NL DIVISION SERIES: MARLINS v GIANTS

September 29, 2003

Jack McKeon

JACK McKEON: Well, I tell you, I'm so happy for Felipe, he's done a great job over here. I know I talked to him last time I was out here. He told me about that, when he got the job, age is a factor. When I got this job, it was a big deal about my age. I think he said it right, he went and showed them. I think we both showed them. I think it's a real plus for all the senior citizens out there in this world. I realize now that regardless of your age, you can go out there and if you're still capable of working, fight on, don't give up.

JACK McKEON: Well, I tell you, I had some good players here. There's some good players. These young men worked hard. The only thing I've done is tried to encourage them to hard work, dedication, staying focused, having fun, and if they did all those things, why, they could enjoy playing in September. They all believed it. I guess they asked what I was talking about, went on and had a successful season. It's a tribute to them guys, not me. I don't have to get my ego boosted. These guys are the ones that deserve the credit, outstanding group of young men. I've been managing in the league 13, 14, I don't know how many years. Anyway, this is the best group of players I've ever had. They had dedication, desire, and are unselfish. I've never seen a club that has 25 guys that are just like a family.

JACK McKEON: Well, I think the situation dictates, you know, what will happen. I don't have any idea what I'm going to do right now. But I think if you polled every manager in the National League, they would say this guy was the one player. And Barry Bonds is a tremendous player, no question about it. Maybe the greatest player of this century. But really, everybody would say, "Don't let Barry Bonds beat you." I think the situation that comes up will dictate how you handle the situation.

JACK McKEON: No question about it. This guy, I say in the last five, six years, up close, managing against him, I don't know what you want to say, it's matured or what. But he's become some kind of a hitter. Though in the last five or six years, this is the one guy in baseball that I think can just about beat you any time he comes to the plate. I don't think I can say that about anybody else in the game. I think it's a tremendous tribute to Barry. Anybody that has to manage against him knows what the obstacles are when you have to face this guy.

JACK McKEON: Well, I managed the Reds in 2000, so I had a pretty good idea, a lot of these players were there. They were younger at the time. I saw a tremendous amount of talent on these guys, a tremendous amount of upside. Before I got this job, I had watched them quite a bit on television. I knew quite a bit about them. I didn't really, you know, know what made them tick inside. But athletic ability, I had an idea what they were capable of doing. There is a tremendous amount of talent in this club. It's just starting to mature. I think you're going to see some of these youngsters really blossom into outstanding major league pitchers in the very near future, players and pitchers.

JACK McKEON: I don't think in August we talked too much about meeting in the first round. We came off a three-game sweep in Colorado - that means we being swept by Colorado (laughter). I don't know how many games we were behind the leaders, the wildcard series. I don't think I was thinking about meeting again in October. What was the other question?

JACK McKEON: Well, you know, in 1999, I was in a similar situation. We tied for the wildcard, had a playoff with the Mets. The Mets threw a guy named Al Leiter out there for a two-hit shut-out against us. Never got that opportunity to make the post-season. Of course, you know, you get fired eventually and I get fired at Cincinnati. I didn't think I'd ever get an opportunity again to come back and really reach the post-season. Finally Jeffrey Loria and the Marlins decided to take a chance on an old goat like me, we have one more crack at it. I believe in prayer. I think the good Lord looked after us and took good care of us. Hope we continue to work on it.

JACK McKEON: Derrek Lee is an outstanding young man. I'll start with his defense. I don't think there's a first baseman in the league that can compare with his defensive abilities. I've managed a lot of years, I've never had a first baseman that you can call a vacuum cleaner. There's hardly anything that gets by this guy. He makes all the plays, tremendous defensive player. Offensively, he's made tremendous progress in, like you said, since mid May or whenever it was. But I think it's a case of being more selective, getting a chance to see pitchers better. Just like everybody else in this business: the more you play, the better you get. I think Derrek is a very, very intelligent young man. He's worked at his trade, he's studied the pitchers, and now it's starting to pay off.

