NL DIVISION SERIES: BRAVES v ASTROS

October 12, 2001

Bobby Cox

BOBBY COX: My sister suffered a cerebral hemorrhage. They operated on her Wednesday. I was able to be with her that night and yesterday. She's in stable condition. She's in intensive care. I appreciate all the well wishes.

BOBBY COX: We've had some problems, but I've never been afraid to try something new. One constant throughout the year has been our starting pitching and bullpen. I feel really good about our team. I feel good about our bullpen. I feel like we can pitch shutout ball starting from the sixth inning, then the seventh, eighth and ninth. Nothing against Rocker, but that trade gave us depth: Remlinger, Ligtenberg, Karsay, Seanez, Reed. Remlinger was the one who held us together last year and the first part of this year. We've also been hitting better than people have given us credit for.

BOBBY COX: For a long time, the media and baseball people thought that he could be a closer but we were selfish, we wanted to keep him as a starting pitcher. As you know, he's a free agent, and we're trying to sign him. We like him as a relief pitcher.

BOBBY COX: All the new people we acquired have talent and they fit right in with our ballclub. Leo does a good job with all the pitchers. We have a lot of confidence in our overall 25-man roster.

BOBBY COX: You're probably right. He's a grinder. B.J. is a real grinder. If we have a day off, B.J.'s here. He can't get away from the ballpark. He has to be in his uniform, he has to do his stretch, he has to hit and he has to do a lot of stuff. It's just him, his make-up. He's one of your real throwbacks to the original game of baseball really. He just loves the game, and he also can play the game. He's one of the guys who holds us together also (inaudible.) He's not a real power guy.

BOBBY COX: We let Smoltz go the first game two innings. That would have been his fifth day off if he hadn't pitched that day. Some of the other guys, you're right, I think they will be sharp because they do a lot of throwing on the side. It's been a lot of days off (inaudible).

BOBBY COX: Well, it's always good to be with your families. I've never intended to miss a game managing - I never have - unless something really, really drastic happens. But I intended to be here, period. And it is good for them. We talk a lot about families, and I have such a very high priority for me to get the players that their families are very, very important. They need them. We're certainly separated a lot during the course of the season and spring training. We're gone for almost eight months. So it's tough. There are a lot of good family guys on this ballclub - a lot of good people, period.

BOBBY COX: Quite honestly, I thought Marcus was ready for the big leagues in spring training. Veras was good enough physically with his bad knee that he had operated on to start the season. But in the back of my mind, looking back, I should have probably went with Giles and given Veras a little more time to get in shape. We broke camp with his knee problem. Javy Lopez had a broken finger, shouldn't have been playing. But those are the types of guys they are - they want to be playing. But I thought he was ready this spring.