MLB WORLD SERIES: PHILLIES VS ASTROS

November 5, 2022

Rob Thomson

Minute Maid Park

Philadelphia Phillies

Pregame 6 Press Conference

THE MODERATOR: We'll take questions for Rob.

Q. Bryson Stott was just in here and he said Kyle Schwarber and David Robertson spoke to them, I don't know if it was all together, but about their experiences and how difficult it will be coming back from 3-2. Do you know what their message was to them?

ROB THOMSON: I don't. That was the first I've heard that those guys had talked.

Q. Maybe they just talked to him?

ROB THOMSON: Yeah, probably.

Q. But how important is it to have veterans like that with the leadership that can relay their experiences?

ROB THOMSON: Yeah, I mean, all that stuff always helps. Really it gets down to the fact that you just got to go out and play your own game and stay within yourself and just slow it down. What happens, happens.

But what tends to happen is people try to do too much because you're back's against the wall. You just got to go out and play.

Q. I'm wondering if you considered any other lineup changes ahead of Game 6?

ROB THOMSON: Yeah, Kevin and I talked about it, but we decided with Valdez going, we would keep J.T. right where he's at, just leave it alone and don't overthink it.

Q. I imagine you kept your routine the same today? Did you get to the ballpark extra early like you normally do?

ROB THOMSON: Always. Yeah.

Q. What time did you get here today?

ROB THOMSON: I think it was probably 10:30 or something. But I'm staying downtown here, so I can walk to the ballpark.

Q. Is this one of the tougher moments to manage with a guy like Wheeler in the sense that it's an elimination, he hasn't necessarily been at his best, and you have to make that right call. Do you err on one side or the other because of the situation?

ROB THOMSON: I don't. I'm not one side or the other. I just see what I see and then react to it. We've got a full bullpen. We should have Ranger tonight. We might have Nola tonight for an inning if we needed it. But we haven't checked on those, I haven't checked on Ranger or Nola yet. But I'm pretty sure on Ranger.

So I think you just react to what I see, velocity, stuff, how the ball's coming off their bats, and then just move on.

Q. The Astros here are trying to get over a little bit of a hump losing Game 6 here last year to the Braves and then 2019 the Nationals coming in here and winning. If you guys are able to jump out a little early here tonight, do you think that that can put maybe some doubt in the minds of not only some of the players that were here and the fans, maybe pressure gets to them a little bit?

ROB THOMSON: I guess it could. I said all along about our club in September, the September swoon, and I said, you know, that was a hump to get over. So maybe that, this could be the same thing.

Q. You talked about Ranger and Nola availability tonight. How tough is it to maybe consider using them because knowing that would impact Game 7, or I guess you can't think about Game 7?

ROB THOMSON: Yeah, you got to win tonight. You would like to stay away from one of 'em, anyway, but if we had to, we had to. You play a 17-inning game, I mean, you're going to have to go through everybody.

Q. What's the demeanor like in the clubhouse? And what was it like on the plane ride because this is the first time you guys are facing elimination, so how are the guys reacting to that?

ROB THOMSON: Very normal. They were pretty loose, music's playing, they're running around, they're doing their crosswords, they're signing all those baseballs in there, and just relaxing. Curveball machine was going today, and we'll go out and have a good BP and get some good work in.

Q. Do you think, looking back, you always treated big postseason games like pretty much any other game or was that something you had to learn along the way?

ROB THOMSON: You mean managing it?

Q. Yeah.

ROB THOMSON: Well, I don't think I'm managing the playoff games any different, or I am managing it differently than I would regular season games.

Q. Just with quicker hooks, but not just to put so much pressure on yourself?

ROB THOMSON: Yeah, I think that's a learned thing, just by having the experience, you know. You play all these games in playoffs like we did with the Yankees and this is a great experience for our guys that have never been there.

But I think you play 'em over and over and over and you just kind of, it feels like normal. You got to treat it like normal.