JACK McKEON: Well, everybody's got their own-- every organization has their own philosophy how they want to go about it. You can't say it's good or bad. I think in the situation you're talking about, maybe experience has been a big factor. You know, a lot of guys have had success with younger players. I'd have to say throughout my career, I've had great success with young players, going all the way to the George Brett's, and all those guys I don't know what it is, maybe it's just the fact that we have a little more patience, maybe more understanding, a little more wisdom.

JACK McKEON: Well, speed is a tremendous asset. I think we have two or three or four guys in this ballclub that can steal bases at will. However, we try to steal intelligently. When you're talking about speed, I think the ability to go first to third, score from second to home is just as important as stealing bases. I think sometimes people, you know, go overboard on stolen bases, someone wants to set records. What we try to do is steal bases in a smart way, when we need it. We don't go to steal bases just to set records. I think the biggest thing was being able to use that speed to get the extra base, go from first to third to score.

JACK McKEON: I don't really feel that I'm a senior citizen, but I am. But I think, yes, it's a great inspiration to other people. I think when they see Felipe and myself, Frank Robinson, a few other older managers out there, I think it's a symbol to a lot of the senior citizens out there that, "Hey, if you're capable and able to work, are willing to continue on, go for it." I'm telling you, it's been a tremendous blessing to me because I don't feel my age. I feel 45, 48 now. I think it's because I've been hanging around, dealing with young guys, aggressive, young, enthusiastic players that have made it much easier to enjoy life and feel young again.

JACK McKEON: Well, I've managed here before, like I said, in 2000. I don't know. I think the biggest thing is I learned that it's a short right field for Barry Bonds. I think it's a beautiful ballpark. I don't think that I can say that I learned anything really about it. But I would like to bring one situation up, and I'm so proud of this, when we talk about dedication, is the fact the last time we were here about 1:00 in the afternoon, I seen a couple of my outfielders go out there with baseballs, throwing them off the walls, trying to find the angles, corners, everything else. When I saw those guys doing that, I was very proud in the fact that they really are up on the job, they wanted to be winners and outstanding players.

JACK McKEON: Juan Pierre is an outstanding young man, outstanding ball player, probably the catalyst of our ballclub. He's the guy that makes things happen. When he gets on base, he causes havoc with the pitchers. He can steal with the best of them. He's a workaholic, the guy that's out in the ballpark early every day. He's looking for angles, checking the fields, checking the bases, the base paths, so he can steal a base, what have you. He certainly is, along with Tony Gwynn, those two guys are probably the most workaholic I've ever been around.

JACK McKEON: We haven't decided on our starting lineup at this particular time.

JACK McKEON: It's a possibility. It's his workday on Wednesday. We've done this in the past, maybe not here in Florida, but in my past managing career where we run into a situation like this, you're going to be off, have plenty of rest. It's his workday. If he's going to go out and spend 20 minutes in a bullpen session, might as well save him for a hit or two in an inning, if it's necessary.

JACK McKEON: To answer the first question, you know, we're going to play our regular game. We looked upon the series as a very important series, and a stepping stone to the next level. But we got here doing it our way. We're not going to change for any particular playoff game. If it's necessary to steal, we'll steal. If it's not, we won't. Second of all, I'm prejudice. Certainly I'm going to pick my guy. JT Snow is an outstanding first baseman, believe me. I didn't realize how good Derrek Lee was until I lived with him for all these past months. But he is something special. I was surprised. There was a game in Pittsburgh--I was there for about six weeks, and impossible plays this man made. All of a sudden we're in Pittsburgh, and there's a throw in the dirt and he didn't come up with it, and I was shocked. I never saw it before. After six weeks, I never saw the guy miss a ball. You know, he's human, too. But he doesn't miss many.

JACK McKEON: Okay.