AL DIVISION SERIES: YANKEES v ATHLETICS

October 7, 2000

Art Howe

ART HOWE: Well, doctors feel it's a deep bone bruise and he's going to go out to batting practice and see how he feels. Right now he's in the line-up. So as long as he can handle the discomfort, there's no risk for further injury, if that's what the case is.

ART HOWE: Well, this time of year, even if guys do pitch, they're going to come out and pitch for us two, three days in a row, if need be. But there's going to be pressure on Barry no matter what the situation is tonight so he'll be ready for it. It's nice to know everybody is fresh in the bullpen, but I think their bullpen is pretty fresh also.

ART HOWE: Actually, I came out of college and I had to get a couple operations, this body was falling apart. I had a back operation, a leg operation. I didn't know if I was going to be physically able to play professional sports, any kind of sports really. I was lucky enough to play some semi-pro ball. A friend of mine saw me play and talked me into going and trying out. It's kind of old news anyway.

ART HOWE: I like it's better than a three-game series. It used to be three-game series early on. It's a pretty decent scenario. I think best-of-five is fine.

ART HOWE: Well, actually, I only had an older team my first year and a half there, then we rebuilt. So I had a very young team there also. Actually, you manage with the talent level you have, the kind of talent you have. If you have speed, you can use it. If you don't, you don't. Just depends on the talent you have, really. You try to adapt to it. I think a good manager does that. He doesn't try to get something out of nothing if it's not there. You just try to get the most of what they have. You find out as early in the season as possible what kind of talent you have.

ART HOWE: I think he's ready. Definitely. He's done a great job for me the two years he's been my bench coach. I'm in his corner. I hope he gets an opportunity. I guess only time will tell.

ART HOWE: He's already handled Game 1. So he already tested the waters, we're going to have everybody and his brother ready to pitch if need be in that situation. I think he's the man we need.

ART HOWE: Probably Ryan Christenson will be out there.

ART HOWE: Not necessarily.

ART HOWE: The same. We're always in close contact. We talk just about every day about the team itself in general and whatever. When we're at home, Billy's always there. Some road trips he takes with us. But we have telephone conversations, mostly daily, when I'm on the road.

ART HOWE: Score runs. I mean, that's the bottom line. We had opportunities against him. We had three or four chances to cash in. We're going to have to sit down and reevaluate our approach in those situations and see if we can do something a little bit better.

ART HOWE: Well, he's been doing his job. He's been getting on base steadily. It's the people around him that really have been a little bit off right now. But good pitching will do that to you. If you would have told me that Jeter was one for this series and Justice was one for this series and Hill was one for this series, and I'll go on and on and on, then you tell me we were down two-games-to-one, I'd think you were smoking something. (Laughter.) But you're not.

ART HOWE: Well, it's always important to have a rapport with your players. I think to get that extra mile out of them. I think we're on the same page. They know where I'm coming from, they know I'm behind them 110 percent. I think that's the most important thing. I try to always put them in a situation to succeed whenever possible. It's been fun. I try to keep as much pressure off them as possible because there's pressure every day just to walk out there between the lines and deal with it. These kids have done a great job, and they're maturing right before my eyes.

ART HOWE: Well, I played. That helps. Every team you play on there's a few sick puppies. It helps keep the team loose. Sometimes as a manager you have to look the other way. I've learned that through the years also.

ART HOWE: It ranks right up there. I played with a real loose group in Houston. And when I first came to the Big Leagues, yeah, they broke the mold with the Pirates when I was there. So... (Laughing.)

ART HOWE: It's kind of against our religion. We don't really think about playing small ball. We're an American League club, we like to knock the ball around a little bit. We'll work on bunting maybe more next spring. But sometimes you send a bad message to your team if you're playing for one run. We like to think we'll be able to put a crooked number up there any time. I think the people we play against have a bad feeling in their mind that this team can explode any minute. So, yeah, I mean definitely you'd like to be able to do the little things a little bit better, but we like to do the big things real well.