NL CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES: METS v BRAVES

October 12, 1999

Bobby Cox

Eddie Perez

Gerald Williams

BOBBY COX: Well, it was kind of a story book performance, really. He had two big hits; I think he had three for the night. And didn't have a lot of chances in the field, but we all know he can catch the ball, and it was terrific to see him do that. He's only played sporadically for the last month and a half or so. He had a great night. Came at a good time.

BOBBY COX: You can't imagine what it does for your ballclub to have Gerald leading off. Since he got in the line-up and started playing every day, we were a different ballclub. He got us going, to be honest with you. We talk about Chipper a lot and Jordan a lot, some of the other guys, but Gerald Williams is the guy that really got the club moving.

BOBBY COX: Maddux really had a good night. Chipper catches the double-play ball cleanly, I think broke Piazza's bat, and I think it affected him a little bit. He doesn't give up many runs. I thought he threw a great ballgame. It's better to win the first game. It's more important, I guess, in a three-out-of-five series than four-out-of-seven, but I like to win the first one. I'd rather win it than lose it, that's for sure.

EDDIE PEREZ: You know, last year I put up good numbers. This year, I don't think I'm doing the job I want to do at hitting, but I'm concentrating more; and catching, because we've got a good pitching staff, and that's what I'm trying to do, when it's time to hit I hit. But I don't think I've been doing the job this year that I want to do. Right now, we're in the playoffs; hopefully everything will change.

GERALD WILLIAMS: I'll take the question, but I think that's one for Mr. Cox. It's just a situation whenever I got into the line-up, I was just trying to establish a rhythm for my teammates, which was basically to get on base any way that I could. And sometimes, fortunately, I get on.

BOBBY COX: I knew that, too. And we used that some, but that's not the number one thing we look at all the time. Jose has done a great job for us since we got him. Walt is really a slick-fielding shortstop; I'm not saying he's that much better than the other guy. But Maddux tends to get a lot of ground balls, and Don Baylor has done a good job with Walt. Lately, he's been hitting the ball better. In BP he drives the ball better, and he had three tonight.

BOBBY COX: I'll make the line-up out tomorrow.

EDDIE PEREZ: Last year was in the first round; so this is in the second round. And this is a lot better, and especially against the pitcher who was throwing -- I was like 0 for 100 against that guy, and finally got a hit, and it was a good one. It was very good. I think when he was pitching, we need one more run, and he was ready for everything; and then they brought out Rocker, and that was the game there.

EDDIE PEREZ: We were looking for that squeeze, but not in that situation. I think it was right down the middle. I don't know how he missed it. We were looking for that squeeze in the first pitch; that's why we threw the fastball in, and then the slider. And that pitch was right in the middle, and he missed it.

EDDIE PEREZ: I don't know. He's doing really good.

EDDIE PEREZ: I'm still the back-up catcher, I'm just doing the job because Javy is not here; that's why I'm back-up catching. But I think my knee is worse than Javy's knees.

EDDIE PEREZ: That doesn't surprise me. He's a good hitter. He's a gamer. He always does the little things to win the games. And I've been playing against him since the Minor Leagues. Even in the Venezuelan League I played with him. That's why we're here, to be ready when starting catchers are not able to play or getting hurt or something. That's what we're waiting for.

EDDIE PEREZ: We might be playing somewhere else, if we're not on this team right now. They got Piazza -- Javy, he's going to be here a couple more years. And hopefully -- I don't want to get out of here. I want to be with the Braves, even as back-up catcher, because they're going to be in the playoff for years, hopefully.

EDDIE PEREZ: I think it was a slider, and that was a hanger slider, and I hit it very good. But when I saw Rickey Henderson run to get the ball, I got a little scared. I hit it good, and I knew it was going, but I hit it in the good part of the bat. And I never hit against that guy before, and I got a hit today.

GERALD WILLIAMS: Well, allow me to take the second one first. The wind was a factor. The ball was swirling at times, and we did the best job we possibly could do at the time, because you never know what the ball is going to do. And Bret and I talked about staying inside the ball and making sure we didn't roll over and get out too fast with our bats, so to speak; so we didn't roll over to third base. And fortunately, it worked out for us today.

GERALD WILLIAMS: The baseball. Well, basically, I was looking for the job out over the plate, and the guys threw me strikes. So I pretty much got a strike and I got out of there.

GERALD WILLIAMS: Always. I just give him major respect, because he deserves it.

GERALD WILLIAMS: My intention is to always call him Mr. Cox.

EDDIE PEREZ: We call him Bob.

GERALD WILLIAMS: Well, I'm not really sure what the other guys call him all the time. But I just try to stay with my plan, which is to just call him Mr. Cox. It works.

GERALD WILLIAMS: Yes. I call all the managers "Mister," because I think they deserve that respect.

EDDIE PEREZ: Looking back, last year, the Padres won the first game, and they won everything. And then the Marlins two years ago won the first game, and they won everything. So we lost the first game against Houston, and I still believed in my team that we were still going to get through the first round. Winning the first one is going to be easier, even with a seven-game series or five-game series. So let's see tomorrow. We've got our best pitcher tomorrow, and we'll see what happens.

GERALD WILLIAMS: For me, I don't lose my focus. They've done that in the past before. That's something that the Mets do from time to time. But for me, what I'm trying to do is get a pitch to hit, center it, and hopefully, drive the ball hard enough where they don't catch it.

EDDIE PEREZ: He was very good today, especially against the Mets, because the last time he pitched against them, he got beat very bad. And I told him today, that day -- they were swinging the bat very good, every time. So I told him: We've got to throw some balls, because they're ready to swing again. He got his sinker today, and that's what we needed. That's what he used the most, sinker inside and outside.

EDDIE PEREZ: No, no, I don't think so. The umpire we got today, to me, was one of best umpires, and he was calling the ball good today. He like to call strike. He like to call every close pitch a strike. That's what we like, because it's a quick game.

EDDIE PEREZ: Slider.

EDDIE PEREZ: Yes, that's why he swung like that.

EDDIE PEREZ: A slider. And after those two strikes, he throw only one fast one; it was a ball. And then we keep throwing a slider, because Ordonez, he's a good hitter because he puts the ball in play every time, and it's hard to strike him out. So Rocker's best pitch is a slider. That's the only pitch he was throwing for Walt. So I was keep calling them. He hit them good.

EDDIE PEREZ: Yeah, I saw it rolling, and it was staying right in the line. So then Maddux was going, "Get him, get him, throw to first"; and I don't make that good throw, and I don't even look to third. I heard -- Doug was saying, "Throw to first," and that's what I did, catch him and throw to first. And that was a big play right there.

EDDIE PEREZ: That's the easiest name for them to say. But I've been feeling -- they've been doing great, compared for years ago. They've been quiet the last two years, but the first series against the Mets was like two or three weeks ago. They've been doing -- I wasn't expecting them like that. But they get into the game and that's what we need, because everywhere we go, their fans, they're going crazy. And our fans are going crazy right now, that's what we need.

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