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NL DIVISION SERIES: BRAVES v ASTROSOctober 9, 2001Bobby CoxHOUSTON, TEXAS: Game One THE MODERATOR: First question, please. BOBBY COX: Well, not much happened since yesterday (smiling). Q. Any thoughts at all about going to a three-man rotation during this series, any scenario? BOBBY COX: Yeah, we probably are. Uh-huh. Q. Can you talk about your thoughts on that, why you came to that. BOBBY COX: Well, Greg Maddux and Tommy Glavine feel great. They've never felt stronger. We haven't abused them all season long, tried not to. They never missed a start. They piled up innings but they really feel good. Short series, I think we need to take advantage of their talent. We've got Kevin Millwood pitching tomorrow in the instructional league. He'll pitch twice down there and be ready for the fourth game on the 20th, Saturday's game, in the NLCS. Q. Can you compare this Houston team with the ones you faced before in the playoffs? BOBBY COX: They've always had good teams. I think if this one was really healthy with their pitchers, I mean, they have got a great ballclub. Oswalt's one of the most impressive young kids I've seen in a long time. Astacio being out. But they're strong. Yeah, I think this might be their strongest team, the way it's made up right now. Berkman is a big force in there as a young kid. Q. In terms of Houston, which hasn't had any success in October, how important is it to have had a lot of opportunities to be here a lot, to have had some success in order to get over the hump? BOBBY COX: I really don't think it has a lot to do with it. You know, they've been here before, and they've got some of the same players. They have a lot of different players on this team than they had the years that they went. It's like, you know, youth versus experience. Talent, give me the talent, we'll go. Q. Is it tough preparing for a pitcher like Dave Mlicki, just because you haven't seen him? He's been in the American League for a while. Is it tough to prepare for a pitcher that you haven't seen very much? You've just seen him once? BOBBY COX: Well, I'm not that far along yet, to be honest with you. I'm just concerned about today's game. No, I don't think -- most of our players know him and have seen him and have watched film of him yesterday, so we'll be fine. Q. How important is it to win a Game 1 of any series? Is it important? BOBBY COX: Well, the most important one's going to be the third win and the fourth win later on. First one's always great, especially in a short series. Absolutely. I don't even know what the odds are if you win the first game, how many teams went on, you know, to win it or lost that. I don't have a clue. But in a short series, the first game's more important, I guess, in a five-game series than it would be in a seven-game series. Q. Knowing you have three days' rest for Maddux and Glavine, do you think differently about your bullpen in a situation like this? BOBBY COX: Our bullpen all year long has been strong from the sixth on. We have a guy from six, seven, eight and nine. We're not afraid to pull our starter if that's what it dictates, a pinch hit or whatever. We've always figured we could cover those innings with shut-out ball. Our bullpen is extremely deep right now. We've got a lot of depth out there. We can cover innings. End of FastScripts�. |
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