AL DIVISION SERIES: RED SOX v ANGELS

October 4, 2004

Terry Francona

TERRY FRANCONA: Schilling is going to throw tomorrow's game, Pedro will start Wednesday night's game, Thursday off, Friday, Saturday are Wakefield and Arroyo, and not necessarily in that order, depending on how we use our bullpen the next couple nights will determine who we start on games 3 and 4.

TERRY FRANCONA: We don't have to do it until tomorrow morning. I believe we will talk to the guys either during the workout or after the workout.

TERRY FRANCONA: I am excited about being here. As far as the advice goes, the guys I am closest to have had their hands full trying to either get here or stay here, and we have been traveling so much. Our day was pretty hectic. The last couple days in Baltimore, it wasn't a whole lot of down time, so I haven't really talked to a whole lot of people.

TERRY FRANCONA: We put Derek in the bullpen, it wasn't a very easy decision for us. I do think he is going to be a big part of what we do, potentially at any time. You know, he is stretched out so he can do that. He has pitched in short, as we saw in Oakland last year. We didn't put him in the bullpen because he can't pitch; we put him in the bullpen because we had to make decisions. I also saw some of his comments, and I was thrilled when he talked about this isn't the Derek Lowes, this is the Boston Red Sox. I think that's very important that our entire team take that view, and I think they always have. But I was still proud of him for what he did. Just because you have to tell somebody something doesn't mean they have to enjoy it, or you have to enjoy telling them something like that. It's difficult, and I certainly understand how.

TERRY FRANCONA: You know, I have been asked that question so many times. I can't tell you how excited I will be to hand him the ball Wednesday night. I think there is a little more gamesmanship there with Pedro than maybe people realize. I think people that know him probably understand that. I don't think his confidence is going to be down going into that game.

TERRY FRANCONA: I don't follow him around and watch his preparation. He will be so ready to pitch. There is not a problem with that. But he treats every game like it's the most important game of his life, so this will be another -- you know, again, as the stakes get bigger, though, I think he thrives on that, so I think you will see him at his best. That doesn't ensure he is going to win, it never does, but I think we will get a good outing out of him.

TERRY FRANCONA: I do think that at times when it matters, when you play a team. We played them early in the year. I thought at that time it was by far the best team we played. We opened up with them at the All Star game, we managed a split, but it wasn't easy, now they are feeling good about themselves, so we played them at tough times. They present a lot of problems, especially if you don't defense them. They can really create some havoc. We know they have really good players, but on top of that, when they hit the ball, they run fast, and they make good turns, so if you don't throw the ball cleanly, they can run you into some longer innings. On the flip side, if you do what you are supposed to, maybe you can get an out on the bases because of their aggressiveness, but it's important for us to throw the ball cleanly and not give them extra outs.

TERRY FRANCONA: When we walk into our clubhouse every day, it's a wild ride. It doesn't have to be the whole year, but it was up and down. It actually wasn't up and down, we were five or under for three months, which wasn't really what we were looking for, so it was kind of tough to take. We spun our wheels a little bit more than we wanted to for a while, which made it difficult. But we tried to be patient, even when that was tough to do, because we felt like they deserved it. I think the players felt like if we stayed patient with them, they would turn it around, and Theo made the trade, which really did help us, but we also have the guys that are still here playing better, and we were much -- we were a drastically different team the second half of the year.

TERRY FRANCONA: Well, there is not a pitch you throw that he doesn't think he can hit. You make great pitches down that are almost bouncing, and he hits it off the ball. He covers in, he covers out, he covers down, he covers up. He may not do it once, and you think you got him, and the next one goes 450 feet. Special, special player. Watch him in between innings and he is limping, and he hits the ball, and it goes first to third. He is a very special player.

TERRY FRANCONA: No, I don't think that. I don't think he was real pleased with the way he pitched at times. I just don't think -- my point is, I don't think Pedro is going to be nervous or scared or not confident to go out there tomorrow night. He will be okay. At times when people say in post-game interviews, I don't give a lot of credence to. Half the time they are naked, they are thinking about something else, they got to give a quote, it's just not that big a deal to me. I have looked back at some of the things I have said after games and you think back and you think, pretty stupid. Why did I say that? Or that isn't what he meant. It doesn't mean a lot.

