AL CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES: INDIANS v YANKEES

October 9, 1998

Joe Torre

JOE TORRE: It's interesting how he surfaced in the ballpark in New York. We didn't think David Wells was going to pitch and then all of a sudden Cone got bitten by a dog and he became a starter. Showed us good stuff early on, mixed it up, fastball, breaking ball, lefty, righty and all of a sudden left hand started giving him trouble. In fact, it was right here that he got beat up by the Indians and since that time, that game and then pitches a game against the Angels that he was hit pretty good. Since that time made a lot of adjustments as far as using both sides of the plate. It just seems, obviously, his first year in the Big Leagues, but with all the experience he's had before this has made him grasp things quicker and make adjustments a little quicker. Right now of course he hasn't pitched for two weeks, so keep your fingers crossed not being on the mound other than for a little practice. Approach is good, very sound. Seems to pitch his best game when there's more at stake.

JOE TORRE: Tim hit the double in Texas and really hasn't had as good of at-bats as he has in the past. Going through a little bit of a slump and I just decided to change to Chili.

JOE TORRE: You know, you try to do it the same way, but obviously after you've lost a game, whether it's in Game 2 of the postseason or during the regular season, you want to get back on the field and the off day yesterday, you know, kept that from happening. But we're, as far as our preparation, I had a little bit of a meeting a few minutes ago just to make sure -- with everything that's been going on for the last day and-a-half. I just want to make sure we go out there and think about tonight instead of trying to make up for something that happened the other day. But we're basically doing things the same way.

JOE TORRE: I think Tino's problem is a lot of guys who care a lot. He's trying too hard. He thinks he should be doing more than he does, more than he has done, I mean. I don't agree with him because to me, every little thing you do in postseason goes a long way to helping you win a ball game. I think the only thing Tino needs to do is change his approach because his swing is fine but if you start thinking in terms of -- let me have this at-bat and then the next at-bat instead of trying to do a lot of things -- make up for some stuff and try to do too much when you get up there it's a lot easier for me to tell them that and sit here and talk about it, but if I go back, God, it's a long time ago, 25, 30 years, it's not that easy to do.

JOE TORRE: It was ironic when we started talking about Hernandez and signing him, knowing he was related, it is a little strange to realize a year later that we're -- we have another Hernandez in the postseason. Hopefully our guy makes as good an impact as Livan did.

JOE TORRE: I've always appreciated people had faith in me and trust in me because playing this game, I think the best way to look at it is pick up a press guide and see what people do over the course of the season. And for me to change my mind on Andy because of what he's done in half a year is not fair to him, especially what he's given us. He's already proven that he's won big games. First year I was here in '96, he beat Baltimore in a couple of games in a big series. He goes out there -- and of course, the one I mentioned yesterday, Game 5 of the World Series. You can't win a bigger game than that. This is Game 3 of a similar situation on the road and to do what he did in Game 5, that will stay in my memory bank and the only thing that will change that is if something changes dramatically with him. Because the emotional part and the stomach and heart that he possesses, it doesn't leave you when you have that to think about.

JOE TORRE: No, it was yesterday I started thinking about it. Basically because -- so consumed with umpires, Chuck Knoblauch and you just can't do anything about that. Whatever the results were the other day, whoever messed up, it's over with, we can't do a damn thing about it. I thought about it yesterday -- basically, I think managers meetings are for him, for the manager. Just so you feel good, that you felt you wanted to say something and you are maybe aiming at this guy, but this guy will hear it, too. And it was very short, if it lasted a couple of minutes, it was a long time. I just wanted to tell him that we have a new day here and can't do anything about it and we've won a lot of games during the course of the year, so we must have been able to bounce back from bad situations.

JOE TORRE: For everybody.

JOE TORRE: It had to be. I think first of all you're facing the best teams, so you have to consider the pitching. That's why those teams got here also. And then the pressure involved. And it's just a lot of things that you have to deal with. Sure, we've gone through some stress, I mean, you play 162 games you're going to go through some dry periods of not swinging the bats real well and we've done that. But normally, we find a way to get the job done because we don't really rely on any one person and we don't really rely on any one way to score because we like to run and we like to do a lot of things. However, in order to do those things you still have to get men on base and we haven't been able to do that. We've had it before, but I think it's more magnified now.

JOE TORRE: We did this before Game 1. And we had a meeting before Game 1 of the Division Series.

sure --

JOE TORRE: Wanted to make sure that the signs were right and stuff. This is the first one that didn't involve signs --

JOE TORRE: Again, I just want to let them know what I was thinking, more so -- because I don't ask them what I was thinking I want them to know what I'm thinking and if it's not a problem, fine, dismiss it. But if you are beating yourself up for what happened the other day or still thinking about, wow, we could have won that, forget it. You can't let that happen.

JOE TORRE: To me I think catchers are such a big part of it because pitching is such a big part of it and Joe Girardi, he has a trust, he has the trust of all the pitchers and not only the two that he catches because he's going to catch relief pitchers also and he's been in postseason, '89 with the Cubs and with Colorado in postseason. So that experience, which I think is very important to me, he has a huge role. Plus he's swinging the bat pretty well. He did a lot of hitting -- I think .270, .280 this year. He doesn't do it in a big way, but he knows what he's doing. I'm very comfortable with Joe Girardi whether he's at the plate or behind it.

JOE TORRE: I think it's command. It's not overpowering, he needs to use both sides of the plate and it may take him an inning or two to settle in. First of all with the emotion involved in postseason play and hasn't been out there in two weeks. He has so many different weapons, not a one-pitch pitcher and just basically a command of his stuff.