MLB WORLD SERIES: ASTROS v WHITE SOX

October 23, 2005

Ozzie Guillen

OZZIE GUILLEN: Because we prepare that the whole year long. During the season I give my guys a lot of days off in a period of time and make sure they was ready for this, for this position. I think I just got to go with the guys that have been winning. I've got to go with the guys that have been there every day. But my gut feeling I don't want to change anything in my lineup right now. If it was different, I might do it. But we've been winning with the same lineup and why change it.

OZZIE GUILLEN: Well, I think the best thing with managers go out make sure they don't talk about you, give the players a chance, especially when you speak two languages, or try to speak two languages, they don't know what to say. The only guy that can talk about me is Iguchi. That's the reason why I got my kids back there, too. I like to hang around with the players, and make sure I know how to do it and make sure I know how to prepare themselves. The last time we talk -- the last thing I talk about is baseball. I go back and play cards with them, have a good time with them, play golf. But in the meanwhile they know I'm manager. They respect me as a manager. And the best one I ever played for I think -- I played with good managers, and I played with real bad ones. I think Jeff Torborg is the guy that gave me the best opportunity to play for. (Jim) Fregosi, he gave me a good opportunity to get close to him. I love to play for Bobby Cox. But he's a different type of man. Bobby give me an opportunity to ask a lot of questions about managing and but I think overall I think Jeff Torborg is the one that gave me a better chance for better communication.

OZZIE GUILLEN: We was concerned about those guys that they're going to show up, yes. Remember, I don't have too much experience with my team in this case. But I say a couple of days ago, I say I'd rather have them real rested rather than real tired. Because we have powerful pitchers, we're not control-type guys from the bullpen. We attack people, and I think that helped those kids to throw the ball the way they did it yesterday.

OZZIE GUILLEN: I just finish talking to a couple of media and I say, I think Joe Crede should be a Gold Glove winner. I think this kid, what he bring to our defense, one of the biggest things my pitching staff had -- Joe Crede had a big part of this. We know Joe, was every day during the season, he was making every play. This kid never turn his back to the infield. And I think that's why this kid has a great chance to be something real special.

OZZIE GUILLEN: I think -- if Clemens doesn't pitch again we'd be better off. We have one big step. I'm not going to say I hope he's not. I hope he's healthy. But he seems like when we played Anaheim we don't have Colon. When you don't have your ace facing another team you feel good about it, but in the meanwhile, they still have a great pitching staff behind him. And I think Roger -- I know Roger real well -- not real well, but I play against him for a long time, he's a competitor, and I guarantee he'll be back on the mound when he has to be. You might see him in the bullpen real soon. This guy is just a winner.

OZZIE GUILLEN: Wow, what year? When White Sox thought I should be the manager. I love to teach. I love to be around baseball and I think when I go to have the interview with Kenny Williams I didn't have an idea of what question they're going to ask me. I didn't ask anybody, I didn't make any phone calls to anybody. I was there and talked to Kenny, leave, two hours later I have the job. But I think -- I never -- when I coach, I swear to God, when I coach for the guys I coach for I never thought I'm going to be manager, because when you're coaching, all of a sudden you want to be a manager, that means you're back stabbing the people, and not helping them to win. I want to be manager the first day of the interview. Besides that I'm having fun with the job I have.

OZZIE GUILLEN: When I got to this room the media, people told me he was doing that. Yeah, I let my players do whatever they want to do. I think he's one of the most underrated pitchers in baseball the last couple of years. This kid brings a lot of things to the ballgame. He shows up with the same attitude. If you have at least 20 guys like Mark Buehrle, you make it easy for me to manage. He's great on the field and he's better off the field. This kid always brings a good thing to you.

OZZIE GUILLEN: No, I talked to him as a friend, I talk to him like a father earlier this season. I talked to him in Spring Training about it. I don't know he had this problem in the past until later on. This kid, he had a great opportunity making money in this game, it will be up to him. You take it or leave it. You take it the right way. I say, you continue to do this you're going to ruin your life. Whatever happened in the past is over. You are strong enough to turn this page in the past, you're not going to be strong enough to be a closer in the Major League level, and he did. And he is what he is right now. I think this kid is pretty strong mentally. And it's my job -- I would say it's his family's job, but my job, as long as he plays for me to keep him on the right track and I will.

OZZIE GUILLEN: More comfortable feeling, yeah, because we already see it. I was worried and concerned when he faced Anaheim, obviously because he's a sinker ball pitcher, but his fastball was pretty powerful, throwing pretty hard. Right now I know he did it before, I don't see right now why he can't do it again. I'm pretty comfortable with him. How do I prepare myself to go to Houston when I don't have a DH, and my pitchers have to swing the bat? It's tough. We went to Houston, I lost one of my players. And my pitchers did a pretty good job during the season when we played the National League games. Hopefully we'll continue to do it in the next couple of games we're going to play there. But it's a different ballgame. Hopefully the best from the pitchers, and it's great for Karl to be a pinch-hitter.

OZZIE GUILLEN: No, he was throwing to see how he felt. He has to throw a lot, that's his routine. When we scored the last one -- we scored one more in the 9th, I would feel more comfortable using Jenks. But every time I saw him throw the ball in his warm-up pitching, he didn't throw one strike. And I said, wow, I hope he throws a strike. And I know he's going to throw the ball over the plate. When this -- you will see someone warming up to back him up.

OZZIE GUILLEN: Well, it was easy for me to come here to manage, because I know we have the same people as the reporters and media I was here when I was playing. I know when I come to the ballpark it's the same people working here, the same coaches, the same trainers, same people in the front office, obviously. I was feeling like I was back home. And the relationship between Kenny and myself, it was different. When you play together you have better relation because now we are players, we can do something about it. But when you work in the front office and I'm part of the front office right now, it's a little different because there's a lot of talking. A lot of times you don't want to talk about it. A lot of discussion, a lot of difference between each other. I think between Kenny Williams and myself and all the staff, I think we're all on the same page. And when you're on the same page and you have one thing and only one thing in mind is just win, I think it makes it easy for everyone. I've got Kenny crazy this year, because all the discussion we have, he was, what I say in the paper. We never say anything about the team. But he backed me up real well, he know what he have. He know how much I want to win it and I hope I do it for him, too.