TERRY FRANCONA: But they got to post-season. I think the idea, when you are building a team, is as much offense as you have, you need to pitch, and most teams are dying for a number 1 starter, and I think what we did was try to accumulate two of them. I haven't been here those years as a coach when we lost. The more good pitches you have, obviously, you position yourself to win. That's kind of common sense.

TERRY FRANCONA: Well, it's always wild. I guess my point was that when things were going bad, I thought it was my job to be patient, and if anything, to be more out there with the players. When we were playing good the last couple months, I don't think they needed me out there patting them on the back, they knew they were playing good. I think being consistent is a big part of being a manager's job, and I tried to do that, even when it really made me -- people were calling for different things or, you know, it just -- if you have confidence in the people you are around, sometimes you have to be patient when it's not easy to be patient, so we did that. We just ask them to try to play the game right as much as they could. Sometimes it didn't look like we were, but I knew we were.

TERRY FRANCONA: They should. I understand that. Most of these guys have been there before, they are veteran major league pitchers with success in their past, but we understand that. We definitely go over our scouting reports and try to prepare, but after that, we can -- we will control what we can control. You always respect your opponent, but I don't think you fear them. You hear that all the time. We know how good they have been. We know what kind of run they have been on. We know they feel good about themselves right now. It's our job to change that.

TERRY FRANCONA: It's a different team this year. Again, I wasn't here last year. I saw from the other side, and it was very noticeable how much they cared about each other on the field. Now, being around them this year, I kind of wanted them to get their old personality, and for the longest time we were treading water, and it really wasn't coming out. Within the last couple months we started playing like we wanted to, and you could see that swagger coming back. You can't fake that swagger. You talk about confidence, things like that, but until you do things, it has to happen, and once it starts happening, you see people do things better, and it grows, and the personality of the team grows, and that's what happened the last couple months of the season with us.

TERRY FRANCONA: Well, off the field, I don't get too involved in that. I think what you are referring to is him opening up a little bit maybe to the media or to the public. I don't think Manny has changed a whole lot, from everything I understand. I was told by numerous people that I would absolutely fall in love with Manny, not to listen to what maybe you have read or something like that. And that was the truth. I found that out right from the beginning. I think what's happened with Manny is he has let more people, a lot more people, to see that side of him, media, things like that, so the perspective on Manny has changed a little bit. I am not so sure he has changed. He is a wonder, if you will -- he is a big kid. Shows up early, likes to play, every so often you run into a bump on the road. Not very major. He really means well, and he is one of the best hitters I have ever seen. You know, the surprising thing to me this year is all this talk about good players and impact seasons. I haven't heard people mention Johnny Damon's name as much as I think is deserved. He ended up with 94 RBIs, the lead-off spot. I mean, he has had an incredible year. I am a little surprised people haven't talked about him more because his impact on our ball club has been unbelievable.

TERRY FRANCONA: You always wonder at times, like what would be a turning point, or you hope there is a turning point. I think the one that sticks out for me is the Yankees series. We got guys rolling around out there on the grass and tempers are flying. There is some emotion. And Billy Mueller caps the day off with a home run. To me, that was big. Maybe it was a little bit of a wake-up call, what happened with Teck, Arod, but if you lose the game, you still lost the game. To me, the biggest part of the day was winning the game, and the way we were getting killed, we came back and get running and get a big hit, I thought that was pretty big for us, looking back now.

TERRY FRANCONA: Well, your description of big game has probably changed. My description of big game, when we were in Philadelphia, the big game was playing the Yankees because it was a sell-out, and we were already 30 games out. Just the level rose because it was a bigger game for us. I have also seen the Diamondbacks in real big games. My point is, the higher the stakes, the bigger the stage. I think he gets more excited and doesn't shy away from that. That's kind of my point. He may get beat tomorrow. I don't think it's going to be because he is nervous, he is not prepared, or he is not going to make pitches. We are playing a good team. They are going to have to beat him at his best, and I think his best gets better the bigger the game. I think he enjoys the pressure -- pressure is the wrong word. I think he puts importance on games. I have joked with these guys all year, it could be bobblehead day. That's big enough for him to make a game important. He wants to make every game important. This is not a real hard one to make important.