MLB WORLD SERIES: METS v YANKEES

October 24, 2000

Steve Phillips

STEVE PHILLIPS: I'm not sure what has been announced with it so far.

STEVE PHILLIPS: Nice try. I didn't really expect more than that. I'm satisfied with it. I certainly wasn't calling for his suspension from the series, and I don't think any of our players or Bobby or staff are looking for him to be suspended. So if they deemed it appropriate after addressing it and evaluating it to fine him, then so be it. We're ready to move on and be prepared to play Game 3.

STEVE PHILLIPS: Well, I mean, I think that it was up to baseball to address whatever action needed to be taken or not. I think it was not -- I think it was appropriate for them to at least evaluate the situation. I think that most people had an impression about what they saw on the field; and then once they saw replays, it filled in some of the holes and at least changed how they may have -- how strongly they felt about certain things. It didn't change some people's view of it. But I think that the umpires are in a position to make a quick decision, and they can't sit with the parties involved and say, "What were you thinking? What were you feeling? Why did you do this?" I think they made the appropriate decision on the day of the game, and I think it was appropriate for baseball to consider it. If they came back and said, "We've considered it, we're going to say he shouldn't have done it and not fine him," that would have been their prerogative as well, and we would have had to live with that.

STEVE PHILLIPS: Wishful thinking, right? It's nice to have a game tonight that we can talk about the game afterwards and maybe put some of this aside until after Game 5 and preparation for Game 6. I guess it might come up again at that point. But I think now we can at least get back and have the focus on baseball.

STEVE PHILLIPS: I think there was a selection committee that scouted players, Omar Minaya was part of the committee. They pooled information to come up with players they thought might be the best team and best representatives for the United States. Sandy Alderson, Bob Watson, Bill Bavasi were members of that committee as well. When they asked us, the only limitations we had was if there were players we thought we'd call in September who could help our Major League team. We did not want to make them available because we thought we'd need them for post-season. Kinkeade, with Vance Wilson on our team, we weren't going to prohibit him from participating in the Olympic team. It just so happened he got traded.

STEVE PHILLIPS: It did matter. I think it was handled appropriately. I think the umpires handled it appropriately during the game, and I think baseball handled it appropriately as well by handling the situation and taking it under consideration, making the decision that they did. If they had come back and said they didn't want to do anything, we had to live with that, too. It wouldn't have broken our hearts either way. I don't think -- our preference is that if we have a chance to win the World Series, we'd like to do it with both teams in full strength.

STEVE PHILLIPS: Well, I know that Frank Robinson did call me, and I talked to him. I know that he and Bobby exchanged phone calls. I'm assuming they finally did connect. I'm not sure that they talked to Mike about it. They might have just read the paper. I mean, every question that could possibly have been asked was asked. I think somewhere in there you could have found his answers to it. I don't know who they talked to from the Yankees organization.

STEVE PHILLIPS: No, I don't have a problem with it. I think Mike's pretty aware of and pretty good about answering questions and knowing what's appropriate and what's not. Other than the bleeps in today's story, a significant number of bleeps, I don't have a problem with it. I don't think it's going to fuel anybody's fire more than it's already fueled.

STEVE PHILLIPS: I remember when we signed Rick Reed to a Minor League Triple-A contract, we got him as an insurance policy and a guy who would help our Triple-A team win. He pitched for a year in Triple-A, we re-signed him with the intent of possibly selling him to Japan. We brought him into Major League camp with the idea we might be able to sell his contract to Japan. He made our team that year, spent the year in the Big Leagues, and established himself as one of the better right-handed starting pitchers in the game. He's built upon that over the last several years, and he's won some big games for this organization. There's no doubt this is the biggest game he's ever pitched for us or that he's ever pitched in his career. He needs to be on top of his game if we're going to have a chance to win.