AL DIVISION SERIES: YANKEES v ANGELS

October 10, 2005

Mike Scioscia

MIKE SCIOSCIA: Well, I think this series points out that it really -- well, home-field hasn't affected much as all to this point. It's just how the teams are playing on the field. The two games they have won, one was on our field; they pitched well, got some key hitting and held the lead. The games that we've won, we've played our game. So I think that it's down to really how teams are playing. I know it will be great to get our home-field with the crowd and the electric atmosphere that we anticipate. I don't think it's -- it's not going to have an effect on anything unless you're playing the game right, and that's what we need to do.

MIKE SCIOSCIA: We're in good shape for tonight's game. I think we're in a position with Scot Shields and Kelvim Escobar, Francisco Rodriguez, they are ready to get us the nine or ten outs or whatever we need, if it is that much. Hopefully Bart will pitch deeper than that and we won't need that many outs. They are available for that many outs, so we'll be in good shape. Kelvim, he cleaned up the seventh inning last night. Our concern was not wanting to stretch him out too far to affect his availability tonight and he said he felt great and he had no problem bouncing back and went out there and pitched the eighth and he felt great today, too. Between the three of those guys, we'll have enough depth that we need to close a lead down if we can get it.

MIKE SCIOSCIA: All of our pitchers are with us now, as Jarrod Washburn landed around noon today from staying overnight in New York. He has strep throat. I don't know if it's been confirmed, strep throat but Dr. Milhouse feels that is where he is. So he's back with us, none of our pitchers are in Chicago, we're going to use every pitcher that we need tonight to get past tonight's game.

MIKE SCIOSCIA: Yes.

MIKE SCIOSCIA: It's a small sample when you're really talking four games. Any time during the season, or any time if you're just going to take that cross-section, you can look at any four games and see where some guys in our club or even some guys in the Yankees during the season maybe were not squaring the ball up like they can. I think that there's no doubt you're facing the toughest pitching in a concentrated setting in the playoffs than you would at any time during the season. Vlad has had some stretches occasionally where hits haven't fallen in. But he's the type of hitter that takes one swing to get him locked in seeing the ball again, and he can go crazy. That's a dangerous of a player and they have done a good job with him so far. I think both teams have pitched very well during the series, and I think some guys on their team haven't had the hits fall in like they would like to and some guys on our team, also. That can happen at any time during the year, but in the playoffs, certainly some of it can be attributed to the higher-caliber of pitching that's there just on an inning-by-inning basis.