NL DIVISION SERIES: MARLINS v GIANTS

September 30, 2003

Jack McKeon

JACK McKEON: I think everybody's excited, really. But if you went in our clubhouse today or two weeks ago, I think you'd see the same thing. Everybody's very relaxed, enjoying themselves. I am, too. I mean, maybe when we get introduced, you'll feel some goosebumps or more excitement. But right now it's just like another day going to work.

JACK McKEON: Josh is a heck of a kid. You know, he comes up with some pretty good quotes. But, you know, maybe he's right. I think these guys, they're focused on what they have to do, no question about that. I think they know what's at stake. But, yet I don't think they've got to the point where they think this is the end of the world. You know what I mean? I think they're just going through the same emotions that they had previously when we played the Phillies. I mean, we had a very exciting week where if there was any pressure, I think it was going to be shown in those games with the Phillies, where it was do-or-die: It's either us or the Phillies may end up in this position. They just went through it like a regular, routine business day.

JACK McKEON: I think it really helped these guys. This is a young club. I think a lot of these guys have never experienced this. And to see the way that they handled it was just great. You know, they never got excited. Went out and did the best they could. But never put the kind of pressure on them that it was a must win, you had to win it, you had to win it. They just went out and did their thing. As I told them, "I just want you to go out and do the best you can. If you done the best you can, just walk out of this place with your head up high saying, 'Hey, I gave it my best; it wasn't good enough, so be it.'"

JACK McKEON: It's exciting. You know, I'm really happy for Felipe, myself. You know, it's something you dream about, you know, all the years. I've been in it over 50 years. Came close in '99, never got the ring. At least now, you know, we're here. So I can feel like, you know, I've topped off my career. I'd like to top it off by winning it all, but so would Felipe.

JACK McKEON: Yeah, I get a ring. My wife or kids will give me a ring, yeah (laughter).

JACK McKEON: He's fine. He's out there on the field. He's in good shape. You know, if you're talking about him playing, well, he's come along real good. Taking bat at practice, getting better and better every day. He's a guy who is a threat. You feel very confident having him on your bench because he can come up there and pop the ball out of the ballpark for you. He played Sunday, did really well. Every day he gets better and better. But right now we're going with the lineup that in September I think was 18-8, playing pretty good baseball, everybody contributing. So Mike will be a force off the bench for the present.

JACK McKEON: I'll tell you, Cabrera is a wonderful young man. He's a kid that's not intimidated. He came from up from AA. If you see him out there, you wouldn't know whether he was a 20-year-old kid or 28-year-old kid. He controls himself very well. He's not intimidated by anybody. He's got great mental toughness. And the last month of the season, he's been what I consider our big-game player. I don't think pressure's going to bother him. I don't think the playoffs are going to bother him. I mean, you might see him strike out three times, all of a sudden the fourth time he gets the base hit to win the game. That's the way he's played all year for us. He's one of them kind of guys, he strikes out, makes an out, he goes back, puts his hat on the hat rack, puts his bat in the bat rack, he don't tear up the clubhouse or tear up the bat racks. He's just a very composed young man. I think this guy's got a chance to be one heck of a ball player in the future.

JACK McKEON: No, probably not. But I think it's a credit to our general manager, Larry Beinfest, for being able to go out and corral Jeff Conine, that was a big help. Plus the fact that after that happened, we had a meeting, we talked about the fact that it was tough losing a guy like Mike Lowell for any length of time. The guy is leading your club in home runs, the guy is leading your club in RBIs, 32 home runs, over 100 RBIs. It's tough. But we can't feel sorry for ourselves. I think the guys grasped that. We didn't feel sorry for ourselves. We hated to lose Mike Lowell, but on the other hand we felt there were enough guys on this club that could pick him up, pick up the slack. That's exactly what happened. You had guys like Hollandsworth come in and deliver key blows, guy like Mike Mordecai, guy that never played that much, guys you never heard that much about. Juan Castro, all those extra guys came in, filled the bill, picked the club up, and, you know, we were successful in that area.