MLB WORLD SERIES: MARLINS v YANKEES

October 24, 2003

Brian Cashman

Gene Michael

BRIAN CASHMAN: I have not talked to the boss since we left New York. I really can't answer it.

BRIAN CASHMAN: No, had not talked to him.

BRIAN CASHMAN: Not surprised. Jason has been dealing with a knee issue throughout the year. I think early on, half-way through, most of the way through, we tried to just tough it up and try to keep it as quiet as possible. But then it got to the point where it was becoming a problem and it became more open to talk about it. Today, we sent him to see Dr. Stuart Hershon. I came in here towards the end of Joe Torre's conference call, so he didn't have a chance to know the results. I called him after he was done. We sent Jason to Dr. Stuart Hershon today. He had an MRI. It revealed an inflamed tendon in his left knee. He also has patella tendinitis as well. It's chronic. He'll have diagnostic arthroscopic surgery upon the conclusion of the World Series. He'll play through it, and he'll DH for Game 6 and hopefully Game 7 if we can get the job done tomorrow night.

BRIAN CASHMAN: No, he was not given a shot.

BRIAN CASHMAN: We'll go through Derek upon the conclusion of the season. All I want to say on DJ is he's playing through a lot. Once the season is over, we'll address every need that he has. But we've got a lot of guys, obviously, that at this time of year, they got to play through it. Boomer, last night, has been pitching with this condition since the summer. Obviously, he had incentive end of the season to do so. Postseason, he's obviously not getting paid any extra for taking those starts, but he's been pitching through it and pitching rather well for us, almost to the point where despite the condition that David has had, since July or so, you saw the success he was having despite it. You kind of get forgetful to some degree despite the extra treatment and everything you do to prepare him for each start. But last night, it came crashing to a halt. We do have a lot of guys with a lot of things going on. It's part of playing this deep into the season. You have to find a way to get through it. We're thankful we have guys tough enough to do everything they possibly can to fight through it and try to get the job done for us .

GENE MICHAEL: Not really. I think we knew they were a good, scrappy ballclub and that they could give anybody a tough time. I think that we saw them very well. If I had to put my finger on any one thing, I would say probably Brad Penny having as good a command as he's had. He's pitched twice, well, against us. At times during the season, he's been a little inconsistent. So other than that, no, we knew Pierre was good on top. Castillo got in a little bit of a funk. He didn't get some hits. But they're a very good ballclub. They're scrappy. They know how to play. They have very good defense. We've seen very good defense. We knew they had that.

BRIAN CASHMAN: I'll take the first one. David Wells has a club option upon the conclusion of the season, so we'll obviously have a decision to make. Surgery would be a decision by the player, and we have a separate decision to make, obviously. But with the issue he's dealing with, it's the same one that he had repaired prior to us signing, at the conclusion of his White Sox contract that last year. He's dealing with the same issue. But it will be a decision he'll have to make. He'll have a second opinion, get the best care possible, and we'll certainly be there to help in any way we can to assist him in his decisions about the future. But, obviously, the decision we'll have on David in this contract will be made at the appropriate time at the conclusion of the season. Then he'll have to make one based on all the medical information provided by him with the best people we can surround him with.

GENE MICHAEL: On the three-day rest question, years ago, everybody's on a four-man. That's how you had so many 20-game winners. But it does take its toll. It will take its toll on pitchers. But on a short-term thing, it probably won't, especially if you're young. But Jack McKeon knows his pitchers, I'm sure, and he feels he's confident with that. I've seen pitchers do it and have success; I've seen failures, too.

BRIAN CASHMAN: He's in our trainer's room. He hasn't been examined today. Again, we know what the condition he has and he's been pitching through it. We'll just see how he is the next two days. He's as big a competitor as you can find out there. For him not to be able to compete past one inning yesterday, no one would have been able to get past it if he couldn't. So we'll see how he is. Is it possible? Certainly, because I wouldn't count David out on any situation. But we have to wait and see how the next two days are. He's in the trainer's room right now getting treatment from our trainer. Hopefully, we'll get the best possible or maximum potential out of our starters starting tomorrow night, and hopefully, Game 7, if we get the job done, and we won't be in that situation to have our manager think of those things.

GENE MICHAEL: Our team, we haven't gotten the big hit as often as we could. Sierra got a big one the other night; Jeter has gotten some. Overall, we haven't gotten the big hit. We've had chances. Maybe defensively, a couple plays we haven't made. Our pitching's been good. I think our fellas will rise to the occasion. They've been behind before in series and come back and we all know Andy pitches well when that happens. We expect to win. We think we can win and get back and win the final.

