AL DIVISION SERIES: ATHLETICS v YANKEES

October 11, 2001

Art Howe

ART HOWE: Izzy is Izzy. He's been throwing the ball well for us all year as far as I'm concerned. Last night he showed you what he's made of and what kind of stuff he has, and he's played a vital role for us in the post-season. I'm just happy he got in the game right away and got his feet wet and did as well as he did.

ART HOWE: We talked about it, but, you know, I told him in spring, you know, we'll give you as many at bats you need until you feel like you're ready. We tried to do that. But I think he just tried too hard when he came out of spring training. He wanted to get three and four hits every time he was up there, and he started a little slow and it snowballed on him a little bit and he finally relaxed a little bit and got it going.

ART HOWE: I don't think so. Johnny just picks his spots. He's a very smart baserunner. He takes what's given to him. I think the fact that, you know, he had Jason hitting behind him, he didn't want to maybe steal second and open a base and they could pitch around Jason if they wanted to. I think being the team man that he was and is, he thought that he was helping us staying there a lot of times, instead of just stealing a base.

ART HOWE: Well, it's not the key game, but it's one we would love to have. We would certainly like to go home up 2-0, and in the situation we want to be in, but it's not vital that we have to be there. We're going to go after this as much as we possibly can. But last year, they got the second game and got some momentum going, and that's why it is an important game for us if we can keep that from happening.

ART HOWE: He's had a very solid season for us. He hit .280 all year long. He hit RBIs, he can score, steal some bases. He's just had a real solid year for us.

ART HOWE: First of all, how important he is defensively for us. For me, he's a Gold Glove centerfielder in this league. He's had a tremendous defensive year for us. And then when he does got on, even though he got on fewer times this year, he makes things happen, as you saw last night. He has the ability to score runs. He just has that knack.

ART HOWE: Certainly didn't hurt. You know, you get on the board early like that, it's always important especially when you are on the road and it gave our young starting pitcher just a little something to work with when he went out there. I thought the first inning was a real momentum inning by the fact that we did score; and they got their first two men on and we were able to get on and gave Mulder a chance to relax a little bit.

ART HOWE: I don't think you ever get to the point where you have to pull the reins in. They know what they can get away with and what they can't. You know, we have fun when we come in the clubhouse, but once the bell rings, we are ready to play baseball and I think it pays dividends, letting them be relaxed in the clubhouse.

ART HOWE: Well, this year, when you have somebody at the top of the order that can make things happen the way Damon can, and once Dye came in, teams were trying to pitch around Jason but he made them pay on a regular basis. He was Player of the Month in August, so that gives you an idea of how important he has been to us since he's been over here.