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AL DIVISION SERIES: WHITE SOX v RAYS

October 3, 2008

Ozzie Guillen

ST. PETERSBURG, FLORIDA: Game Two

MODERATOR: Questions for Ozzie Guillen.

Q. Can you talk about what went into the decision to start Danks and then Floyd as opposed to the other way around?
OZZIE GUILLEN: It's easy. They're not doing well against lefties, and I like, you know, every time we try to face a left-handed pitcher, that's why we made the decision.

Q. Thome's had no success really against Kazmir. Is that the big reason for flopping Thome and Konerko in the lineup?
OZZIE GUILLEN: It's not that many people that have success against Kazmir. I think our DH situation was kind of tough, because I was dealing with try to put Junior as a DH. But in the meanwhile, you know, Jim Thome's faced him a couple times. The last time he faced him he strike out four times. That's not a good sign. I don't have any other choice.
My other choice was Josh Fields, but if I put Josh Fields on the field, I don't have an extra infielder.

Q. Does it concern you that Buehrle's only 4-9 away from home?
OZZIE GUILLEN: Oh, not really. I mean, I think Buehrle, the ugliest games he had on the road, but he pitched well. Every time he didn't pitch well, when he didn't pitch well, we didn't score that many runs for him.
This is a guy that has a lot of confidence. The last three or four starts he has, that was a very important start, and he did a tremendous job.

Q. You're free in a lot of the comments you make. What do you think of Balfour and the way he goes about things?
OZZIE GUILLEN: I love it. That's my style. I mean, I think he's great for baseball. I think he shows people he wants to win. He shows people the enthusiasm of the game, the passion of the game. I don't have any problem with that. That's the way he is. I tip my hat to it, and people have to respect that.
He's not hurting anybody. He just shows people he wants to be there.

Q. Could you just talk more about what went into your lineup today with Swisher in the two hole and Anderson down at 9? Could you talk about that a little bit?
OZZIE GUILLEN: I put Swisher, because he has a chance a little bit more than Brian. Brian's not swinging the bat well every time I played him. That's why I moved him down. In the past he was okay batting second, but that's the reason we did it.

Q. How much do you think Danks gained mentally confidence-wise with the game he pitched the other night? How big was that, not just for pitching-wise, but just for the mentality he took into the postseason?
OZZIE GUILLEN: That kid's a man. That kid's -- besides the game he pitched against Minnesota, I think the most important game we played so far this year. He did a tremendous job.
I think to me it's one of the best games I've ever seen playing, been playing in that ballpark. I mean he handled himself so well. 1-0, we never thought that game would end up being 1-0, and I have every confidence in this kid.

Q. There's been a lot said about this park, Tropicana Field the last few days. As this series shifts to your park, could you talk about your park, what it's like, what type of a park is it and what do you expect there?
OZZIE GUILLEN: Our ballpark, now we go back to being normal. Our ballpark in summer, it shrinks. It's very, very small. The balls are flying out there easy. I think right now the weather changed a little bit, and we saw it last time we played against Minnesota.
But you know, for some reason everybody played good at the ballpark. We do it in Chicago. And we win today, I like my chance. Obviously, a lot of people say it's a must-win game. No, it's not. We've got to lose three games or we've got to win three games. Today's another game, and hopefully we play the best. We play good when we get back home.

End of FastScripts

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