AL DIVISION SERIES: INDIANS v MARINERS

October 13, 2001

Lou Piniella

LOU PINIELLA: We're going to start Garcia. If it goes to Game 5, we'll pitch Moyer back in Seattle.

LOU PINIELLA: It's his regular turn. He started the series for us. Jamie pitched very well against him all year, and we'll go with our No. 1 and number two game starters, to try to win this thing if it gets to Game 5. We thought about Abbott, and if it gets to Game 5 and we are fortunate enough to win, we can start Abbott the first game of the next series.

LOU PINIELLA: Yeah, we don't know. We were asking about it just a little while ago. If the Yankees -- well, if the teams that are still playing get eliminated today, obviously it might change our starting time for tomorrow. I hope we know today by the time we leave the ballpark.

LOU PINIELLA: Might not know.

LOU PINIELLA: I don't think it will have much of an impact. I'll have one less glass of wine. (Laughter.)

LOU PINIELLA: That's really a good question and it's something that we have not thought of, and you alerted us to something. We've done that before this year, especially with our more veteran pitchers. Sometimes a pitcher, like Garcia, for instance; wants to go stay and just travel with the team, but Moyer just might want to go home. It's something we'll talk about. But we haven't even considered that.

LOU PINIELLA: Well, it's changed. The ballpark has necessitated a change of philosophy within the organization. As far as prioritizing pitching and defense and versatility and adding more speed to the offensive mix, and we've been in that process for the past couple of years and it's worked quite well. You know, pitching and defense wins, at the end. It's hard to outscore opponents consistently. So from that standpoint, we've added more depth in our bullpen, and we've added some experience and a blend of youth in our rotation. And we have signed players that can do it more with the glove and the bat, more athleticism. But the Kingdome was a small ballpark on astroturf and was conducive to scoring a lot of runs. We had some great offensive teams.

LOU PINIELLA: We'd have had a different ballclub. Although, you know, you look at our baseball team, and I guess the biggest surprise that I've had is the fact that we've led the League in scoring. That's something I would have never anticipated when the season started.

LOU PINIELLA: Oh, I get checked. I come in, I present my driver's license and my player identification card, just like everybody else. I think it's good. It makes it much safer. I feel good about it as a manager, and so do my players. I'm sure Cleveland feels the same way. But since September 11, everywhere we've gone on the road, we've had to do that. And in some stadiums, we were able to drive underneath and let the clubhouse kids park our car, and that's no longer there, available. You've got to leave it outside. So, it's good. There are a lot of people walking around at times that you didn't know who they were, and now it's been cut down.

LOU PINIELLA: You know, that's another good question. I don't get letters, per se. Mine get answered. I mean, they get screened. But the players, I mean, it's something to start considering. You see what's happened in New York and Florida, I mean, it's a little scary. I guess our whole lives have changed somewhat as athletes. I think what we've all found out is that there are a lot more important things in life than baseball games.