AL DIVISION SERIES: YANKEES v ATHLETICS

October 6, 2000

Art Howe

ART HOWE: I think they're going to react the way they've reacted all year. They're going to play good baseball, come in, give us a shot to win.

ART HOWE: Well, I've had the opportunity to watch him pitch most of the year; you haven't. This young man goes out there and battles. From the minute he goes out there, he's going to do stuff and give us an opportunity to win just about every time he goes out there.

ART HOWE: If they feel half as good as I do, we're going to be in good shape. I traveled right with them. And I'm a lot older.

ART HOWE: Well, what's good about it is we've played here a couple times each year. We kind of know what's at stake and what kind of crowd we're expecting. I think they've got that experience under their belt. They know it's going to be a fun series and the fans are going to be doing their thing with the Yankees. So it's important for us hopefully to get a lead early and maybe take them out just a little bit.

ART HOWE: I think for most teams it might be a factor but not for this one. We wouldn't be here if experience was a factor. These kids have overcome everything that they've come up against, so I don't expect them to back away from this situation.

ART HOWE: Most definitely. That's what I told our kids when we started the series. This is something you've earned, enjoy it because otherwise, if we put too much pressure on ourselves, we're not going to play well. Go out, have fun, play the game the way we've been playing it all year and see where it takes us. And your other question, I haven't -- I'm not a big meetings man, so I've kind of just let them go. They've been playing great. They don't need me to come in and emphasize anything. They know exactly what's at stake and we are having fun.

ART HOWE: I did a little research. Chavez hit cleanup in high school or something, somewhere along the line. Actually, against a right-hander, I decided Chavez was a better pick. Miguel's hitting fifth, so that's not too far away from the cleanup spot. If we were facing a lefty, it might have been Miguel. I think Eric's got the make-up to handle it. He's swinging the bat well. I want somebody in that slot that's going to give us a chance to score some runs.

ART HOWE: Our first impression was outstanding in spring training. He was a pitcher, he was electric in the spring. I don't know if anybody scored off the team all year long. He didn't make the club. But his attitude, when I called him in to tell him he was going out, was outstanding. He said, "I didn't really expect to make the team, I'll go to Triple A to do the best I can and make my way here." It was just a great attitude. Many times when somebody has a tremendous spring, they start holding out hope they'll be on the club. But he knew he hadn't really had a full season in Triple A and he still hasn't. He needed some more seasoning. He went down there with a great attitude. Before you knew it, he was in our rotation doing a great job.

ART HOWE: Well, I thought that was our first real big test late in the year. We had a good win there, four-game series in Seattle. It was a must-win situation for us. We had Hudson start the series off, like we do here. We have our best. I think that's what we feel good about, we have our best guy going out there, we're just going to let it hang out and see what happens.

ART HOWE: No, I'm not surprised at all. Hey, they won with that line-up. So why fix what's not broken? I learned that a long time ago, out there, Danny Murtach that used to do that when I was a kid. He made a change in the line-up and they won, that line-up was going out there until they lost the game. Hopefully Lou will have to change his line-up tomorrow.

ART HOWE: Yeah, I mean -- yeah, definitely. Hopefully get Jason some pitches. Obviously, the key is Chavez is hot and will do something defensively for us. He has good numbers against El Duque. So we're hoping the middle of our order can generate some offense for us.

ART HOWE: It's a give-and-take. I don't know if there's an advantage or disadvantage. So I'll let you know after the game.

ART HOWE: I wish I had the chance to play here. I mean, this is an awesome stadium to play baseball in. Obviously there's a lot of history here and I think any player that ever gets to the Big Leagues would love to play some time in Yankee Stadium. It's a thrill, and hopefully we represent ourselves well, and we do well.

ART HOWE: Not anybody in green. (Laughter.)

ART HOWE: Most definitely. Joe Torre's one of the best if not the best in the game. I have the utmost respect for Joe. He's not only class on the field, he's class off the field and if anybody mentions me in the same sentence as Joe Torre, I'm very complimented.

ART HOWE: It's been great. To be honest with you, sometimes I look in the mirror, I think I'm starting to grow hair again. But, no, one thing about a young group, every day's new and every day is different. You don't know what you're going to get so they keep you young and they keep you guessing. One thing I know that they give me is a lot of effort. That's all I've ever asked.