MLB WORLD SERIES: GIANTS v ANGELS

October 22, 2002

Mike Scioscia

MIKE SCIOSCIA: Our line-up is Eckstein, shortstop; Erstad, centerfield; Salmon, rightfield; Anderson, leftfield; Glaus, third base, Spiezio, first base; Kennedy, second base; Molina, catching and Ortiz, pitching.

MIKE SCIOSCIA: Everybody is available tonight. I think that question will probably become more relevant as we move into games 4 and 5. With the off day yesterday and particularly Francisco only throwing under 30 pitches, he'll be available tonight. So everybody is available tonight.

MIKE SCIOSCIA: First, I think there's a lot that goes into John Lackey's success. First and foremost, he has an outstanding arm. He's got very good command of really three pitches. But I think what has allowed him, at such a young age of 23, I think his birthday is tomorrow, as a matter of fact, is his make-up. Whatever start he's taken in our organization, whatever level it's been, he showed the same great make-up on the mound, his ability to get over rough spots in a game, his ability to bend but not break, his ability to brush off a tough inning and come back and make pitches. I think it's that make-up that has allowed him not only the success now, as he's moved in the regular season, he was a big part of our rotation, but in the playoffs, his ability to do things, like come out of the bullpen and start. He starts with very, very good stuff and a great make-up.

MIKE SCIOSCIA: It's something you definitely consider when you're setting your rotation. But it's such a small, insignificant thing when you compare it to a pitcher's ability to go out there and make pitches. He's going to influence the game a lot more by going out there and making pitches than he is doing anything at the plate. I don't care how good a hitter the pitcher is. In our mind, we wanted to line our guys up as we thought they were going to be able to give us the best performances on the mound and move forward from there. So, no, it really was not a factor, the thing of John maybe swinging the bat a little better, just like it wouldn't be with a Washburn who handles a bat well, compared to some guys who maybe have a little more difficulty.

MIKE SCIOSCIA: "Special fondness," you have quotes around that I'm sure, right?

MIKE SCIOSCIA: We came up here in a series last summer and the weather was gorgeous. It wasn't really anything that I would have experienced or thought it would be compared to Candlestick park, it was 180 degrees from what Candlestick park was. Tonight, yesterday's workout and tonight, what it looks like, it looks like we might be a little more in line for some Candlestick weather than you might have expected. So, the elements always play a part in baseball games. I think our club has been very, very good at not only adapting to elements, but filtering out distractions and focusing on playing baseball. That's certainly what you're going to have to do to win on the road at any time, and particularly in the playoffs.

MIKE SCIOSCIA: We've played in cold weather before, we've been in Chicago and Detroit this year maybe when the weather was not really conducive for some of the things you like to see on a baseball field. But both teams, I think, have to play under the same conditions. Both teams I think will be affected probably equally as much if it's a little bit wet out there, a little windy. I don't see any huge advantage to a certain -- to certain elements that might take someone out of the game or help someone. I think both teams are going to go play their game and I think both teams -- obviously, the Giants, are used to this at times, this kind of weather. They played well in it. We played well in adverse, nonadverse conditions, too. So, I don't really see it as being a huge influence in the game. I think we'll still be able to hopefully keep our running game intact and we'll move from there.

MIKE SCIOSCIA: (Smiling). On our team you're talking about, right?

MIKE SCIOSCIA: Okay. Yeah, I think Jarrod Washburn does a good job handling the bat. I think John Lackey, although he hasn't hit yet this year, will be able to hold his own up there and do the things up at the plate. Our other pitchers, we haven't had -- not only a lot of exposure to having to hit, we haven't had a lot of success this year with it. Last year, we did a little better job. But I think if we can get them to help us by moving a runner up a base, if they mix in a hit, it's definitely a bonus. But those guys are going to go up there and battle. There's not going to be any fear or anything. They're going to go up there and battle. I have to say, Jarrod and John Lackey are two guys that I think will handle the bat well.

MIKE SCIOSCIA: I've found, I think, some of the insights we might have, you can maybe talk to players about, whether it's a regular season game or a pennant race, or a World Series, the game really being the same. But experience is the best teacher. These players need to experience the situations to uunderstand a course of action. I mean, sometimes you go through a series, a playoff environment, you have success and you realize, "You know what? What I do and my thought pattern is correct. I'm confident with that." It will move you on to the next one. I think our guys have had a positive experience in the playoffs. So I don't think it's that much of an issue. I think if you have a poor experience in the playoffs, there's definitely, as you sit back and play it over in your head, there's probably some things maybe in your preparation, individual preparation, or what your thought process was, that you can sit back and go, "You know what, I don't know what I was thinking. It took me out of my game. I'll be ready next time." So, therefore, any playoff experience we have as a staff, it's going to pale in comparison to what a player is going to experience and go through and what he's going to learn playing in a playoff game. So, I guess I don't see our playoff experience as having a major infusion on the success of what these guys have done so far. I think it's those guys realizing what they need to do, and going out there and playing the game the same way they have since spring training. I think that's the best approach to take.

MIKE SCIOSCIA: We have a lot of flexibility in our roster and our line-up. Wooten and Fullmer can both play first base, Wooten can also catch and play third base. I think that depth might be important as these games move forward. You hate to take some bats out of your line-up, but obviously, without the DH, we'll have to. I think we played well against National League teams this year without the DH. I thought our offense still was where it needed to be. So I don't anticipate it as being a major issue. It might turn out, obviously, we might have to do some things, pinch-hitting-wise that we might not have to do as much during the season. But I'm confident the eight guys we have in there, not including the pitcher, are going to be enough offense to support what we need.

MIKE SCIOSCIA: You can put all those together. I think you just named it right there. I think it's tough to have just one memory of Candlestick other than the crazy crap, it wasn't a lot of things going on other than the atmosphere of the fans, which was incredible. I mean, it was electric. Sometimes it really was electric if some batteries came at you. But I think the weather, your memories are the weather, the crowd. It was incredible. I mean, at Candlestick, from the time we took batting practice, it would be beautiful, 70 degrees. We'd go in for a half hour, a little after six o'clock, we'd come back out for the game and you thought you walked into the Twilight Zone, it felt like it was 30 degrees below zero and the wind chill and everything. That's Candlestick Park, that's the beauty of it. We had a lot of tough games up there. I think the memories are just really probably overall the whole Candlestick experience, than just to think of one incident. If I did, I'd pick the crazy crap.