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AL CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES: ANGELS v YANKEES

October 18, 2009

Mike Scioscia

LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA: Workout Day

THE MODERATOR: Questions for Mike Scioscia.

Q. Any lineup changes planned other than, say, Kendrick against the left-hander? And I have a second question.
MIKE SCIOSCIA: Yeah, we'll have Howie Kendrick will play tomorrow. Mike Napoli will catch tomorrow. And we'll have the same lineup as we had as far as, well, no Jeff Mathis came, Howie hit seventh, Mike will hit 8th.

Q. Second question is there's a lot of discussion about the 0-2 pitch thrown to A-Rod. Can you tell us who called that pitch? Was it you? Or the pitcher?
MIKE SCIOSCIA: Well, we, we're not in pitch selection once they get in the game. We're making adjustments between innings as far as what Butch or I will do. That's totally between Jeff and Brian, and Brian had the right ideas. There's a number of different things he can do on that count.
We talked about execution all the time. Whatever your game plan is, if you're not able to go out there and make a pitch, obviously, the other team's going to get better swings and that's what happened in that case. Brian just didn't elevate it enough. And, Alex hit it.
You know, it's -- I don't think it was a blatant mistake, it's just a pitch that he didn't quite get to the zone he wanted to. That's baseball. It happens. Give Alex some credit. He hit it.

Q. Can you talk about the plane ride home, and the mindset of the team right now? I'm sure it was pretty quiet, pretty tired flight?
MIKE SCIOSCIA: Yeah, well, the hamburger I had was terrible. Nothing tasted good, I can tell you that.
But our guys even after the game we talked about little things in the clubhouse, and just moving forward with some positives that happened on that field. I think there were a lot of positives on that field that our guys did.
Unfortunately, there were some negatives that we need to get better at if we're going to get back to the series and win the series. I'm confident we will. I'm confident we're going to hit better, run in scoring position. You know, defensively, a lot of focus on that last play.
A lot of infielders had problems on the defensive side. You know, Cano, Derek Jeter, you know, there were some plays that were kind of routine that I'm sure the weather influenced some things that happened with those guys.
You know, Izzy tried to make a little too much out of a play and, you know, that's a play to lose a lot of focus on.
We didn't need to get to that point. We had a lot of opportunities on the offensive side. We had opportunities to shut the defense game down, and we didn't. I like a lot of things that happened on that field in Game 2, and we need to carry those to Game 3 and keep doing them on a consistent basis.
So as far as what our mood is, we know this thing could turn in a heartbeat. The momentum in a short series turns even pitch to pitch or inning to inning. So for us to come out here and play well in Game 3, obviously, that's important. And if we win Game 3, you know, we've got a different vibe in this whole series, and that's what we want to create.

Q. When you came out to argue the play where Aybar missed second base, what did you say to the umpire and what was his response?
MIKE SCIOSCIA: Jerry Layne said he didn't tag the bag. I said I thought he tagged the bag. And I walked off the field. That was it. That's the Reader's Digest version, you know. You're not going to get on -- you're not going to be able to get any help on that call. Jerry's 10 feet from it. And, you know, Jerry's a terrific umpire. He's got a lot of experience, and I don't think he's going to make a call if it wasn't what he thought he saw.
You know, we obviously felt that Erick had us on -- swiped his foot across the bag, and from our view of the dugout, and that's, you know, and that's that.

Q. Is this a significantly better Yankee team than the ones in recent years that your club has generally handled?
MIKE SCIOSCIA: This team's as deep as any team I think in baseball and in baseball for a number of years. The team that we played in '02, and the team we played in '05 was every bit as strong as these guys are now. With probably some more experienced guys as far as playoffs, as far as starting pitching. You know, you had Clemens, you had Andy Pettitte then, that was obviously Mussina, those teams were terrific teams.
So I don't know if they're any stronger. Certainly right now this team that we're playing is as strong as any team that's been in baseball for a number of years. But I can't -- I don't feel it's any stronger than or any deeper than those teams that we've played before. They're all terrific teams.
We feel if we play at our level, we can beat them, and that's what we're going to keep focusing on.

