MLB WORLD SERIES: PHILLIES VS ASTROS

October 29, 2022

Rob Thomson

Minute Maid Park

Philadelphia Phillies

Pregame 2 Press Conference

THE MODERATOR: We'll take questions for Rob Thomson.

Q. Take us through your decision. Nola retired seven in a row. You made the decision to bring Alvarado in to get Álvarez and Tucker. And then also, if you would, talk about using Suárez in this game and will that affect him starting in Game 3?

ROB THOMSON: Okay. So we haven't decided on who is going to start Games 3 and 4. I'll announce that after the game. We want to talk to the guys and we want to circle back with the pitching coaches one more time.

But when we came back to tie it in the 5th, I felt like that was such a huge momentum swing that I didn't want to let them breathe at all. Like, I wanted to try to do everything I could to shut that, shut it down right there.

So we had decided at that point that Noles was going out. He was going to get Peña and then we were going right to Alvarado. I just thought that if we let them score, it would take the air right out of our offense and the momentum's gone. So that was a big part of the game.

Q. Stott's given you some really good at-bats, especially last night. Was there any thought, I know it's a left-right thing for you. Any thought at all him and why go Sosa there?

ROB THOMSON: No. We've been doing this the whole time with lefts and rights. I've got a lot of confidence in Sosa too. And Wheeler's got a heavy ground ball, right, and Sosa's an elite defender.

Same thing with Vierling versus Marsh. Marsh gave us a lot of good at-bats last night, but I got a lot of confidence in Matty too.

Q. Just curious, you got Bregman in the middle of those matchups, but this year, contrary to his career numbers, he's better against righties than he is against lefties. Would you be able to do this and is this part of that decisionmaking?

ROB THOMSON: Yeah, it is part of it, but really, Álvarez and Tucker are the biggest part of that. He's wedged in between, but it just so happens that he, he has hit right-handers better than left-handers this year.

Q. Because you've had this throughout the postseason, worry about today and worry about tomorrow tomorrow, would you have Suárez available tonight and maybe do the same thing?

ROB THOMSON: Everybody's available tonight.

Q. You've had a bunch of comebacks in these playoffs and I'm just curious, when did you start to feel during the season that the team had the confidence, the belief, and where did it come from? Does it come from veterans? Where did it start?

ROB THOMSON: Yeah, I don't know where it starts and I don't know where it started. I don't know the exact game. But it seemed like early in June we started having some of these comebacks where we would get down a couple runs and we start just grinding on pitchers and getting to the point where we got some base runners on and somebody pops a home run.

So when you get in that mode, it's like every night you just believe that, okay, the bullpen's going to hold it tight, we're going to get, we're going to grind on some pitcher, and then we're going to come back. And there's just a belief. And I don't know where it comes from or why it happens, but it's happened a lot this year.

Q. Managing for the day, two questions about that: Is it almost a little bit easier path to the day when you know you're not thinking about the next day or the next day after that, just about that? And did you make a conscious decision when the playoffs started or within the playoffs to just, okay, whatever it takes that day because we know it's short series?

ROB THOMSON: Yeah, that depends on when the off days come too. So when we got into the Padre series where we had potentially five in a row, then it's more like the regular season where you got to be careful with guys. And I certainly don't want to put any of our pitchers in harm's way. That's not what I'm about.

So in these seven-game series where you got 2-3-2, you got that day off, two days off, potentially, and so you can use guys a little bit more. If we start the season next year I can tell you I won't manage like this because it's a marathon. This is a sprint now and we have to go for it every day.

Q. You talked about how like for this group you thought maybe the biggest hurdle was just getting in and that would alleviate some of the pressure. What made you think that, A; and B, what made you think that this type of roster could be so successful in the postseason?

ROB THOMSON: First of all, there's been so much talk in the last couple years about, they call it the September swoon where we've gotten to the start of September and we're either in a playoff spot or we're close, and we just haven't played well.

So there's a lot of talk, are they going to choke again, and I think that the players were putting a little bit too much pressure on themselves because they wanted to make the playoffs and they didn't want to talk about it anymore.

And I thought that we had a roster with some veterans on there that were helping the young guys so much that I thought that as soon as that narrative was over or out of the way, I thought we would just relax, be poised, and go out and play, put your body on autopilot and just go play baseball, and that's what they have done.

