MLB WORLD SERIES: INDIANS v MARLINS

October 21, 1997

Jim Leyland

JIM LEYLAND: I think it's the rules, we do the same thing that every other team does. Does it matter? No, the extra bat doesn't matter.

JIM LEYLAND: There's a lot of stress and strain here with tickets, to make sure your family gets them, your friends get them, you have to be polite to people you can't help. I'm serious, it's not easy. The game is the best part. You have to stay on top of all requests, make sure everyone is happy. The game is the fun part.

JIM LEYLAND: I can sum that up with one sentence, Jim Fregosi said he's the nicest human being he's ever met in baseball. I don't find that to be any different.

JIM LEYLAND: Yeah, he's okay. I usually don't generally check on those things too much. I know you guys think that I probably should be on top of those things, but the way I usually work it is if they don't come in and tell me that they can't play, I assume they're okay. And that's the way I like to go about it. I don't want to be asking guys -- I don't think -- you can always find guys in both club houses in baseball throughout the years that don't feel a hundred percent every day. I'm not making light of it. I'm not going to make a big deal of it.

JIM LEYLAND: I'm playing Darren at first. I wanted another lefty in the line-up. I'm playing Darren at first. Eisenreich is not an ideal DH because he's not a power hitter. But I think he's a pure, outstanding hitter, and he can hit the ball line-to-line, he's a tough guy to defense. Like I said, if he had power he'd be a great DH. I think he'll do fine. He's my choice. He puts the ball in play. I'm worried that he's a little rusty and hasn't had much playing time, but he should be fine.

JIM LEYLAND: Daulton's been our first baseman for the latter part of the season. It's unfair to play either of those guys over there, because they're not true first basemen, that's not fair. Darren has played first base a lot since the time we got him, against right-handed pitching at first base. I really don't use Jimmy there.

JIM LEYLAND: We have a good bench. I think it's a pretty versatile bench, one that I can make double switches as the game is being played, but that doesn't come into play over here, in the American League. But that has been one of our strengths all season. They talk about our bench, they talk about guys coming off to pinch-hit, I disagree with that. The strength of our bench is that when you want to rest guys, you have guys come off the bench. John Cangelosi is a good spot starting player. Eisenreich, I feel comfortable with playing every time. I feel comfortable playing Kurt. We played a line-up in the second game of a doubleheader with the Phillies, we lost the first game. I played another line-up, we won the game. I think there's more to it than just pinch-hitting, it's a matter of feeling comfortable. You can double switch, put a guy in late in the game, put them in the nine hole. I think our bench is very versatile.

JIM LEYLAND: No, not at all. In fact I probably should have left with them (laughter.) No, not really. I think that it was a little bit of an earlier game, but these games can be pretty long, and I think a lot of people said, hey, it didn't look good. They might want to beat a little traffic now and then. No, I don't have any problem with that. We certainly have no complaints with the way our fans have been. 67,000, I think, speaks for itself. They've been absolutely fantastic. We don't know how many youngsters were involved in that situation, getting up for school or whatever, may have to get up a little early, I don't know.

JIM LEYLAND: I was rooting for him in Spring Training. I was really impressed with him in Spring Training, that's why he made our rotation. He had some early success. He had a rough outing with the Mets one day and in Spring Training in Port St. Lucy. I just really like the way he hung in there and battled in the game. He's got a long way to go, basically we've been starting those two guys, he and Livan, Tony Saunders for quite a while now and I think that it's pretty impressive that two guys that young cannot only break into the rotation, but get to the World Series. He's on his way to become a real power pitcher. He's got a very bright future.

JIM LEYLAND: I think he's got good stuff and he's a good pitcher. I'm sure he's going to have the jitters tomorrow. I wouldn't expect to be any different, in fact I'd worry if he didn't. There's a difference between being nervous and scared. I'm nervous before every game I manage, but obviously not scared. I think that's kind of where these guys are right now. That's the way it should be.

JIM LEYLAND: Well, you know one thing it holds something like 43,000, but we had 67,000, so it was pretty loud. I already told my players the same thing. I told them in San Francisco, just because you can't hear, doesn't mean you can't think. So I don't see it as a problem.

JIM LEYLAND: Everyone in the world disagrees with me, including some managers, but I think managing in the American League is much more difficult for that very reason. In the National League my situation is dictated for me. If I'm behind in the game I've got to pinch-hit, I've got to take my pitcher out. In the American League you have to zero in, you have to know exactly when to take them out of there. In the National League that's done for you. Pitching is 80, 90 percent of the game, that makes it a little tougher. I think that's very true. I think you really have to concentrate on your pitching, that's a big help for me. That's the big job for me. If you want to be ahead in the National League, it becomes a factor when they come to bat. If I'm behind the game in the National League under the National League rules, if we're sown three or four runs, I've got to pinch-hit, that's one of the things that's different.

JIM LEYLAND: They were in the rebuilding stage the last couple of years. They had a tremendous, tremendous season this year. There's no question it worked out, they ended up competing this year, which I think was a combination of -- and I don't want anyone in Pittsburgh to get mad at me -- of doing real good and a combination of the Central Division had a down year this year. So a combination of those two got them close. They were close right up to the end, but obviously I'm not going to manage all that much longer, I wanted to go some place where I could compete quick. Like I said, they were close right up to the end, which was fantastic, but obviously I'm not going to manage all that much longer, I wanted to go some place where I could compete quick. Like I said, if we had won it in a year or so in Pittsburgh, then I would have gone through one more rebuilding time, but really everybody talks about just last year. It was actually three or four years, and that's basically the reason I made the choice to go to Florida.

JIM LEYLAND: Well, he's up on it pretty good. I think the other thing is that it's a combination that people don't realize how valuable Charles Johnson is. I think that they figure that Bobby is up so far, if the ball is hit kind of hard he's still going to get it and if they don't get it out they've got Charles Johnson with that arm strength.

JIM LEYLAND: I think it would be harmful. I think that Gary has to remain patient, and I don't mind those walks leading off or walks in the middle of an inning. I hope that he doesn't try to expand too much because I think it will be harmful to the team. I think the other thing is it's a little tricky. I sincerely understand Gary Sheffield's situation. I think what we have here is -- I think the attitude here is that the pitchers are on him so much and then all of a sudden you're not ready, when you do get a pitch to hit. So he's in one of the toughest situations of anybody I've ever seen most of the year. I think it would be wrong for him to expand right now. I think he's doing fine, and I think his patience has been remarkable and I hope that he continues to do so. There's nothing wrong with having base runners on, particularly when you have a Bonilla, an Alou, an Eisenreich behind him, I'll take it.

JIM LEYLAND: I think he was fine.

JIM LEYLAND: Once again when you say fine -- perfect, no, but he's still not perfect, but like I said before there's players on both teams that are not perfect. You play very few games out of a 162 game schedule where you feel a hundred percent. Just like you guys when you go to work, you don't feel the same every day. It's the same with ball players.