MLB WORLD SERIES: YANKEES v DIAMONDBACKS

November 4, 2001

Bob Brenly

BOB BRENLY: Well, the alternative was sitting a guy that had five RBI. It took a considerable amount of my time last night and this morning trying to figure out our best chance against Roger Clemens today. Came in early, looked at a lot of videotape of Game 3. Of course checked all of the career numbers against a guy like Clemens, and this is the lineup we came up with.

BOB BRENLY: I know a lot of comparisons have been made to Koufax and Drysdale and Spahn and Sain and other great duos, but as a fan watching the game, I don't believe there's ever been two pitchers who are able to maintain their dominance all season long the way these guys have. It's just been phenomenal.

BOB BRENLY: I told Reggie Sanders this was the single toughest lineup decision I had to make all season long. It was not because he did something wrong or he wasn't a good player. It's just strictly the matchup against Clemens, we feel, Danny is better suited right now to handle the pitches that Clemens figures to throw. I told Reggie that we would not be here without him, that's obvious and we are not going to win this ballgame today without you, either, so be ready to go.

BOB BRENLY: No. I saw something on a bumper sticker a long time ago that said, "It's not what if; it's what now." If you allow yourself to play those "what if" games, especially in the game of baseball, the repetitiveness and the day-in, day-out grind of this game, if you start wondering what if, you will absolutely start driving yourself crazy. You make your decision and say "what now," "what's next," not "what happened"; then "what's going to happen next."

BOB BRENLY: We'll just have to play it by ear. I don't think any of us quite know what to expect out of Curt today. Like I've said to a lot of people already, I know we are going to get 100% of whatever he's got. How deep can he go into the game remains to be seen. This guy has defied any logic all season long with what he has done. As long our eyes tell us that he's still effective and he's making the pitches he needs to make, no change in his mechanics, no drop in velocity, no drop in movement; we'll go with him as long as he can.

BOB BRENLY: I don't think that Randy Johnson needed to enhance his legacy much, but certainly for a lot of people who felt he was not a good big-game pitcher, at least I hope he has erased that from his resume. This guy has stepped up and pitched big game after big game, not only post-season games, but a big game at the end of the season when we needed that from him. I felt that his losses in the post-season were a lack of offensive support rather than his undoing as a pitcher. As he said, that gorilla is off his back now.

BOB BRENLY: Since there will be no tomorrow, we have a starting pitcher and nine guys in the bullpen. Depending on where we are at late in the ballgame, I would anticipate that Miguel Batista, Randy Johnson and Byung-Hyun Kim in some combination will try to get us through the last couple of innings in the ballgame if we have a lead. If the Yankees figure to have their lefties coming up in the ninth inning, you may see Randy. If they have a string of right-handers, you might see Batista or you might see BK. We are strictly playing this one by ear today. This is uncharted territory. We have all hands on deck and we will play the matchups that we think will give us the best chance to win.

BOB BRENLY: Well, this is, obviously, unusual and unique circumstances. Any athlete that's worth his salt will want to go out there and suck it up for the last game of the World Series. Certainly, Randy is worth his salt. I know a lot was made about why didn't I take him out of the ballgame. In my mind, once Randy got past 50 pitches, 50 or 100; it did not make any difference. He had prepared himself to go out there and pitch nine innings. He went very hard through that early part of the ballgame, and once we got the big lead, I knew it was going to lead to speculation about why we didn't take him out early. But I wanted to leave him in there until there was no question whatsoever that the Yankees were not going to be able to come back in that game. And he had expended so much physical and mental energy that the difference between 50 and 100 pitches, I personally think is minimal.

BOB BRENLY: Out of Randy, it would probably be a one-inning situation, and even that based on pitch count. If he should happen to go out and throw three pitches and get out of an inning quickly, we could send him back out. But I'm fully anticipating it would be one inning or less.

BOB BRENLY: Well, I can't say it came as a surprise. I understood from some of the managers that I played for in my career and the managers that I worked for as a coach, and even some of the managers that I talked to as a broadcaster, that that is part of your job. It's not a good part of the job, but it's part of the job, nonetheless, and it is what it is.

BOB BRENLY: Well, obviously, it's all dependent on how the game goes. Should Curt get jammed up early in the game, Brian would probably be a guy we would follow him with early. I know he's got his lefties in there except Justice, and Brian pitched very well against him at Yankee Stadium. And Brian, if we needed somebody early, he would probably be the first guy out of the pen.

BOB BRENLY: I certainly think so. I mean, it's had a little bit of everything. It's had great pitching, it's had some of the most ungodly, timely hitting you are ever going to see in your life. We have had offensive explosions, we have had great defense, we have had shoddy defense. We have had enough managers' decisions to keep all of you guys happy, and certainly enough competitive games to keep all you of the fans in both cities happy. All over the country I think people are surprised that this series has gone the way it has, but I can't wait to sit back and watch the tapes, myself. (Laughter.)