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AL DIVISION SERIES: RED SOX v ANGELSOctober 1, 2008Ervin SantanaMike SciosciaLOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA: Game One Q. Mike, if it comes up sometime during the series where you have to use Weaver or Garland in relief do you have to give them time to warm up? MANAGER SCIOSCIA: They're aware of it and they'll probably need a little more time but I thing our template is to use them if we would get into a situation of extra innings or possibly late in the game on the road where they could take a fresh inning and go as long as they could. I think it gives us a nice option with those two guys with so much length to really get match-ups early on and not to have to save anybody for extra innings. So much back there it won't be much of an issue for them. Q. Mike, curious, in setting your playoff roster, if there were any instances that cause more consternation, if any, or gave you pause to sit back and say, let me think about this one? MANAGER SCIOSCIA: There are a lot of things that we consider, definitely carrying a third catcher was something we put a lot of thought in, we looked at our bullpen and the make-up of our bullpen and even how many starters we were going to use, we turned this thing inside out and we feel like we have a roster that give us a lot of flexibility, and a lot of versatility and on our pitching side we feel like we have arms that can get us in position to win games and hold leads. Q. Mike, it seemed like in the last year or so Ervin Santana's name has come up in a number of trade talks. How close do you think you were to losing him and how fortunate do you feel right now that you didn't? MANAGER SCIOSCIA: Well, you know, when teams talk about players on other teams and general managers talk you're going to be drawn to some talented guys and Ervin is very talented and just because another team is asking for him doesn't necessarily mean that it deal is eminent or close or anything is going to happen with that. Believe me, we value Ervin's talent and he's showing it this year, last year he had a setback and regained his form this year and had an incredible season. I don't think it was anything that was close to happening and, you know, a lot of guys in that room are talked about on probably a weekly basis of, especially, as you approach the trade deadline when general managers talk, doesn't mean anything is imminent and with Ervin we had ever confidence that when he regained his pitching mechanics we were going to see what we're seeing now. Q. Ervin, there are a lot of pitchers in several weeks that have been called upon to pitch with three day's rest and they've done pretty well. If that happened to you over the course of the season would that be a big adjustment and I wanted to ask Mike that might become a wave of the future when we go back to four-man rotations one of these days? MANAGER SCIOSCIA: Go ahead. ERVIN SANTANA: To me, I'll be fine, that will be my bullpen day and I'll be ready for it. MANAGER SCIOSCIA: I think all of our starters, they know if the time comes when we needed them on three days I don't think it would it be any problem. I don't think it's any problem going once or twice around a rotation on three day's rest, if it happened. A whole season, I think that's going to be a cultural change and where baseball is right now. It's going to have to start in minor league development and it's going to have to carry us up to the major leagues if you're going to go that route. There is a reason, I think, teams went to a 5-man rotation at some point and it probably has helped to lengthen some careers and to go back to a four-man rotation. It would take four special-type pitchers right now to do that and I think as a manager, especially we're very fortunate to have such depth in our starting rotation. Some clubs that don't have that depth I'm sure they would love to be able to narrow it down to four and throw in a fifth guy at times and go in three days but I think there are very few pitchers in Major League Baseball that could handle that just for how they've been stretched out and trained for most of their career. Q. I was wondering, is it easier to game plan against this lineup without Manny hitting behind David Ortiz? MANAGER SCIOSCIA: Go ahead, Ervin, you're first. ERVIN SANTANA: To me it's going to be the same thing, you know, without Manny in the game. It's going to be the same game, baseball, you know, you have to focus no matter what. MANAGER SCIOSCIA: I think Manny and obviously David Ortiz were the best 1-2 I think I've seen in my career as a player and also on this side managing. But you have to understand that that's a talented team over there and it wasn't a situation where if you just shutdown Manny or you took Manny out of the lineup that you were going to contain an offense. And I think they've shown that. They've retooled during the season. They're as dangerous as they've ever been on the offensive side. They have guys that know how to hit with guys in scoring position, they know how to get on base and they know how to play baseball. If you look at the year that Kevin Youkilis has had, I don't think there is much of a drop-off. They're going to be every bit the challenge that they were with Manny in the lineup and we're going to have to pitch well to get through that lineup. Q. Mike, with the improvement of Ervin Santana this year, what are some of the factors in his development and then could you talk about Dice-K and the two seasons he has had with the Red Sox? MANAGER SCIOSCIA: Well, first with Ervin I think it's very clear what Ervin's turn-around has been. He's an extremely talented young pitcher in Major League Baseball. He really threw the ball very well for his first two seasons with us, got into a mechanical rut. I think he tried to do some things that maybe was taking him away from where he needed to be in his delivery and once he regained his hip turn and his mechanics, you've seen the results. So, you know, it took a lot of hard work and for parts of last year Ervin was down in triple-A working on this and he worked it out, came back and pitched winter ball, threw the ball very well, in spring training took about one bullpen when you said this guy is back and if he can maintain those mechanics he's going to have a big