Q. The Yankees have played five playoff games and against two teams known for playing fundamentally sound, playing baseball the right way. In all those games the opponents you guys and the Twins haven't played their regular game. How much of a factor is it that the Yankees, you said their depth and how good they are, do you think that you guys perhaps it happened to the Twins as well, are maybe trying to do too much? Trying to play too perfect? Is that a factor?
MIKE SCIOSCIA: I think Game 1 probably illustrates what you're talking about a little bit. I really thought we played a good ballgame yesterday. I don't, you know -- you can pick apart any game. You can pick one thing and say, hey, these guys made a mistake. They're not fundamentally sound. We can talk about some things that happened on the Yankees' side, too.
You're not going to get a perfect ballgame. I think you try to play as consistent as you can. Fundamentally sound as you can.
So in Game 1, we definitely cracked the door open for them, and they created a little bit of pressure by doing that. You know, they played aggressively in Game 1 and forced the action. We didn't make or do some of the things that we need to do, and we've done all season.
So I'm not worried about our team making plays. I'm not worried about our team being fundamentally sound. We need to go out there and keep our aggressiveness in every aspect. You know, the Yankees are going to pressure you in a lot of ways, and we have to apply pressure our own way and hopefully you're going to play at a high enough level to win the game.
You know, so, yeah, I mean, we'll see how this series progresses. But I expect us to play much better baseball, much more play-making baseball that can be a difference maker in a game as opposed to sitting back and letting the other club dictate the action. Which, I think they did in Game 1.
You know, I really thought yesterday we did a lot of things on the positive end. I think if we play the same game we played in Game 2, I like our chances. I mean, if we're going to get 15 opportunities with guys in scoring position, I've got to figure we're going to be a little better in the batter's box, and hopefully get it done a little bit better, which will give us the offense we need to get this done.

Q. Along the lines of confidence in the team, we saw last night the Yankees had their last at-bats and their 17th walk-off win this season. Fair to say that your team has that same type of confidence here than last with all the home wins you've had?
MIKE SCIOSCIA: Whether it's home or road, you have to play a game that's going to lead up to the opportunity to win a ballgame. So I don't think playing at home is going to give us a boost of confidence. Naturally there is some, like you're saying, there is probably some strategic things that as the game unfolds, you have your last at-bats so you have an idea offensively what you need to do as the game progresses.
But I don't think it comes to more confidence or less confidence wherever you play. It's not who you're playing or where you're playing, it's how you're playing the game. And that's what we really need to keep focusing on.
We didn't play a good enough ballgame. Whether we were playing at our park in Game 1, we didn't play a good enough ballgame to give ourselves a chance to win that game. Game 2, we played well enough, and we should have had an opportunity to win that game, and we should have won that game whether we were playing in Yankee Stadium or here at Angel Stadium.
So it comes down to how we're playing the game. And you have to carry some confidence whether you're walking into Yankee Stadium or you're walking on your field here. It has to be part of your make-up.
Our guys are confident. I don't think they walk on to any field where they don't think they're going to make that field their field and play our game and what we need to do to try to win a game.

Q. What is it about Jered in both his personality and in his pitching that gives you the feeling that he can be the one to turn this around?
MIKE SCIOSCIA: Well, you know, Weaver is a guy that his make-up is terrific. He competes as well as any pitcher in baseball. And I think he's not scared off if a guy has a good swing and squares up a ball. He knows what his game plan is and keeps making pitches. I think that's what helps him to -- or has helped him to put himself into a different class of pitcher. This guy's one of the top pitchers in our league.
We need more than Weave. We need Weave to pitch well, we need Kaz to follow it up and get back to John Lackey and see where we are. Whether we were up 2-0 or now we're down 2-0, I think Jered's a great guy for Game 3 and given us a chance, as it turns out, to get back in the series.

Q. Kind of right along those lines, what is it that specifically made you think Game 3 was the spot you wanted Jered?
MIKE SCIOSCIA: Well, there are a lot of things that went into it. Not one thing specifically. But I think the way he pitches here at home, combined with the way -- you know, Joe pitched a terrific game yesterday. I think the loss and everything that happened last night is how well Joe Saunders pitched. He pitched terrific baseball for us. And when he had that ball down, he got outs. When he got it up, they hit it a little bit, but certainly gave us an opportunity to get into position to win that game.
I think combined with wanting Joe to pitch at Yankee Stadium and having Weave and Kaz pitch here, Game 3 looked really good for a slot for Jered to pitch.

Q. Andy Pettitte the all-time-winningest pitcher in the playoffs, what is it you've seen throughout Pettitte's career that makes him so strong in the postseason?
MIKE SCIOSCIA: I think it's a lot of things we're talking about with Jered Weaver. Andy's a guy that we faced him a ton of times in the postseason. He doesn't get away from his game plan. If a guy hits a ball hard, he still trusts what he can do and what he needs to do out there, and he's not going to be scared off of a pitch.
He's not going to be taken out of his game plan because a couple of guys had squared some baseballs up. I think that's why he's been able to maybe work around some trouble early in some starts and keep going and pitch well.
He pitched very well against us here last month. And, you know, he's -- I think he just has that veteran presence where he's not going to get taken out of his game out there. And I think that's the first lesson in not only being a good Major League pitcher, but if you want to pitch in the playoffs, you have to have that make-up, and Andy certainly does.
THE MODERATOR: We'll let you go, Mike. Thank you very much.

End of FastScripts

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