MLB WORLD SERIES: METS v YANKEES

October 22, 2000

Brian Cashman

BRIAN CASHMAN: It was one of those old-fashioned baseball trades. I was trying to get Joe Torre more options, weapons he could use late in the game. Leyritz's role at the time with us was one of a third catcher, a right-handed bat off the bench, and at times maybe a right-handed DH versus left-handed pitching. When those options or those scenarios weren't seeming to coming up much in the first two months of the season for Joe to utilize and Vizcaino, being a switch-hitter, could run a little bit, play third, short, second, then a contact hitter, he would just provide Joe with more options later in the game, or in case of an emergency we'd have to bring him in if something happened. The Dodgers needed someone in Leyritz's capacity. We were looking for something just more to give Joe to utilize. We obviously worked hard to try to get something done. We got it done. Fortunately for us it's been done. Vizcaino's been great for us in the clubhouse and on the field. His role's expanded a little bit, obviously more than we expected with what took place during the season with Knoblauch with the injury to the arm. I'm pleased he's worked out, and I'm happy with what took place last night. I'm glad Jose had one of the games of his life.

BRIAN CASHMAN: I think the experience factor helps our guys probably. At least it probably helps them calm the butterflies, if I had to guess. I'm obviously not on the field with them. But knowing that they've been there before and been in a situation where they're down 2-0 to start a series, or up and trying to finish off a series, I think they've experienced a little bit of every aspect. It gives them an opportunity at least to calm the nerves prior to the game, if you can do so in these situations at all. That's where I think the experience probably comes in, and having the confidence to pull through and get the job done. So it's a trust factor. When you look at these guys, you just try to look at their track records and rely on their history. They've never disappointed us. Sometimes when the ebb and flow of the game goes through, you're going to have your highs and lows. When the lows hit, you have to kick back and look at the good times and trust that they'll be back again, because these guys have taken you to the top of the mountain before many times.

BRIAN CASHMAN: Jorge Posada, absolutely, we're pleased with his development. I know there was a lot of discussion last winter when we made the decision to -- difficult decision not to resign Joe Girardi, who is a tremendous champion and Yankee. But it was Jorge Posada's time. I remember many times this winter, along with Joe Torre and our coaches, talking about , "Give it some time; let Jorge get his sea legs behind him." This year he is the No. 1 full-time. I think halfway through the season the fans who were the most nervous, you always have to wait and see. We felt the fans would be very pleased with the results. Jorge has not disappointed. He's grown. Obviously, he's a tremendous offensive player. Defensively, I don't think he gets as much credit as he deserves. We think he's one of the best defensive catchers in our league. Offensively, he's a tough guy to pitch to because his on-base percentage is so high. He's a difficult player to pitch to being a switch-hitter. So we're very pleased.

BRIAN CASHMAN: I didn't see "the boss" last night after we won. I saw him actually from a distance in the clubhouse. You know he was happy. I tell you what, you're sitting in the dugout, those guys are the ones. That's the safe haven when you're in the cheap seats in the stands and in the offices, whether you're on the Mets' or the Yankees' side, you're living and dying with each pitch. I'll tell you what, a game like that was one of the best things to watch, but that's unhealthy. (Laughing.) To sit through, live and die with every pitch. But that's what post-season is all about. It's pretty gut-wrenching. That's what October's all about. I'm sure there were some ups and downs for him, for me, for everybody that's a Yankee or a Met fan throughout that game, and you know at the end of the day he had a smile on his face because we got Game 1 under our belts.

BRIAN CASHMAN: We have a mission statement, really, every year. That doesn't change because the Mets are our opponent now. When we started this thing, when our meetings get together, we gather all our people in Tampa. I call them the "Knights of the Round Table," the Mark Newman's, the Gene Michael's of the world, Kim Ng, my assistant, we get down there, talk about players, possible trades, free agents, who we should keep every time we draw up on our depth chart, rosters - however you want to call it - the question the boss always poses, "Is this team good enough to get to the World Series and win?" That's what it's about. Not: "Are we good enough to win the division? Are we good enough to win the wildcard?" Nothing like that. It's always the one thing. And fortunately for us, we've been having that success the last few years to get here. And so just because we got the Mets in front of us, who are very formidable and very capable, I don't feel any added pressure, because the pressure's there every day. I heard Joe Torre talk about it earlier. Joe and I were joking about a week ago when these questions started popping up about: "Is it going to be excess pressure with the Mets?" We could be playing in Timbuktu and the pressure would be there. That works for us. That's part of being a Yankee. It's part of being associated with this franchise, because, again, as Joe Torre spoke earlier, the bar has been set. The old saying, "He who wears the crown is a heavy crown," something like that, is true. They're getting better every year, they're getting tougher every year. But thankfully, we have guys like a Bernie and a Tino and a Pauly, and Andy, et cetera. These guys have, again, found ways to scratch and claw and get the job done when it counts. But it's a long-winded answer, but the pressure is no different. We're here at the World Series now. The goal is to win four games before they do. And we have got three more to go, and that's -- right now, we're just trying to count wins. We need three more to win, and that's all we're going to do.

BRIAN CASHMAN: Paul O'Neill's been a tremendous Yankee thus far, and he's in a situation like many Yankees right now, he's in his walk year. In past years, we've addressed certain situations. I think it was '98, as the year went along, we signed some people back, and even last year I think we signed someone back during the season. This year we made a choice before the season started we weren't going to go ahead and try to negotiate during the season if we could avoid it. So we have Denny Neagle now, Paul O'Neill, David Cone, Dwight Gooden, Canseco has an option, Hill's got an option. I know some of these guys haven't been here as long as Paul, but we've told all our players now that all these decisions are going to wait until the winter. This year's been a grind trying to get our team to the point where it's at, and we're just going to concentrate on one thing right now and let the winter decisions wait for the winter. We're just going to concentrate on the business at hand.