Q. Was that the type of roster that you had dreamed of?

ROB THOMSON: Well, we've got some veterans that have been there, Schwarber, Harper. We got a lot of guys that haven't. But I think that they kind of carried the ball on keeping people relaxed, keeping people poised, and just go out and play, have fun. If you make a mistake, you got put it behind you and move on.

Q. With Mike as your bench coach why did you like him as the bench coach and how much does his advance scouting background maybe play into what you're doing during the game?

ROB THOMSON: Yeah, quite a bit. So since I've been with Philly Mike has been the advance, head of our advance department, so I work very closely with him. And I've gotten to know him not only as a man, but also as a baseball person. And not only does he understand advance and know every team as well as I do or anybody else, but he also knows the game and he knows situations and how to use pitching and how to use your offense and how to build lineups and things like that.

So I've got a lot of respect for him as a baseball person and I trust him as well as anybody I trust. And I know that he's going to tell me the truth, and if I don't listen to him, he's just going to keep coming with more ideas, and that's what I want.

Q. How is David different as a pitcher than when you had him in New York and what has he brought to this group both as a personality in the clubhouse and an arm in the bullpen?

ROB THOMSON: Yeah, a little less velocity now than he had when he first came up, but I think the stuff's still as good. I forget what his nickname was in New York, but it was --

Q. Houdini.

ROB THOMSON: That's right, because he had a tendency to get in trouble and then work his way out of it, just like he did last night.

But that's who he is. He's got a really calm demeanor and a slow heartbeat and he conveys that throughout the bullpen, so he helps a lot of the younger guys. A lot of guys are going through troubles. He can help them through it. He's a really good teammate.

Q. You were talking about left-handed options. Where do you feel like you are with Brad Hand? He had some good outings early in the postseason and a couple rough ones. Where do you think he is right now?

ROB THOMSON: Yeah, the last couple outings have been a little bit scattered with his command. But I still have trust in him. Because he's a veteran presence. He's been here before and he's done it. So I have no problem putting him in a game in a big spot. We have other guys too that I have a lot of confidence in.

Q. Dusty said something interesting when he was in here about his son and the relationship he has with his son. And he asked the hypothetical question, Who motivates the motivator? And I'm wondering if you have a similar type of muse in your world maybe out of this environment who provides you context or security or ideas or whatever, someone similar like that.

ROB THOMSON: Yeah, I don't know. I've had a lot of those people in my life. A guy I worked for in years past by the name of Mark Newman who has since passed away, but he ran the Yankees farm system for a long time. He was a guy that I would lean on.

My junior college coach, Dick Groch, who had signed Derek Jeter with the Yankees, is a guy that I still call and talk to and he gives me a lot of advice. There's a lot of people, really.

Q. What's the best advice he ever gave you?

ROB THOMSON: Dick? Well, I don't know. I think a lot of people give me the same advice, and it's, Just be yourself. And that's what I try to be.

Q. How rare is it to have someone like Ranger that can just kind of change roles seamlessly and it doesn't seem to shake him?

ROB THOMSON: Yeah, you don't see those guys too often. He just, it's like he's playing in his backyard. He's playing whiffle ball. And he's just having fun out there. The situation, the role, doesn't matter to him he's just going to go out and do his thing and pitch.

Q. Can you talk about the growth you've seen in Alec this year. And obviously -- I mean he's been scuffling a little bit average-wise, but his runners in scoring, the two-run hit last night and he's done well in his position at third base. Talk about what he's done and what you've seen in him this year.

ROB THOMSON: Yeah, I haven't really done much. I think it's more Bobby Dickerson and Kevin Long and the rest of the coaches around him. This kid, I've said it to our local media, this kid has improved more in one year than any other player I've ever had. And it's not just physically, you know, his footwork, his glove work, his throwing action, his throwing accuracy. But it's mentally and emotionally. If he makes a mistake now he moves on. Where before it might take two or three days to come out of it. He's really grown for me as a player and a person and I can't be more proud of him.

Q. As someone who's been around this game for decades now you've seen velocity grow and grow and grow. Both good and bad what has that evolution led to?

ROB THOMSON: Well it's better pitching. But I think for the game there's more strikeouts so there's less action. I think that's the thing that kind of sticks out to me. But guys are bigger and stronger. And there's more data out there that guys are using. It's good for pitching and not so good for hitting.

Q. Was Díaz Robertson's last batter last night or would you have gone to Bellatti there after?

ROB THOMSON: Yes. We were.