AL CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES: RED SOX v YANKEES

October 15, 1999

Jimy Williams

JIMY WILLIAMS: You are trying to get to the next level certainly and when you factor that in with the thought and idea that we didn't even really know if he could pitch, that if he could pitch, maybe two innings, it turned out to be six. It elevates us to the next level then. Certainly in the year 1999 that was a premier performance for our ballclub to help us immensely, especially with what happened early in that game.

JIMY WILLIAMS: There is a whole bunch of baseball players and I am not sure if I can really define it properly to you because maybe you are not in our dugout. You weren't there the first day of spring training. Focus. Attitude. Will to win. Desire to want to play. Win this one game. Make it simple. Then in retrospect you look back -- that is what we talked about. Let's go play the schedule, play these games and see where we are, you know, but let's make it simple and see if we can win today's game. That is about the way we focused from the outset of our first practice in spring training. We have bounced back. We stay pretty even keel from a mental standpoint, but the work ethic, I think is very important on a daily basis, the consistency, the things we try and do out there to prepare ourselves to win that game. One thing that maybe really sticks in my mind is if we have a 7:05 game here, which is a normal time, maybe during the season between 6:40 and 6:45, there is probably eight guys out there together stretching together as a unit, preparing themselves for the game with the pitcher and the catcher in the bullpen. So that they are a unified group and they build on each other, they back each other. So I think it comes from whether it is our trainers, our coaches and themselves, you know, being ready to play that game. And it is a marathon certainly the season, but the sprint mode is on, it is a compliment to them. I tip my cap to these kids.

JIMY WILLIAMS: Well, just a tangible first. Kid goes out in that game the other day and he really stayed focused with his delivery because with his back being what it was and really he didn't know how -- if he would be able to pitch. That he really stayed in control of his faculties from a standpoint of not trying to overthrow a ball and pitch which might end his inning right then. I really don't think he overextended one pitch. If you look at the gun readings that -- certainly they are in the Cleveland Stadium, whatever that means, but they started out maybe 90 or a little below. And at times, if he needed a certain pitch and maybe he felt like he had to rev it up a little bit, he'd go 93, 94 then he'd back off again, but he utilized all his pitches. But he has the uncanny ability to pitch and win with his command. If you look at his walks, I mean, that is just fantastic, for the amount of innings he pitches and for the amount of strike outs that he has; that he walks so few people, the ability to command a baseball 60 feet, six inches; not just throw it over the plate, but throw it to a spot. He had a part of that plate for a called strike or have a player swing and miss. The intangibles, just his presence, I think maybe just his presence, you look at him as the man. This kid has had some kind of year in 1999. Just a tremendous year, game in, game out. And then look at that game the other day when we needed to win that game if we were going to advance and come in and pitch like he did.

JIMY WILLIAMS: We just play the games the best we can, our capability. We know the magnitude of ALCS, not too many teams left playing. But nobody feels sorry for us, you know, we are going to be prepared tomorrow. I think maybe tomorrow might be just about our 1200th game for the year. I know our kids are going to be just as prepared tomorrow as they were the first day of spring training when we hit that field. Physically and mentally we are ready and prepared to go out and play a game and do our darndest to win it. So with that in mind, we know we need a win tomorrow. We are going to do our darndest to win tomorrow. But as far as anything -- I don't really look at it like that. I am really looking forward to playing this game, watching our club play. I like the way they play. We know we are playing a tough team, had two tough games.

JIMY WILLIAMS: To get to this level first and foremost you have to have good starting pitching; they set the tone, they really do. As far as tomorrow's game, I think the circuit breaker for that electric company, for the great pad in the sky, they might be challenged.

JIMY WILLIAMS: I think you probably should comment on that yourself. I just leave it at that.

JIMY WILLIAMS: We played good but not good enough. The other club won. So you know, you take the games one at a time. We lost 4-3, 3-2, basically we had the lead in both games, but we had some opportunities to score, put the right hitters up there in the right situations and unfortunately didn't get a hit. That is the way this game goes. You just play them one at a time from that standpoint and move on. You can't look back, really can't; me I am looking forward from the standpoint of enjoying the off day because that is today, got to enjoy it and then when tomorrow comes, look forward to playing that game.

JIMY WILLIAMS: You know I don't make lineups out of here. We have 14 position players, I will be honest but I could take them right out of a hat. I'd feel good to have any of the nine that I picked out of that hat to go out there and help us win a game. I really would.

JIMY WILLIAMS: You have to go with the man. You have to go with what he feels. You have to go with the feedback that you get from him. Certainly I know he is prepared the best he can be to pitch that game tomorrow and then you proceed. To my knowledge he really hasn't had any setbacks or problems with his back, which is a plus. So I am certain he is going to give everything he has got out there, we all know that because he loves to pitch. He really loves to pitch. He loves baseball.

JIMY WILLIAMS: Well, certainly I wasn't here when Roger Clemens pitched for the Red Sox, so those of you who live here and write here and have been associated with them a lot longer then maybe I have, can make a comparison yourself. I have only been here since Pedro was here, the last couple of years. But certainly Roger Clemens is a premier pitcher, so you look at the number of games that he has won, certainly here, Toronto, and New York and look what Pedro has done in basically Los Angeles, Montreal and Boston. You have two premier pitchers going at each other. We have already spoken that pitching is a key -- starting pitching, that is how you get to this level. So you don't know what kind of a game it is going to be. You would think it would be a low-scoring game but you never know. You really don't. That is why you got to play the games.

JIMY WILLIAMS: I think if you look at his record, every time he pitches it is a big moment. That is just the way he is. He loves to pitch. He loves to go out and do his best to help his team win. Certainly those are individual performances that you are talking about, but I think he had 23 victories during the course of this season. To me those are very important for him too. That is his whole mindset, be prepared to pitch that game and help his team win. Although, if you look at the All-Star Game, that was certainly a phenomenal performance and what he did the other day for our team was the same.

JIMY WILLIAMS: He got whacked good. He got whacked pretty good. I just talked to him, but he says he is better. I said better than what? He got hit not too many hours ago, but I really believe he will be ready to play. He is a tough kid, you know, he is -- he doesn't say a lot, but that ball got him flush.

JIMY WILLIAMS: Well, nobody likes to lose, we are not any different than anybody else. I will be honest, it takes a little bit of time, I will be honest with you. How soon do I think about Pedro? Well, after we left that clubhouse, start thinking about this day off. That is what we have to enjoy first, you know, and then go on to the game tomorrow.

JIMY WILLIAMS: He is a live wire. This kid is a live wire. He is very vibrant. He is enthusiastic. Charismatic. He enjoys -- he enjoys putting a uniform on and being out there, more so when he is pitching, certainly. But even when he is not, he is vibrant. He is alive. He really is. He is infectious. He can get other people to another level, I think.