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NL DIVISION SERIES: REDS v PHILLIES

October 6, 2010

Charlie Manuel

PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA: Game One

Cincinnati Â– 0
Philadelphia - 4

THE MODERATOR: Questions for Charlie Manuel.

Q. Does Roy ever cease to amaze you?
CHARLIE MANUEL: I've been in baseball 50 years, this is the first time I've seen a guy throw two no hitters in a year. As a matter of fact, he should be in here talking now. He's definitely the highlight and star of the game. But, he was tremendous. Great command. Absolutely unreal.

Q. When did you and the others in the dugout start to get really excited at the prospect of what might happen tonight?
CHARLIE MANUEL: You know, I guess about the sixth inning it got real quiet. After the sixth inning, things just kind of went quiet kind of like it did in Florida. Just kind of -- people just stayed in their seat and sat there and watched the game (laughing). He came in and went down to the end of the dugout, sat in his chair and didn't say a word. End of the inning he'd get up and go back out on the field. Nobody said anything, sitting there watching the game. It's pretty neat, really.
It was great managing (laughing). See, that's what I call good managing tonight. That's super (laughing). No, he was very good.

Q. Did he have a really good curveball tonight, better than usual?
CHARLIE MANUEL: I felt like he used all of his pitches pretty good. But he had a good cutter, and his changeup was very good. I think he threw enough curveballs to really mix them up really well. And that was the part where his command was really great because he did use all of his pitches.
He had a tremendous feel tonight. He knew when to kind of bounce the ball. He also sold his pitches good at times low, especially when he got ahead of the hitter. He was trying to do that. He was real good.

Q. Obviously his first postseason game, did you see anything different in his preparation? What was he like around the clubhouse before the game?
CHARLIE MANUEL: He's the same. He's been the same ever since I first seen him in spring training. He goes about it the same way. He's like a boxer. If it's a ten-round fight, he's going to train for 20 or 25 rounds, you know. That's who he is.

Q. A word on Carlos Ruiz's impact today?
CHARLIE MANUEL: Yeah, Carlos, you've got to give Carlos a lot of credit. He's got two of Roy's no hitters now, perfect game. And Roy just had a walk tonight. Also I felt like he threw some balls inside on Bruce that were close. I couldn't see them from where I was at, but he definitely threw some close to the plate when he walked him. But, yeah, Chooch has called both of those games, and Chooch is a guy that calls the pitches and Roy is the one that goes along with that.
He can shake him off any time he wants to, but Chooch, you know, he's the guy that's behind the plate. Every guy that ever threw a no-hitter, the guy that catches him always becomes famous, too. That's what John Roseboro used to tell me.

Q. It was obvious so early how dominant he was. When did you start thinking this was possible?
CHARLIE MANUEL: Like I said, about the sixth inning. When he got through the sixth. When he got through the sixth I started looking at the lineup and how it was going to come back around. Because if you start counting outs and everything -- like I said, everything got real quiet and everybody got definitely interested, and they were thinking about him throwing the no-hitter.

Q. Everybody wants to jump out in the short series and get some momentum going. Obviously Roy seems to have gotten you a little bit of momentum. Is there any danger to thinking this is more than just one win in the series or it's a long way to go?
CHARLIE MANUEL: Roy had a great game. I mean, actually everything about it is tremendous and very positive. We got the first win, but that's one. I think you know how we play. That's what I talk about every day. I've been talking the same thing for six years. Sometimes I think it gets boring to you guys, but it never gets boring to me because that's kind of how we look at it.
We know we've won one game, and we know we've got a couple more to win in this round. And we're coming out Friday to try to get another one.

Q. Can you talk about the job that Wilson Valdez did filling in on short notice for Placido?
CHARLIE MANUEL: He did the same thing he's been doing all year for us. He's played outstanding for us. He came out of nowhere, and like I said, today he actually took that job away from Castro. And Castro's a pretty good infielder, and now Wilson Valdez has had a big year for us. He's a tremendous defensive player, and he can get a big hit for you. He's got a great arm.

Q. Did you get a good look at that last out? Did you think it was going to hit the bat?
CHARLIE MANUEL: I don't know. I saw Chooch kind of drove in for the ball, and I was kind of pulling for him to pick it up. If I had been catching, I would have probably picked the ball and the bat up and threw it (smiling).

Q. After a night like tonight, would you prefer to get right back there tomorrow or are you kind of relieved that there is a day off?
CHARLIE MANUEL: Actually, I like when we play, like I like to keep playing. But at the same time, the off day, we can use that in a way. I mean, that doesn't bother me, but at the same time I like to keep playing, especially when you have something big or good happening for you. I like to get out there and just keep getting in the flow of it.

End of FastScripts

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