NL DIVISION SERIES: PHILLIES VS BRAVES

October 14, 2022

Rob Thomson

Citizen's Bank Park

Philadelphia Phillies

Pregame 3 Press Conference

Q. When did you guys find out that Strider would be starting today, and how did that change your prep work, if any?

ROB THOMSON: It was probably three or four hours ago, I guess. I'm sure they want to get him in, make sure he's okay and then make the announcement.

And really didn't -- we knew what the lineup was, whether it was Strider or Morton. We've seen these guys a lot. There wasn't too much prep we had to do.

Q. I know this is a tough day for you guys with the loss of Corey yesterday. I know you knew him, spent time with him. How did the team find out? Could you tell us the reaction? And just kind of what he meant to you guys and you, yourself.

ROB THOMSON: I found out, I think, from Kevin Gregg after the Game 2 in Atlanta. And it's sad news. I hadn't known him until -- he came to the Citi Field to meet us. And we got to know him. Got to meet him, got to meet the family. Tremendous family.

And you just see the strength he had, the confidence he had to be able to get through this.

I spoke with his father yesterday. I'm not going to tell you what we talked about, exactly what he talked about, but we talked about Corey and the final couple of days. But they're strong. They're going to get through this. They know where he's at right now.

But it was tough to take because Corey, we got to know Corey a little bit and really liked him and liked his character and liked everything about him. So it's tough.

Q. You mentioned the other day you thought Hoskins was close but Schwarber was a little bit in between. How do you get out from being in between?

ROB THOMSON: Work. Maybe a day off and then some work. And he was the first guy in the clubhouse today and he was getting after it.

I mean, I trust guys that prepare. You have to. And he's probably taking a thousand swings down there today trying to figure it out, knowing him. He'll be out there hitting off a curveball machine pretty quick too. I think it's just work.

Q. Strider hasn't pitched in 26 days. How much of the approach has to be thinking about trying to get his pitch count up given that he might be a little limited?

ROB THOMSON: We'll have to wait and see what his stuff looks like and is he around the plate. I think he's probably going to be limited to two or three innings, I would think. We'll just have to see how he looks.

Q. Coming in the clubhouse today, have you noticed a difference in the players at all, the fact that they're home, playing a playoff game?

ROB THOMSON: I mean, they're always upbeat. You've got Maton and Stubbs and those guys in the clubhouse, they're messing around all the time.

But I feel like there's a little bit more energy today. They're really looking forward to getting out on this field and getting in front of our fans. I mean, they've never really lived that before, not here. So I think they're real excited.

Q. What went into the Flyers appearance and what were fans saying to you, did you have fun?

ROB THOMSON: It was a lot of fun. It really was. I was telling some people earlier, when we're on the road for 17 days, you don't really get a sense of what the atmosphere is like in the city because we're not here.

We hear from people saying, oh, it's electric in the city. They're waiting for you guys to come home. But walking through -- I went to the hockey game last night and I beat the drum. And they won. So I'm taking credit for that. (Laughter).

But just walking through the arena and all the people acknowledging they knew who I was. I've gone 58 years, nobody knew who I was now all of a sudden. But everyone wishing us well and good luck, go get 'em, I really got a sense of the electricity in the air in the city last night.

Q. You're 1-0 with the drum. Quick question on the bullpen with Eflin. What goes into conversations with him being that it's unconventional for what he's doing right now about maybe going back to back in the series or just how he's recovering?

ROB THOMSON: It's a daily conversation with all of them, with how they're recovering, check in on them -- how are you feeling? A lot of guys lie this time of year, so you've got to make sure you know who they are when you're talking to them.

But he's gone back to back earlier in the year. We want to make sure we check that box, we've done that. We just check in on all of them every day.

And we'll have a sense of what the answer is going to be depending on the workload, how many pitches they threw yesterday, how many days in a row they've gone, things like that. He's done very well so far, as far as recovery.

Q. Schwarber is one of the few guys on the active roster who has significant postseason experience. I'm curious, from your perspective, how does that impact the team, if it does? And do you see guys going to him for advice to bounce things off about what the atmosphere might be like during the postseason?

ROB THOMSON: I'm sure guys are asking him questions about it. And I'm sure he's given advice. I don't think it's imperative, but I think it helps to have this type of experience in this type of atmosphere and these type of moments.

But, so far, we've got a lot of guys that haven't played in the playoffs and they've played really well and have taken those critical moments and did well with them. So I'm proud of them for that.