AL DIVISION SERIES: YANKEES v ATHLETICS

October 4, 2000

Derek Jeter

DEREK JETER: The mood of the team, it's upbeat. We understand that this is the series, it's a five-game series for a reason. You really can't put too much emphasis on one game. We lost the first one but we have a chance to split here and go back to New York.

DEREK JETER: Well, the only part that experience plays is we know that -- we take every game as if it's Game 5, if it's a five game series, if it's a seven-game series. We never sit around and say that we have a luxury with a one-game lead or a two-game lead, and it's not the end of the world. Everybody talks about the youth of this Oakland team and that's the bottom line. I don't see anything wrong with being young. They have a lot of intensity. They are one of the hottest teams in baseball, now you just go out and play and throw experience out the window.

DEREK JETER: Definitely. People, you know, the thing everyone was saying yesterday after we lost is we've never lost the first game of a division series. But we've had our backs against the ball where. We've been able to respond so when you're in a short series, I think the first series is always the toughest, a five-game series. It's simple: If you win, you move on and if not, you go home. So we have been in situations where we've had to come up with wins and Andy Pettitte has been on the mound and he has pitched well in those situations and we expect the same from him today.

DEREK JETER: No, not really. I don't think so. It's only one game.

DEREK JETER: Everyone talks about the end of the regular season. It has no bearing on the post-season. Who cares if you won ten in a row or lost ten in a row. When you start the post-season it's zero-zero. Oakland could care less if we were struggling at the end of the year. If you're a hot team, you have to go out and try to perform well in a short series. Anything can happen and you play every day for a reason.

DEREK JETER: I don't know if you can necessarily say patterning themselves after us, you know. They have a lot of guys that can hit home runs. They can beat us with home runs. During the regular season, home runs get the highlights. Pitching and defense win in the post-season. They have guys that can hit it out of the park, can move it over and get some big hits. They didn't hit any balls out yesterday, but they came up with some key hits and big opportunities.

DEREK JETER: Well, you know, the thing is we had a lot of veterans on that team as well. These guys for the most part of a group of young players. But they are guys that can play. I don't ever see anything wrong with age. I know I'm getting up there. But being young, there's nothing wrong with that. They have a lot of enthusiasm. They go out and they are not afraid to play and I think that's the thing carrying them so far is they are going out and putting it on the line.

DEREK JETER: The last five years have aged me. Not really. You play 162 games for a reason. We had a big lead to win, but that's the reason you get a big lead or develop a big lead. We know we're capable of winning and we've been there before. The thing is if we go out there and play well, we'll win and if not we'll be going home.

DEREK JETER: Well, he can do it all. That's the bottom line. He plays great defensively. He can swing the bat. He hits for average. He hits for power. He's an exciting player. He's one of those players that people pay to watch. And I think he's only going to get better.

DEREK JETER: I know I'm leading off. I don't know about the rest of the lineup I didn't really look at it.

DEREK JETER: Doesn't matter. We played with a bunch of lineups this year. Everyone is going to be ready to play whether they are starting or coming off the bench. You are only in a certain spot of the lineup first of the game, anyway.

DEREK JETER: Well, it's tough to see at the plate. It's kind of tough to pick up spin early on in the game, I think as the game processes, you probably see guys having better at-bats. But it is the same way for both teams. So by no means is it an excuse for anything. But it is a little tougher to pick up the ball. I think the pitchers may have the advantage early on.

DEREK JETER: Not at all. The thing that bothers us, or at least towards the end of the year, is how we were playing, not whether you win or lose because you're going to win games and you're going to lose games. We were not playing well. Yesterday they just beat us. At the end of the year, we gave some games away. We were out of it early on and played poorly. Yesterday was a great game and they just scored a couple more runs than us. I don't think you look at it as a sinking feeling when we were down it was only by a couple runs. This team is capable of coming back. I think yesterday, we wanted to win, obviously, but no one was really down.

DEREK JETER: Definitely. I think there is definitely a difference between playing to win and not playing to lose. Though, you know, when you're afraid of failure you may play afraid not to lose but I think everyone on this team is playing to win, just like Oakland. They are young. I don't think anyone expected them to be in this position when the season started, but they are definitely out there playing to win and we have been in this position before. So there is a difference, though.

DEREK JETER: Yeah, we're playing to win.

DEREK JETER: I think the headlines of this Oakland team has been their offense. Giambi and all of their home run hitters, and rightly so. But they have a great pitching staff as well. They have their bullpen showed yesterday that's one of the reasons they're here; they are capable of getting a lead and keeping a lead. That's what wins games for you in the post-season is strong bullpens.

DEREK JETER: The thing that helped me out is I was called up in '95 and I was not on the post-season roster, but I was able to stick around and watch the playoffs. I got acclimated to the atmosphere a little bit. My first post-season game was in New York and the atmosphere is different there than anywhere else. Everyone is going to be a little anxious and a little nervous, and I think after you get your first one out of the way, you get a little more relaxed and hopefully didn't get more nervous.

DEREK JETER: I don't think so. Everyone wants to talk about are we vulnerable now and we are not playing as well as we are in the past and we lost the first game. But you play a series, and if we come out and win tonight and win a couple games in New York everyone is saying the Yankees are back to their old ways. The bottom line is you can build up the games and you can write the stories and say they are struggling and they are playing well, but you have to take the field and see what happens. You never know what is going to happen on the field. No one expected Seattle to go into Chicago and win two games; they have done that. You know, when you play baseball, anything is possible, and hopefully we'll be in a position to be playing for a couple more weeks.

DEREK JETER: The thing with our team is we take every game as a must-win. Whether you're down one game or down two games or you're up two games we take that approach. That's the reason we have been successful in the past. I'm not comparing past teams but you have to compare the approaches and we take every game like it's a must-win situation.

DEREK JETER: My job is to get on base and try to score runs. Obviously, you can't get a hit in every game. You'd like to, but, you know, it is one game, you come out today and hopefully I can get on and help the team score some runs.

DEREK JETER: We have not faced him this year. We've missed him every time we've played Oakland. I vaguely remember facing him last year. Obviously, he has good stuff, otherwise he would not have won 20 games and he's the ace of their pitching staff. I have probably thought much about him. We'll probably watch film on him tomorrow in New York.