AL DIVISION SERIES: TIGERS VS GUARDIANS

October 12, 2024

Stephen Vogt

Progressive Field

Cleveland Guardians

Pregame 5 Press Conference

Q. How did you sleep last night?

STEPHEN VOGT: I slept great. I watched that game last night. It was a really fun game to watch, and then went to bed. And, yeah, got some good sleep, ready to go.

Q. Obviously you're not far removed from your playing days. Does the energy of today remind you of any specific moments in your career?

STEPHEN VOGT: Yeah. I think back in 2013 I was playing for the A's against the Tigers in a Game 5, getting ready to catch, and that was exciting, Game 7 in '18 with the Brewers, about to play the Dodgers in Game 7 to go to the World Series. Been in a couple of these situations before.

It's just exciting. I think that's the vibe in the clubhouse right now. We're all pumped. Like this is what you play for. You play for a chance to move on and Game 5. It doesn't get any better than this.

Q. With Cookie throwing out the first pitch, obviously you don't want to read too much into that, but just that moment for him to be able to walk out there in front of the fans?

STEPHEN VOGT: I think it's going to be great. What Cookie has meant to this organization for years, we've talked about it all year, is truly special. And for him to come back and pitch for us this year and give us what he gave us until the injuries kind of took over.

But Cookie has been a huge part of the history of this place. So for him to get the moment to be able to throw out the first pitch on a Game 5, I think it's a moment that he's earned, and then some. And it will exciting for our fans, and the guys in the clubhouse are really excited for him as well.

Q. You had Hedges catch Game 2. So what went into the decision with Bo today?

STEPHEN VOGT: There's a number of factors. I think one is Bo's been doing a really nice job navigating our starters in the early part of the game, and Bo is an offensive weapon as well.

So I think looking for all of those reasons, and then you have Hedgey to come off the bench late in the game. So there's a number of factors that went into it, and Bo caught Boyd a number of times in the regular season as well.

Q. Kerry Carpenter is not in the starting lineup today, but it sounds like he could potentially be available. How do you manage knowing that he might come in as a pinch hitter somewhere along the way? Are there certain situations where you might use one pitcher or another against him?

STEPHEN VOGT: I think it's just knowing that he's there, knowing that he's going to be available as soon as there's an opportunity for them to fire him off the bench.

We'll be prepared for him. Again, we trust all of our pitchers versus right, versus left. And we kind of know by now where they're going to use him, but I think they could use him at any time. So it's just for us to be prepared at any moment that he could hit.

I'm glad to hear that he's still active. You never want anybody to be injured. So I'm glad he's still active.

Q. Obviously José is a big-time leader for you guys, but in the playoffs specifically, how have you seen him kind of fill that role?

STEPHEN VOGT: He's the best player we have. He's one of the best players in the world. He leads us on the field, leads us in the clubhouse. He brings energy to our team, and he hasn't wavered whatsoever. He's the same person he's been every day all year long. José is the man.

Q. He's, like, in recent days been asked about Skubal, and he's a couple times said something like we understand he's really good, but we are, too, and he needs to be asked what it's like to face us. With your leader and your best player having that kind of confidence, what do you think that can do for everyone?

STEPHEN VOGT: I think that's the confidence that our whole room has. And he's just representing that. There's nothing better than facing the best in an elimination game. That's what you want. You want to go after their best, and our guys are confident. We've seen him. We're prepared, and now you just get to go play, see what happens.