BRIAN CASHMAN: I can only say that I've had a lot of questions about all the pending potential free agents that we have, and I just got to answer it the same way, which is once the winter hits for us, then rest assured we'll do everything possible to put the best club out there for 2004 possible. Andy has been a big part of this organization since his arrival. But the discussions for the 2004 club, we got hopefully a few more days before I have to start those. It's easy to see Andy is an important piece. He's in a great position for himself. We'll have a discussion at the appropriate time and see what comes from that. But, again, that's for the wintertime. We're just thankful that we're in a situation to have Game 6 at home. Andy's on the mound. Hank Blalock has a nice part in this, that home run in the summer, to get our fans here. We're excited about this opportunity. Again, you have a chance to be at home. Need our fans to be what they've always been for us - loud, let the Marlins know where they're at. And, again, we'll take our chances when we have a guy like Andy Pettitte on the mound and a guy like Mike Mussina hopefully in a position to pitch Game 7. We're excited about it. We don't think this series is over at any stretch. We look forward to the nation tuning in for tomorrow night for some exciting baseball.

BRIAN CASHMAN: It's normal anxiety. In October, if you're blessed to be playing in October, you go to bed either happy or frustrated. Our backs are against the wall, but they've been there before. We have many postseason situations that have developed, whether it's May, June, July, August. If you asked me in spring training, I'd like to think if you asked anybody in spring training, if we had a chance to have a Game 6 at Yankee Stadium, World Series, Pettitte going for us, Mussina after that, we'd take it. I'd rather be up 3-2, but that's not the case. But I'm glad we're home. I trust our people. We're built on pitching. We got two horses that hopefully have a chance to take the ball the next two games. That excites me. I want to see what happens. That's a great ballclub that we're facing. We didn't take them lightly. They've come a long way. They got a lot of good, young talent and they have the potential to be good for a long time. But we got some veterans here that don't want to give the spotlight to some of the younger crowd that's, the new generation trying to push themselves into the mix. These guys want to show that they still have some game left in them. Again, we hope to bring that game tomorrow and I'm excited. I'm a fan. I don't have any impact what goes on anymore. I mean, after August 31st, I was taken out of the mix, basically. I've messed the club up as much as I can up to that point. Now I just live and die with every pitch. We have 55,000 in the stands tomorrow night. I'm one of those people. I'm gonna be cheering like heck. I'm be excited about it.

BRIAN CASHMAN: Yeah, that's the nature of the beast, that's baseball, the type of player that Soriano is, also. He's a streaky guy. He has been such a big hitter for us all year long. We have some slumps that have hit in the wrong time for us. Certainly he's one of them. But he's a unique player that possesses talent that almost nobody has. So we're excited. Obviously, we're, in this point, he's one of the big reasons why we got to this level. You'd like to have everybody firing on all cylinders at all times, but that's never the case with either clubs that's gonna be in this thing. He, hopefully, gets it going. Joe has decisions to make, no doubt about it. He rested him last game. Whether he'll be in there for tomorrow, only one man knows - and that's Joe Torre. I know Soriano wants to get in there, do everything possible to help us win. He's swung the bat in big situations in the past. He had that huge home run that could have won Game 7 of the World Series out in Arizona. He won a big game with a home run in the American League Championship Series a couple years back in Seattle. He's been on top of the mountain; he's on a little bit of slump time now. You judge people how they're dealing with it. He's not backing off. He's not afraid. That's his strength, I think, in this town. He's a battler. The great thing about this game is as long as you're still breathing, you have a chance to redeem yourself and get back on top and be the hero. Maybe he'll be in that situation at some point - hope so. He's got a lot of baseball. He's going to play a long time in his career and he's going to put up some huge numbers. But dealing with a slump like this, in this town, under this big stage, in this big environment, I'd say one thing - he's not afraid, he's not backing down. He's doing everything he can to fight through it. We still got some energy left in us, so that means he still has a shot to do something special for us.

GENE MICHAEL: Soriano, he had big hits before, with Schilling 2001. He's had big streaks. The first year he had, he even topped it with his second year. To get into a bit of a thing where maybe your confidence is shaken, but he had a good statement the other day, he said, "I'm not in a slump. I'm chasing bad pitches." That's pretty true. It happens when you're pretty much a free swinger like him, you can get into that situation at times. I think he can come out of it. I'd like to see him come out of it immediately. But that happens, and you don't want to see it happen at this time. But going back, he's been a hero at times for us in postseason.

GENE MICHAEL: He's consistent all year, he's been good all year. He had a down streak at one time there. But he's been a good player for us. He surprised me, how well he knows how to play baseball - in the outfield, on the bases, at bat. He makes contact, he's selective, gets big hits. He hasn't hit for as much power as we thought because he hit 50 in Japan. He's a big player, he knows how to play, he's a winning player. I like him a lot.