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AL DIVISION SERIES: ATHLETICS v YANKEESOctober 13, 2001Art HoweOAKLAND, CALIFORNIA: Game Three Q. Can you tell us if you feel like Corey has turned a corner as a pitcher this season, and what he's meant to your team this year? ART HOWE: Well, first of all, all we know about Corey is what we've really seen this year, so I don't know about turning a corner. We know he's pitched very well for us all season long, and we're pleased to have him on the club. He's done a great job for us all year. And he's done a solid job in that fourth slot. Q. What's your reaction, Art, to the Yankees shaking their line-up today? ART HOWE: We were kind of thinking they might, but you never know. We're going to have to try to pitch well against the new guys that are in the line-up and know that they have two outstanding hitters sitting on that bench over there now. Q. How much of a difference does it make for your offense when Johnny is playing the way he has the last couple of games? Could you briefly retrace what turned him around this season? ART HOWE: Well, he's a huge offensive player for us, when he's getting on base he can steal bases, score from first on a long single sometimes. It creates a little havoc for the other ballclub. He's been playing great for us all year, as far as I'm concerned. About the time we moved him to centerfield is about the time he started swinging the bat real well. Q. How does making a switch in the field turn out to benefit a guy's hitting ability? ART HOWE: Well, it might relax him. If he's in a position that he's real comfortable in, and you play a strange position, you spend a lot of your time thinking about how to play that position. And when you're comfortable it just comes naturally, and then you can put a little more emphasis on the other side of the ball. Q. Yesterday your team seemed very loose as they came out and worked out yesterday. Today is there more tension because now it's here? ART HOWE: When the game starts we're ready to play. We try to have fun, relax as much as we can before every game. We know this is a big game, obviously, and it's going to take our best to have a shot to get this thing accomplished today. We're going up against an outstanding pitcher in Mussina. The Yankees are bound and determined to get back in the series, and we have our work cut out for us. Q. I know you had made references when you moved Johnny to center that you had thought about that alignment previously. How seriously did you think about doing that previously? ART HOWE: Very seriously, but I just didn't do it. Q. Brian Murphy wrote a nice piece about you today, Art, about your experience in Pittsburgh growing up and your appreciation of the game. Has this been safe to say the most enjoyable year you've had as a professional, as a coach, manager, player? ART HOWE: It certainly ranks right up there. It's been great to be around these young players and see them develop the way they have this year. And to see them come from so far back, that's what's really gratifying and satisfying about this season. So many people wrote the club off early on, but these players just wouldn't let it happen, and they've battled back. And I'm very, very proud of them. End of FastScripts.... |
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