NL DIVISION SERIES: ASTROS v BRAVES

October 10, 2004

Phil Garner

PHIL GARNER: I really won't have a pitch count on him. I'll trust his judgment in a lot of ways, but I also just watch how the game's going, how he's feeling. It might last two innings, it might last seven. I have no idea. We'll just watch it and get a feel for how the game's going.

PHIL GARNER: I have absolutely not thought about the next round. I'm thinking about today. I allowed myself to think about tomorrow just long enough to say that Roy is going to pitch tomorrow's game. We're going to focus on today's game and take it like we have been for the last couple of months, the last game we'll ever play today.

PHIL GARNER: I prefer to play tonight as opposed to a noon game, but I watched the game, I enjoyed watching the game. Very good game. Tip my hat to Jose Lima. I had him in Detroit. He's a fun guy. It was nice to see him have a good game. I would have probably preferred to play in the afternoon, though.

PHIL GARNER: Well, I don't know that I can tell you anything specifically. I would think that -- I haven't talked to Roy about this, by the way, I haven't asked him in what way he might have influenced him. But I think the things that may influence Roy are things that are going to happen over time more than just physically any one particular day. The things that could possibly have an effect on Roy immediately is the way Roger manages a lineup in the way he prepares for a lineup, knowing who he wants to pitch to, knowing how he's pitched guys in the past. This becomes more important as you face guys 25, 35, 75 times. Once you face a guy that many times, they begin to get an idea of how you're going to work them, and you need to keep an idea of how they performed against you. I think that's where Roger excels. I think that's probably one of the things that Roy would get immediately. Long-time advantages, I think Roger's work habits, his ethic, his desire to be on top of his game no matter how long he pitches. I think that's something that Roy will pick up over time. I think every young player, whether you're a pitcher or position player, whatever, you come to a point in your career and say, "My body just doesn't bounce back as good as it used to when I was 25, 26 years old. I'm going to have to do things differently." It happens to every one of us. When you're young and strong, you can bounce back quickly, you don't take these things as seriously. Seeing an older player, what he has to go through to stay on top of his game will be very influential down the road at some point.

PHIL GARNER: I don't know that. I don't know the answer to that. We do have pitchers' meetings. Actually, Roy -- Roger's meetings are somewhat different because he pitches a little different than everybody. He has his own plan, his own idea. I can't argue with that. I'm not going to go in and sit down and say, "Look, this is what we want to do." I let Roger do his thing. Roger works very closely with Brad Ausmus, who has been his catcher for the most part. Roger and he know what they want to do. We do take what Brad learns when Roger pitches, and we apply, whether it's the same or somewhat different, as we apply to our pitchers. Then Roy and Brad or Roy and Raul decide what they want to do. Chavez catches Oswalt. So there is information, by the same token Oswalt watches how Roger pitches. How much they sit and talk, I actually don't know in that regard.

PHIL GARNER: Well, there's definitely things you try to learn when you watch the ballgame. You see how pitchers are working hitters, you see what hitters are trying to do and you see what pitchers are pitching. I learned last night if you throw a 90 mile-an-hour fastball at the knees, the back, a changeup, it goes off the plate and you look at the St. Louis lineup, you can get them out. That's what Lima did. 100-something pitches, I didn't see maybe two or three mistakes. They didn't swing at them. These were balls down the middle of the plate and they didn't swing at them. If you can pitch like that, I think you got them. You're watching what each manager does, how they make their moves. You're seeing what players they use in each situation. There's information you're getting, but in addition just enjoying the game.

PHIL GARNER: Absolutely not. It won't come into play, it won't limit him. It wasn't a limiting factor when I took him out the other time. I took him out, brought in Brad Lidge because I wanted a strikeout. I did not want the ball in play. Brad got that for me.

PHIL GARNER: It's been a lot of fun. It does make managing a lot more fun. You're not trying to make something out of -- and I don't want to say -- I've had some terrific players that have played very hard for me. We're looking at five potential Hall of Famers on this ballclub, and even those that aren't Hall of Famers have been playing well. When you have that quality of personnel, one of the things you tend to do, and what you don't want to do, is do too much. You let the players play and do their thing. They've obviously proven that over time, and in any given series, they can be very, very successful. So you want to stand down, you want to be out of the way. I think what happens when you manage players that are young players, players that are learning, players that perhaps haven't done quite as much as some of these players, you try to make things happen. You try to do a lot of things to make them happen. So it's been, in a lot of respects, it's been fun. If you can get in the situation to give a player a chance to do something that he does well, which is drive in runs or strike people out or are in a position to win a ballgame, that's how you try to maneuver. Let them try to get in a situation where they can do what they can. I have found there have been times in the past where I managed away from certain things instead of managing to certain things.

PHIL GARNER: Well, it's exciting. It is not a burden by any stretch of the imagination. Obviously the wheels are turning constantly and there's a great deal of excitement and some anxiety because it is my hometown. I've played here before. My family lives here, my mom and dad live here. So there's this whole sense of, "Well, this would be fantastic for the community," beyond this. Last night some friends of mine stopped by the office. There was a party going on on Main Street. They were, "Let's go down." I said, "No, no, no, we can't party now. This is not a time to party. We haven't done anything yet. This has been a fantastic run but to get this far and not complete it would be a shame." Our noses are where they need to be, they're down to the grindstone, we're focused on what we need to do. This is fun. I want players to enjoy this as much as I am, and I think they are.