NL CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES: MARLINS v CUBS

October 7, 2003

Dusty Baker

DUSTY BAKER: It's disheartening. We had opportunities to win that game a couple of times earlier, and could tell it was going to be that kind of day with the ball flying out of the park. I don't know how many home runs, did we have four or five tonight? We made mistakes, and they didn't miss them. That was a hell of a game. It's sad we came out on the short end. Very disheartening, actually.

DUSTY BAKER: That's just recently. He's been great for us all year. They didn't miss a ball. And we got four off theirs and they got five off Carlos, and then he settled down and didn't give anymore -- well, he had gave up one more after that. It was a tough inning, when they start hitting that ball out of the ballpark. The balls just didn't move in those situations, and the ball didn't move, and it straightens out and they didn't miss it.

DUSTY BAKER: We hope he'll be ready to go tomorrow. No, he didn't have any particular problems. They're a good hitting club. And Joe still gave us the situation and gave us an opportunity to win the game.

DUSTY BAKER: That is Game 1. You hate to lose, and you hate to lose at home here, but we'll come back with our horses the next games. That was a big home run that Sammy had in the 9th. Gonzalez had an outstanding day. A couple of things on their end saved the game, and it was Gonzalez on the other side, the ball that Aramis hit in the hole over there, that was another big play he made, because it was first and second, and nobody out. It was a very good game. We just came out on the short end of things. Guthrie, he made a mistake and hung a split.

DUSTY BAKER: Yeah, I anticipated they'd bring in Lowell. But in that situation I was down to three pitchers. And if I brought in a righty, they had Harris over there, and Veres is good, so I took my shot with Lowell, even if he gets a base hit, he's not a threat to steal, he can't run, and I've got the left handers up after him. Lowell hadn't been playing much. I liked the match up there. Lowell, and then hopefully get Pierre, and Castilo, and go to my right handers. I took the shot in the 11th with Lowell, we hung a pitch and he hit it.

DUSTY BAKER: I saw them come back on San Francisco the same way back there. I wasn't surprised about their resilience.

DUSTY BAKER: I was told that he didn't have control of the ball. I thought he had control of the ball, and bobbled it on the transfer, trying to throw it to first base. And all the umpires, I asked them to confer with each other, and naturally they all agreed on the original call. I didn't see it on the replay. Did you guys see it on the replay?

DUSTY BAKER: Well, the umpire was correct.

DUSTY BAKER: That's how it's going to be every day, that's playoff baseball. And us up, them up, us tied it up and they went -- and then we had opportunities, and they tied it up, and then eventually won it. It was full of emotional twists, I'm sure everybody is emotionally exhausted at this point.