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AL DIVISION SERIES: YANKEES v TWINS

October 7, 2010

Ron Gardenhire

MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA: Game Two

Q. Again last night you're one pitch away, one hit away from a different outcome. What would turn the corner for you guys against the Yankees?
RON GARDENHIRE: For Granderson to hit it about five feet shorter. That's what it's all about. We have to come up with that big hit to add on. And the sixth inning was exactly it. Granderson comes up, hits the ball. My pitching coach standing right next to me. When he hits it he starts walking off and says, "yeah, good pitch." In this ballpark that ball hasn't carried; it did last night. It goes off the wall. We end up going right back in the bottom, load them up, walk a run in. One more big hit, we knock him out of the game. We didn't get it, they did. And that's kind of where it's at.
We had chances after that, also. So we just have to figure out a way to get that big hit. Another big hit to add on.

Q. Ron, with the lineup tonight, did you consider at all, you know, I know Hardy doesn't have great numbers against Pettitte, I was wondering if that was a consideration at all? Did you think about going with someone else? And generally speaking, are you kind of an anti-stat guy or more of a gut-feeling type of guy when it comes to making decisions like that?
RON GARDENHIRE: Anti-stat guy? Last night I went with the stats, 4-for-24 off of -- and I got criticized for that one. I don't know about the stats anymore. We're just trying to win. J.J. Hardy is my shortstop. We brought him over here to put some veteran presence in our lineup. Catch the ball, get the outs. J.J. is a good hitter and he has been swinging really good for us. So that's why we brought him here. For me to sit him on the bench doesn't make much sense to me against another left-handed pitcher.

Q. What did you think of Fuentes and Rauch last night? And Fuentes had five batters, is he available again?
RON GARDENHIRE: Fuentes is fine. He threw about 20 pitches. He will be available again. He has talked about it last night. He wants to pitch more, and that's important for him. He threw great. Rauch came in, we were kind of -- we really didn't know what we were going to get because of the knee. He had it drained, had a cortisone shot, so we didn't know if he was going to throw the ball over, where he was going to throw the ball. But he came in and he felt great and told us he felt good, and the ball came out of his hand really good. And we held the Yankees in check and gave ourselves a chance to at least get back in the game. It just didn't work out offensively.

Q. Skip, when you set the rotation, did you have Carl in the No. 2 slot just so this scenario could play out?
RON GARDENHIRE: Well, I mean, we were hoping we would be going for 2-0 with Frankie, if he dominated, which he threw the ball very well and just didn't finish it off. But, you know, your back-up plan is always if you don't win Game 1 against Sabathia, we have a stabilizer, a guy that's not going to get overwhelmed by it in a huge game today, like this is a huge game and that's kind of why we stuck Carl in there because of that. He will handle himself, we think will he give us a very good chance to win a ballgame and try to get us back even.

Q. Ron, before the season when Mauer signed his contract extension to stay with you guys, could you just take us through a little bit what that was like for you? What your reaction was? How you found out about the news?
RON GARDENHIRE: We dealt with it all year, all winter wondering what was going to happen. And that's, you know, not a lot of fun when you have a guy like him, you know, kind of the face of our franchise. Trying to decide what's going to happen and we didn't know. We didn't talk about it, we left Joe and his agent and Billy alone to do their thing. So when we finally got to Spring Training and this conversation got going pretty good. We were very excited. We've lost enough players in the past from Torii to Johan and guys like that and other people. It was important we made a statement as an organization to keep our guy and start being able to do some of those things. And that's a pretty good one to be able to keep Joe around.

Q. Ron, I'm sure your advance guys told that you Rivera didn't pitch all that well for him during September, does that ever matter to you? Or do you just assume this time of year that you're going to see what you are used to seeing from him?
RON GARDENHIRE: He's the best. I mean, he has always been the best. He has been there for a long time. And people rise to the occasion. And we hadn't seen him, other than on TV in a few games, but last night the ball was coming out of his hand pretty doggone good. The cutter was jumping in there pretty hard. He is never going to be easy whether he is throwing good or bad. You get in situations where the adrenaline is probably at its highest and he is one of the best. One of the best closers of all time, if not the best. And you know it's going to be tough. And last night his ball was really jumping. We had a lot of broken bats, and that tells you where he is getting the ball to.

Q. Ron, the play in right field last night reminded me of the one down the left-field line with Mauer a year ago, where you have the six-man umpire crew and an umpire very close to the play, but he may not get the call right. Is there anything about, do you think working the six-man crew instead of how they umpire all year is difficult for these guys? And just the overall replay question, where are you on use of replay?
RON GARDENHIRE: Well, I was really happy with the call last night. It gave us a chance to get another hitter up there. But as we talked about all year long, the human element's always going to be there.
That was not an easy one as he was going out. And those guys aren't used to being down those lines. So replay, I don't know. We've talked about a lot of different things. I like the game as it is. If they can help the guys out, make it easier and get calls right and figure a way to do it, you know, in a short time, then good for them. Last night that one worked out for us. It didn't work us for us last year. It goes that way all during the course of the year, you just have to live with it.

Q. When Mauer dived into first base, did your heart beat any faster than it normally does?
RON GARDENHIRE: Yes. I don't know how to elaborate on that other than yes. When he dove I slapped Nick Punto. (Laughter).

Q. Did you say anything to Joe afterwards?
RON GARDENHIRE: No, I didn't say anything to Joe. He's trying. He is busting his butt and that's what you want to see these guys giving everything they can. But it's not that fun watching Joe Mauer dive into -- we just talked about a contract for a long time. And I would rather have him not dive into first base, to tell you the truth. But he was trying and he is busting his tail and that's what our guys do.

Q. What's been the big difference for Delmon, as far as becoming a great overall everyday hitter, not just somebody who hits certain pitchers or lefties well?
RON GARDENHIRE: Well, he's kind of dedicated himself to the game and he works really hard. And he is still a young hitter, just turned 25 years old. And, you know, he figured out how to get the bat head through and drive the ball and pull the ball. He shot the ball the other way a lot last year for us and up the middle and the other way. And he made a concerted effort to actually get the bat head through the zone and putting the ball in the seats. And once he started seeing the ball fly, he liked it, and that's a good thing, when a guy figures out how to get the bat head to the front part of the zone and drive balls. And I think he enjoys jogging around the bases now, and he's had a heck of a year for us.
So I don't know where we would be out him. He is also one of our better teammates. I said this before, over and over again, he's turned into a lot of fun. He's a lot of fun to have on this baseball team and in the clubhouse. And he keeps us pretty light and lively.

End of FastScripts

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