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AL CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES: TIGERS v ATHLETICSOctober 11, 2006Alexis GomezCraig MonroeOAKLAND, CALIFORNIA: Game Two Q. Alexis, Jim said before the game he said you often do your best hitting at 5:00, so he was going to put you in there. Just your reaction when he told you that. ALEXIS GOMEZ: I knew it was a joke. I find out today in the hotel room at the workout today in the morning. He told me I'm maybe going to play DH today. I said, "Okay, I'll be ready." I tried to do my best and to help my team, and that's what happened tonight. Q. Alexis, this is probably a stretch, but when you were coming up with the Royals, I know there was talk that you might be the next Carlos Beltran. When he had that big postseason with Houston, is that something you watched at all with sort of more interest? ALEXIS GOMEZ: You know, I got a big chance with the Royals, too, when I played with them. But I never put my head down; they put me on waiver. Two years ago I had a chance to play with Detroit. I feel pretty good in here. They gave me a chance to play. Today they give me the biggest chance I had in my life, in my career. I think I do my best for the team. I've been in the situation that I go down, go up, but I never put my head down. In all the time that I got sitting down I said I've got to be ready for you when you need me. Q. Craig, this has the look of a thing where whoever you guys put in is going to do whatever is required of them. Is that kind of the momentum you guys are feeling right now? CRAIG MONROE: The bottom line is the guys in the clubhouse, there's 23 other guys in there that believes in our lineup and in our bench guys. These guys have continued to come up with big hits, and that's what you're going to have to do in this atmosphere in the playoffs to win games, and that's what we're doing. Gomez told me today he was going to be ready. When he came in, he saw his name in the lineup, he said, "Papi, I'm going to be ready," and he definitely proved that he was ready to go. Q. This is for Craig. Is this starting to feel the way you guys are playing and rattling off wins like those first four months ago where maybe at the end of September it wasn't feeling like that but you're back to that mode again? CRAIG MONROE: It was very disappointing at the end of the season. I think we all tried a little too hard. We wanted to do something special for Detroit. We maybe put a little pressure on ourselves. But at the same time, I think it allowed us to go through some things and take some pressure off us and help us in this situation. Now we're back to staying focused and being prepared. I know Jim has been talking about it all season long and it started in spring training. He told us, "You've got to be prepared; you've got to be focused and play hard for nine innings." That's what we're doing, and we're going to stick to it. That's what we've been doing all year, and it's taken us a long way. Q. How good does it feel that it's been the guys at the bottom of the lineup that have come through at the plate these first two games? CRAIG MONROE: We've been having that all year. I think me and Brandon and Marcus, we make jokes about it, because at the top of the lineup everybody is worried about it. And then when you start to get down to the bottom you're thinking you can kind of mess around with these guys. Well, those three guys, and putting this guy in there, it doesn't matter. The guys definitely believe, and we like being down there, and there's no break. There's no break in our lineup, top to bottom. We feel like any guy -- Brandon did it yesterday; Gomez was big today; I had a couple hits. The bottom of our lineup is definitely going to give us a chance to win. Q. Craig, what are some of the things that Jim has uniquely said to you guys that has helped you keep your focus and helped you play with this much poise and relaxation through these playoffs? CRAIG MONROE: I think it's a combination of things where we believe. We felt like we had a great season. We won 95 games. You have to keep that confidence level and get your swagger. It's not trying to be cocky, it's just trying to have that inner confidence where if you feel like you perform, especially in this hostile environment in Oakland where the fans are on you a little bit and when you can keep your poise and stay focused and really not get caught up in -- I guess our surroundings and just stay focused on that, anything is possible. Q. But what's he said, though? What has he said? CRAIG MONROE: He just talks about being prepared. That's been the whole thing all year. He just talks about being prepared. "Guys, you've got to be focused." I know he told us today that he's very proud of us for the way we took -- forgot about the end of the season and started refocusing on what we have to do in the playoffs to be a good team. Q. Alexis, the Tigers sent you back to the minors twice this year. I'm wondering if you ever thought it wasn't going to work out here with the Tigers? ALEXIS GOMEZ: It's not a surprise to me because I know why I come to the big leagues. Like I say, all the time I sit down, I just told myself, just be ready because you can play here. They're going to give you your chance to play, and that's what I've been thinking all the time. When I go to Toledo this year, I don't put my head down, I just keep working every day hard. I'm working hard in Toledo this year, and like I say, I told Leyland when he seen me down in Cleveland, "I'm going to be ready." The time you need me, I'm going to be ready. I think that's very important. Q. Craig, how good does it feel for the Tigers to not just come out of here with a split like you try to do on the road but you've got two going back home now? CRAIG MONROE: It definitely feels good. We're excited about it but we don't lose focus. That's the big thing. We've got to stay focused. It's exciting for us to come here and get a couple games, but the work is not done. We've got to go home and stay hungry, stay aggressive, and really finish our goal. We've set some high goals this year, and if we can stay focused and be prepared, we'll be fine.
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