AL DIVISION SERIES: RED SOX v ANGELS

October 8, 2004

Mike Scioscia

MIKE SCIOSCIA: Everybody's available today. I think, you know, it's obvious the challenge we have and where we need to go. Although, it's probably not our preference if we have to today. I think we'd like to give him another day and have him definitely be available for tomorrow. I think if the situation is right and there's a need, we're going to use him, too. We'll use whatever we have to to win today's game.

MIKE SCIOSCIA: Well, I think in analyzing the series, we've been beaten by a club that's doing about everything they need to do, and we're doing very little of what we need to do. It doesn't just start in with the offensive execution. It definitely starts on the mound with making pitches. It starts in the field and making plays. The one thing that we need to bring into the game is definitely a defensive presence, also. If you're going to have -- if you're going to make one or two errors and you're not going to make three or four plays you should make, if you give a team like Boston seven extra outs in a game, or even in an inning an extra out here or there, you're going to pay the price for it and we certainly have. I think there's a combination of things. There's not one thing that needs to get in gear for us to get going. I think there's a number of areas we have to play better. The encouraging thing is I've seen our club struggle at times with the same things we have over the course of the first two games, and all of a sudden it comes together and we've gone on and won 10, 11, 12 straight. So, it can happen. It's going to have to start tonight with Kelvim making pitches, and it's got to carry over to the defensive end. Offensively, I'm confident we're going to be able to pressure them. It has not happened as well as we would have liked the first couple of games, but we're confident that's going to happen.

MIKE SCIOSCIA: I think we've already stated the way we feel about Jose. We certainly would welcome Jose back. It was very unfortunate that it had to be done. It was unfortunate what happened. You know, it's certainly taken one of our better players away at a critical time. So, I think that speaks volumes on what the issues were. I think that we definitely would welcome Jose back at some point and would obviously have to work some things out, but there's nothing that says there's, you know, a door is closed. I've spoke with Jose since. I just think there needs to be some issues taken care of and move on from there.

MIKE SCIOSCIA: No

MIKE SCIOSCIA: Well, I think if the situation is right, we're going to continue whether it's playing an aggressive running game, getting a sacrifice bunt down, that's part of our game and what we need to be doing. It goes beyond playing for one run, because I think that that if you're playing for one run early against clubs swinging the bats as well as Boston is, then you're probably handing them some outs and you might need to look for a bigger inning. There's going to be a time in the game where the bunts were in order. They certainly were in order the times we used them. We need to get them down then. We are not going to change our philosophy because we did not get a couple of bunts down, and if they throw out a runner we are not going to change our philosophy. Our club needs to create offense and we are going to continue to do that, and especially creating situations for the guys in the middle of our lineup, that's important to us. I think we are doing that, and when these guys get some of the hits to fall in, it can have an impact on not only a game, but a series, and things can turn around quickly.

MIKE SCIOSCIA: The mood in our club is great. I think that the guys are understanding that this is a challenge, but every challenge is an opportunity. I expect us to get into our game earlier and play well. And so, you know, I think they also feel that this is obviously, it's a tough mountain to climb, but it's not anything that we can't do. It's got to start one step at a time, and it's critical for us. I think this is probably the first must-win game we've been faced with in a long time, and it's critical for us to get in our game early. Sure, it is, so that we'll take some pressure out of some situations, let some guys stay in some roles and not have to expand and do things that maybe you're not comfortable doing trying to win. But it can be done. The thing about a series is momentum can be so one-sided for such a long way in a series, as we see it is right now, and it can get stopped and turned around in a heartbeat. That's what we need to do. I have not talked to Jose since the conversation of that evening which was Sunday evening.

MIKE SCIOSCIA: We don't feel we've been cheated. I think it's tough to feel cheated when you see guys like what Jeff DaVanon and Chone Figgins, Kevin Gregg, these guys that have stepped up and really done a great job for us. It's tough to feel treated when these guys were going to be -- Figgy and JD were going on on our bench and were on our bench Opening Day of the season. I don't think there's anything to feel cheated about. We did not have our projected lineup on the field very often. If it was for one game, it was for one game; I hope we won that game. I'm sure we did. I think the bottom line of our season and the way we feel is we have a very deep team. Injuries are going to be part of any championship-caliber team. We are not going to hang our hat to say, hey, we had some injuries and hey, maybe we should have a stronger lineup during the year, no. We have a good team with some of the guys that are not here and with some of the injuries. So we don't feel cheated at all. I think our guys played terrific baseball over the summer and hopefully they are going to pick it up this afternoon and keep our season going. But injuries are part of baseball. Injuries are part of a team. We have a deep organization where guys could fill in and that's the only reason why we were able to win our division and hopefully keep going.

MIKE SCIOSCIA: I've looked. I've just kind of browsed through some things. I don't think there's anything that's out of the ordinary. I think if a team beat us the way Boston did the first two games, the tendency might be to look ahead to say, hey, is there some other commission out there. That's fine with us. I don't think it's going to change the way we have to approach or change the way we feed to do -- unless you heard something I should use. Have you got anything, Kevin? (Laughing.)