AL CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES: RANGERS VS ASTROS

October 15, 2023

Dana Brown

Minute Maid Park

Houston Astros

Pregame 1 Press Conference

Q. (Question regarding Ronel Blanco.)

DANA BROWN: Yeah, so Blanco, what he does for us is gives us a little length and some flexibility in the pen. We thought we needed 13 pitchers because a seven-game series is a little different than five. So we decided to go with 13 and 13.

But Blanco has history out of the pen, and we thought we needed that length. He can bounce back, which is good. He can pitch on a Monday two innings and come back and pitch two more innings on a Wednesday, if we need him. If we go ever go into extra innings, he's been a starter, so we can get multiple innings out of him there. So we decided to go with Blanco.

Q. Dusty said yesterday that Graveman has not improved. What is his status right now, and is he still even throwing?

DANA BROWN: He's getting better. This would be like if it was a regular season it would be a ten-day IL stint with maybe some extra time. I think, from talking to Graveman, he feels a little bit better, just not good enough to go on this roster for this round.

So I still think there's hope, if we get beyond this, that it will be fine, he'll be good to go.

Q. In no way does this disparage your pen, but my question is, we see it throughout baseball where a closer is called upon in the eighth inning because of the matchups. Is that something that's ever been talked about with Pressly?

DANA BROWN: No, so I think the beauty of having someone like an Abreu, who can close, you have the flexibility to pitch him in the 7th if you got 2, 3, 4 coming up or 3, 4 and 5. I think it's always good to have that guy. When I was in Atlanta in '21, we had Matzek, and everyone wanted us to close him, and we were like, no, he's way too valuable.

I think it's so important that you have a guy who has closer stuff, but you can use them in the 7th or the 8th, depending on what part of the lineup is coming up.

I like when we use Abreu in the 7th, when we have 2, 3, 4 coming up, and we know someone else can get the guys out in the 8th. If you have Seager coming up in the 7th, you want Abreu to face him.

Q. What does having two managers with decades of experience say about what it takes to be successful in this game today?

DANA BROWN: Yeah, so with both of these managers, I think they're outstanding with their club. They handle ballplayers very well. They're ballplayer-type managers. These guys love to play for both of these veterans.

And they're both very good. And it's a real special matchup. I was talking earlier about my relationship with Chris Young, and when you look at these two managers, they know each other very well.

And so at the end of the day I think it's going to be a dogfight. I think they're coming to play. But both managers have great skills and qualities. And so I think it's good for the game.

Q. What was your impression of Jose Altuve before coming here, and what have you learned about him since arriving?

DANA BROWN: I've said this a bunch. I think he's like the cup of coffee that you need in the morning. He's the Energizer Bunny. He's all that. You got a guy like Altuve, he's pretty special at the top of the lineup. Of course when he was out, we missed him a bunch. But he can hit for power. He can hit the ball in the gap. He can take an extra base. He'll make good defensive plays. I think he's a special human being and also a special player.

Q. You're coming from an organization that is capable of winning a World Series, but this team has been so successful in the postseason. What have you learned about the Astros that maybe helps you to understand why they've had so much success in October in recent years?

DANA BROWN: Yeah, I think it's a combination of really good pitching people here. We've suffered a lot of injuries, and we still have these guys that come in and do the job. And so to have that type of pitching depth is pretty special. And so I think that's one. I think the defense here is really good. And I think they know how to get timely hits.

And the other thing is these guys have the heartbeat for this stuff. Because at no time did I feel like these guys panicked, even when things didn't look good and we lost 7 of the 9 games to teams that had lost 100 games. These guys hung in there. It was like, okay, let's go, we've got the next series coming up. And I think that's pretty big for teams that have played in the postseason.

Q. This kind of goes to what you just said, but specifically I want to ask about the deep playoff runs that this team has had, seven straight ALCS's, a bunch of World Series, or three. The mental part to stay sharp and focused eight months of the year, what have you seen from the teams?

DANA BROWN: I think it's a grind mentally and it's a grind physically. Those two things take a toll on you after a while. I think we saw some of that with our pitchers that we lost. When you play that long every year into the season, at some point the guys are going to get tired, and some point the guys are going to start breaking down. And losing McCullers, we lost Urquidy for a long period of time during the season. We lost Garcia.

But the beauty is we have some pitching depth here. We have good pitching people here. And they do a good job of getting the guys prepared to step up.

Q. In getting to know Jeremy Peña, he did a lot last year in his first year. How do you think he handled having that attention after what happened last year and adjusting through the course of the season?

DANA BROWN: The bat hasn't been as dynamic this postseason as it was last year. The defense is still pretty specialized. You've seen the plays that he's making. These are game-saving plays that he's made in multiple games.

I think he's a special shortstop. I think the fact that he's a threat with the bat at times is really good. I like the fact that he can run and he can steal a base and score on hits. And so it's a 5-2 player that if he ever gets hot he can carry a c

Q. You knew Dusty before, but what have you learned about him, working with him, and how much has his experience navigated all the challenges of the season especially on the pitching side?

DANA BROWN: I've learned with Dusty that he's pretty special with the players. His relationships are really good. I think he knows how to pat them on the back. I think he knows how to give them a little bit of a push.

And so I think his relationship with the players, it's pretty much unmatched. He's really good at it. And that takes him a long way. I think the players play hard for him. And I think that that helps the players not to panic because they know they have a manager in Dusty Baker who is patient, and they know that Dusty understands the grind of a season and you're going to have some games where you're really good, some weeks you're really good, and some games and weeks when you're not so good.

So Dusty understanding that has helped these guys to relax a little bit, and these guys really know how to turn it on when they have to.