BOB MELVIN: I've known Bass a long time now. He's probably, I think, one of the longer tenured guys I've had Oakland, and he's been through a lot to get to this point in time in his career.

He was a reliever. He was a starter. He's always wanted to be a starter. Then he had the injury and had to come back from Tommy John. The time he served when he was rehabbing, I think he served very well. He watched the game. He knew what he was going to work on to get better when he came back.

He's really come into his own as a leader too in the pitching staff. He certainly was in Oakland. And he's a really fierce competitor. When his cheeks get a little red and so forth, that means he's in real compete mode, and I've seen that a lot out of him. I'm proud of him to where he's gotten in his career.

Obviously we want to beat him today, but he is the type of guy you can't help but root for. He's terrific.

Q. For those of us who haven't seen a lot of Trent Grisham, he's hit a couple of impressive home runs, is there more in there than he's done in his career? You see more of this coming?

BOB MELVIN: I do. He has the ability to be an All-Star. I think his track -- he was on the track to being one and then got off to a little bit of a slow start this year. He still hit some home runs, some deep home runs. His defense, if you look at the metrics, is outstanding, and some of the plays he's made here too.

He's just had a difficult season, and sometimes that beats you down a little bit. I think reinvigorated by being in the postseason again. But Trent's got a lot more in his game. I really believe not only can he be a premier outfielder, he's got power, he's got speed. His career should take off into a different trajectory. Maybe just slowed down a bit this year, but he's a really good player.