year for us and that's what we've seen. So this guy here has worked extremely hard to not only get to the big leagues but to regain his form and he's shown it this year and we're proud of that. I think it's, you know, it's just indicative of what Ervin is about. Dice-K we haven't seen a lot of him. We've seen a lot of film. We've seen him, he pitched against us this summer. You know, I think he's very comfortable in what he's doing out on the mound. He knows what he wants to do with the fastball, he's going to expand the zone and nibble as much as he can and he has a couple of power looks on his breaking ball to put guys away, so he's tough and it will be a challenge. Q. Ervin, how discouraged did you get when you went down to the minor leagues last year and did you think at some point maybe it is a good thing to go to another team? ERVIN SANTANA: About it at all, I was mad because I went down, because I don't have a good year and I was just trying to focus and redo myself and get back and confidence and you know that's what I need most, get it back and then they call me up again and pitch a great game in Boston in September. Q. Did you ever lose your confidence? ERVIN SANTANA: Not really. Q. Mike, yesterday you talked about the differences going into the series a year ago versus this, going into it with a skeleton crew, seems like the tables have been turned somewhat with Boston and their injuries. Can you talk about how dangerous that lineup still is with Mike Lowell's hip, J.D. Drew's back, still in it? MANAGER SCIOSCIA: I can go down our list. I'm not going to do Boston any favors and give you our injury list, I think at this point every team is banged up. I think that what Boston is dealing with, you've got some professional players that know what it's about and know what they have to do. Mike Lowell and J.D. Drew are going to play and they're going to go out there and play well and we're going to have to play well. Last year I think as our season -- as our series progressed with Boston, you know, we had some unfortunate incidents that were a little bit out of our control that happened, but, you know -- and I don't want it to be -- I don't want it to be taken as we're saying they beat us because we had a skeleton crew. We didn't play well. Combined with maybe some of the guys that were maybe not up to their potential and, you know, we got it handed to us pretty well last year. This year it's a different story for us and I want to -- you know, I want to see how this plays out on the field because we're as deep as we've ever been and I think that our lineup has the potential to do some of the things that we've seen and when we have had successes in the postseason, that's what we're going to focus on. Boston is tough, they're going to be there, we have to play well to beat 'em. Q. Mike, John struggled in his last outing, what would you like to see out of Big John tonight? MANAGER SCIOSCIA: Yeah, I think struggled is kind of an understatement. He consistently has had a lot going for him and against Texas they can swing the bats with anybody on this planet and they showed him. John's confidence is high, he feels good physically. If he goes out there and can get his fastball into the zones he needs to, he spins the ball as well as anybody in baseball and his stuff will play well. So not sure we're looking for better results than his last start and John is going to go out there. Naturally we're looking for a better start than his last start. And if he's on the mound, we're confident the he goes going to step up and a team is going to have to beat himself. He's going to make pitches. I think that's a sign of a guy you want to be your lead dog. Q. Ervin, Mike talked about your getting better not only this year but last year, that first game at Fenway that you talked about back in Boston. What was so important to you about that game? Did that tell you, yeah, I know I'm back? ERVIN SANTANA: No, to me, I mean, that same game, I just trying to do my best. Whatever happens is going to happen so you have to go up there and do your best. And I just come out and throw a lot of strikes and pull the ball when I want to and that's how it is. Q. Ervin, what has it been like for you this year having to come into spring training and fighting for a job and going to the All-Star Game and now No. 2 starter in the playoffs? ERVIN SANTANA: To me I come to the spring training to pitch, not come here to fight for any spot and I don't have control for that and I just do my job and I'm happy because I like to compete, and I made the team so I'm happy for it. Q. Ervin you talked about how winter ball helped you, I think Frankie Rodriguez talked about how winter ball helps him, some organizations don't want their players to play in winter ball and what does it do for you? ERVIN SANTANA: To me you face a lot of baseball players, veteran, and you learn in the dugout, they talk to you about pitching, and that's how you learn. MANAGER SCIOSCIA: Winter ball is a special experience and I think not only for players in the country but for, you know, American-born players go over there and experience a high-brand of baseball, higher than triple-A, in a situation where winning is a priority. So for guys that pitch, whether it's Francisco, whether it's Ervin, I think under a controlled situation, Ervin threw about 20 innings, wasn't it? ERVIN SANTANA: Yeah. MANAGER SCIOSCIA: About 20 innings, and it helped him figure out what he needed to do to come into spring training, ready not necessarily to show himself, but to establish himself and let everybody know that my mechanics are here and I'm going to turn the ball loose and I've got great stuff and he did that all the way through the spring and he's continued it through the season. So, in a limited scope, it's very beneficial and same with Francisco, he'll throw innings down in Venezuela and under a controlled environment it's a good thing. For some guys that are tired and don't have a lot to prove and really need the rest it's a different situation. But for someone to do it in a limited scope, I think winter ball is a great, not only learning environment but it's a great evaluating environment for us to see where a player is in his career. THE MODERATOR: Thank you guys. End of FastScripts |
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