AL CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES: YANKEES v MARINERS

October 21, 2001

Lou Piniella

LOU PINIELLA: You know, I thought he pitched well Game 1 of this series. He gave us an opportunity to win. Three runs in six innings; that's a very acceptable start. It just so happened that Andy Pettitte pitched better. But Aaron is experienced. He knows what he is going to do. He's not going to get rattled out there. He's going to give us a good, professional effort and that's all we can expect.

LOU PINIELLA: Well, he's been a pleasure to watch and to manage. 242 hits during the course of a season, led the League in stolen bases, plays the outfield exceedingly well. He's had a heck of a year for us. He's been, really, our catalyst out of the leadoff spot. Plus, he's fit in very nicely in our clubhouse, chemistry-wise. He's got a good sense of humor. Basically, he's been a joy to manage. Just put him in the lineup and let him play.

LOU PINIELLA: A loss is a loss. I said that when we got beat by Cleveland 17-2 in the third game of the Divisional Series. If you're going to get beat, what's the difference whether you get blown out or not. It's only one loss. At the same time, you keep your bullpen rested and that's what Joe did last night. We did the same thing in the Cleveland game. What really is tough is if you play 13 or 14 innings and use your entire pen and get beat; then you have a problem the next night. Whether you lose 3-2 or 14-3 or 17-2 like we did, it doesn't really make any difference; it's only one game. What it amounts to is how the team that won responds the next night. Hopefully, we'll come out and continue to swing the bats well.

LOU PINIELLA: He has been very important to us all year. He's played three infield positions and he's played all three outfield positions, and during the course of a ballgame, we'll switch him around. Last night, he started at shortstop, went to left field and finished up at second base. You can't do that with too many players. He feels very confident and very comfortable in any of the positions. He gives us speed. He gives us a good contact bat, and at the same time, he gives us a lot of leadership in our clubhouse. He's got a real good bounce to him on the field, which you like to see as a manager. It gives your team some energy and some pep.

LOU PINIELLA: I hope they keep walking him. Let him get on base.

LOU PINIELLA: With Ichiro, what you want him to do is get on base, whether it's a walk, whether it's a base hit or whatever, because it puts a little more pressure on the defense and it puts more pressure on the pitcher to hold him and get the ball quicker to the catcher. It changes the equation of the game somewhat. When he gets on base and we can get our speed people on and start running around a little bit, it can put some pressure on teams. That's one of the reasons that we have been successful.

LOU PINIELLA: The feeling is good. We have been a confident team all year. Hitting is a contagious thing. You start hitting the ball and you start gaining some confidence and you relax up at home plate, you start doing the things that you've done all year, you can get hot for a while, and that's what we are hoping to do.

LOU PINIELLA: It's the same as it was yesterday before the ballgame. It's the same as it's been all year. Our team doesn't get too high or too low. We have been a very even-keel team. I've said many times during the course of the year that if you have not seen the ballgame, you can't come into our clubhouse and know whether we won or lost. We are in a good frame of mind. We are going to go out and do the best we can today and hopefully we can win a ballgame.

LOU PINIELLA: No, Pineiro we would not consider. This is a time for experienced pitchers. We have confidence in Aaron. He's pitched well for us all year. We've got our pitching set up the way we want it, and what we need to do is get this thing back to Seattle. We've got Garcia and Moyer set up for games 6 and 7. We are going to stay the way we are.

LOU PINIELLA: Well, one of the things we did in my meeting yesterday was to dispel that Yankee mystique, or try to, anyway. At the same time, this team has had success. They have had success. They really have. You've got to tip your hat to them. You don't do -- you don't win four years out of five like they have. It's unparalleled. But they can be beaten. I've said that all along, and you've got to go out and play them. But the thing about mystique is you can't play with your mind; you've got to go out and play. If you go out and play well enough on the field, mystique, what a manager says or doesn't say, those don't win ballgames. What wins ballgames is how you play on the field. If you play well enough, your chances are pretty good.

LOU PINIELLA: Probably to stay a little patient. We know he has had -- what is it, the hamstring, and make him throw as many pitches as possible. I think that would be a good game plan. Now, you don't want to fall consistently behind, obviously. But if we can get him to throw a lot of pitches early, I think it would benefit us.

LOU PINIELLA: The guys played well on the field. It's easy to say things. It's hard to go out and get them accomplished on the field. The players get it on the field, plain and simple. I've always felt that way. Now, it's up to the manager to offer some encouragement and to try to get a team to play well, but, listen, when the game starts, they get it done. And yesterday our team went out on the field and got a good-pitched game from Jamie Moyer. Our hitters swung the bats and we won a baseball game.

LOU PINIELLA: I haven't been in too many meetings. I think I've had two all year, one Opening Day and one last night. So that goes to show you what I think of team meetings. I think that basically if you have too many of them, they lose a purpose. At the same time, we've got a veteran team that's very professional, that knows what needs to be done, but I just did want to say a couple of things that I thought were important. Because I said some things or didn't say some things, those don't win or lose a baseball game. We won a baseball game yesterday because we got good pitching, made some really good defensive plays and because our guys went out and swung the bats.

LOU PINIELLA: He's pitching his fastball, he's getting ahead in the count, he's mixing in his breaking ball, he's got that changeup, also. But basically, getting ahead of hitters. That's the important thing with Aaron. Keeping the pitch count low and staying away from the hitters' power zones. He's done that pretty well throughout his career, and we are confident that tomorrow he is going to go out and pitch a good ballgame for us.