AL DIVISION SERIES: YANKEES v ATHLETICS

October 2, 2000

Art Howe

ART HOWE: I haven't really sat down and finalized that just yet. We'll get to that tonight when I finish our workout and see how everybody is doing on the field. But it's going to be very similar to what you saw yesterday.

ART HOWE: You know, the way we finished the season, it's just like we've been playing playoff games all the way down the stretch and we have responded very well to that. So I'm hopeful that is going to carry us through the playoffs. Obviously the Yankees have an edge in post season play, no doubt about it. But it is a new season starting tomorrow, and we're hopeful that we're going to be up for the task.

ART HOWE: It's a new season for both clubs. Both going to try to get off to a good start. It's going to be good to play at home in front of our fans. It was good to win yesterday and achieve the home-field advantage.

ART HOWE: Yes, he did. He left a message on my phone. I just heard it about a half hour ago. He reciprocated.

ART HOWE: They are two of the best cities in the United States and two of the bigger ones. Who knows, hopefully we can have a nice rivalry start building up here. I know the Yankees have a big following here, an awful lot of fans here when we play well during the season we always draw well. A lot of them come out to root for the Yankees. We hope our fans outnumber them now though that we are in the post season. We're going to pack this place. I know there's going to be a lot of energy out there and I lot of excitement and I think our young kids are going to be ready.

ART HOWE: I think it surprised me because of some of the injuries we incurred during the season. When you lose your DH for the whole season and your backup DH for a couple months, you know, your DH is one of your key hitters. To lose them for that period of time and still keep going forward was huge. We had other key injuries obviously with Velarde being out for the first month of the season. And then Omar Olivares being out for two months as one of our starters, and then, you know -- and the key injury, but just a short one that we were very lucky when Giambi was out for eight days. We went 2-6 with him out of the lineup, and that showed how important he was to us. When he came back, that's when we went off.

ART HOWE: Very deserving. I was happy that the guys did that. They know how important he has been to us all season, and you know, I think it finally showed how much respect the Rangers had for him. They didn't mess with him at all yesterday. They just basically pitched around him.

ART HOWE: I was just hoping that whoever was carrying him wasn't going to get hurt.

ART HOWE: I think opportunity. I don't know if anybody really just said, "Gil, you're in the rotation, go get 'em." I think he was in and out of the rotation, in and out of the bullpen throughout his career and no one ever just said, "Just say in there and keep doing it." And when he got that opportunity, he made the most of it.

ART HOWE: We hope. That's why we're playing them. You know, everybody is saying that they are struggling now and whatever, but if any team can turn it around, this veteran club that the Yankees have can do it. That's why we have to keep the pedal to the metal, try to keep the pressure on them from the get-go. They are seasoned. They have been here more than anybody else in baseball, along with the Braves and they know what it takes to win in these situations. Hopefully our young players will learn very quickly.

ART HOWE: If there was a big factor, if experience was a big factor, we wouldn't be here right now. And just what the big factor is, how you play the game and we've played very well here down the stretch. We're the hottest team in baseball, and we intend to take it through the next few weeks.

ART HOWE: Well, the Rocket, we know what we're in for. This guy is one of the best of all time and we have to be on top of our game to have a chance. And we're just going to go out and battle and where it takes us. The key for us is for Gil to go out and keep us in the game. If he can keep us in the game, we can possibly find a way to get it done.

ART HOWE: Like I said, these past couple weeks have been playoff games for us. We played in front of full houses in Seattle. We had some nice big crowds here at the end of the season in crucial situations, a lot of pressure. There's no more pressure ahead of us than what we've gone through, I think.

ART HOWE: This kid, if you look at him the last couple of years, he's gotten better each year. Who knows what he's going to do next year, if that's the case, that's the trend. I'll be very excited to sit back and watch it, though, if he continues to get even better than he did this year. But for me, he's the MVP of this league, hands down.

ART HOWE: I think when you have success, your confidence builds, and this kid knows that he can hit anybody in this game. He's got a great eye. He's got discipline. He's got power to all fields. He's a total package offensively.