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NL DIVISION SERIES: BRAVES v GIANTSOctober 7, 2010Bruce BochySAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA: Game One THE MODERATOR: Questions. Q. Bruce, could you talk about the decision to leave Jose Guillen off the roster, what it was based on and what you told him and how he reacted? BRUCE BOCHY: Yeah, I talked to Jose about the decision and really it came down to, you know, he wasn't quite 100%. I think that's tough for a player when they're trying to play and they're not quite 100% as far as health. His neck, he's had some issues there, some pain there, and I think it was affecting him. So we talked about it quite a bit. It was a tough decision, when you have a guy that's been going out there pretty much every day, and then you leave them off the roster. But I think he would agree that he wasn't quite 100%, so this is why we went this way. Q. Did you give any thought to starting Rowand today with his numbers against Lowe or was that just stick with the lineup -- BRUCE BOCHY: Cody's been swinging the bat well. I know Aaron has numbers, but Aaron hasn't gotten his at-bats. It's tough on a guy that's been coming off the bench, and his last at-bat, he did hit a home run for us. Torres has gone out there every day, and Ross has been swinging well. But it's nice to have a player like Aaron Rowand who does have numbers off him if I need him off the bench. Q. Bruce, I've been talking between using him for the fourth game, Tim Lincecum or Bumgarner, what is going to go into this decision, the work by Tim Lincecum today or the way the playoffs are by the time they get to the 4th game? BRUCE BOCHY: Well, I probably can answer that better when we get there. What you do is keep your options open, and that's what we're doing. That decision will be made, you know, once we get to that point, if that's the case. But, you know, I'm not going to get locked into who is going to pitch, things could change depending how this series goes. That's usually the case, but right now we're focused on Timmy going today. Q. Back to Cody for a second. Overall what do you feel like he brings to you? What he adds to the team? BRUCE BOCHY: Well, he's a solid, all-around player. He plays both sides of the ball well, gives you good defense. He does give you some speed. He gives you a bat in the lineup. I know he's faced these guys quite a bit, playing for the Marlins, but also I like the way he's been swinging the bat the last two, three weeks. So that's why he's out there. Q. How much thought did you give to Darren Ford with his speed and -- BRUCE BOCHY: They all were considered. You know, you try to pick the team that you think is going to give you your best chance, that's obvious, but also who you think you're going to utilize the most or give you the most flexibility. And this is why we have this 25-man roster. Ford has not had one at-bat. He strictly would be to pinch-run, and the guys that we did keep do give us more flexibility. Q. Bruce, I think we've all seen the numbers of the winners of Game 1 in the division series, won 75%, something like that. How significant do you think this game is for you especially because it's at home? BRUCE BOCHY: We look at this as a big game, but we've been saying this about a lot of these games. But when you're in the best-out-of-five, there is no gettin' around it. The first game is important. It's not do or die, but it does make things easier if you can win the first game. Both sides, I'm sure, feel the same. But we're at home, and we'll be doing all we can to win this game. We know how important it is when you're in a short series. Anytime you're in the best-of-five, they're all big. But the first one certainly is. Q. Bruce, we talked to Zito a little bit last night and he said he supported any decision that you made and he's disappointed in how he's pitched, and he will be cheering this team on. How did that conversation go with him yesterday? BRUCE BOCHY: You know, it went well. Barry is such a good teammate and the a stand-up guy, and I explained our situation and our startin' situation, and he hasn't been pitching out of the pen. And I think it's fair to say, the other four are throwing a bit better right now. And we weren't going to go with five starters, so this is why we decided to go this way. But believe me, it's tough when you have a guy that's a big reason why you're here, speaking for all the players that are not on this roster. We knew that we would have some tough decisions here. And Barry Zito was certainly one of them. And he was great about it. He said, "Hey, I understand, and I'm not throwing quite as well as the rest of them." But he went right out and took a pen and is going to stay sharp in case we need him or we go further. Q. Bruce, it looked like the bullpen came down to Mota versus Ray for that last spot. Why did you pick Mota? BRUCE BOCHY: Tough call, I think we looked at the way Mota threw in that San Diego series, gettin' the time off, and -- both of 'em threw well in it, and I told Chris, this was difficult because it did come down to one of those. But we just felt that, you know, Mota was the guy that we wanted on this club. Whether you go with experience, how he's throwing the ball, all those things come into play. Q. Bruce, you've talked this season about how Jonathan Sanchez has grown. What have you seen specifically that led you to that conclusion? BRUCE BOCHY: About Jonathan? Q. Yeah. BRUCE BOCHY: I think with experience as much as anything, gettin' out there, you learn from your failures or your mistakes out there. And I think that's the case with Johnny. You know, he had hiccups early in his career last year, and he's gotten better because of 'em. You're going to have things happen out there. It may be a call you don't like, it may be an error, you may walk a couple guys, but you can't lose your focus. And I think that's what Johnny has worked on. The mental side of it. And keepin' his concentration out there and not letting it drift when things don't go just right or well. And he's always had the "stuff" and I think he's come up with better secondary pitches, that's helped him, and commanding his fastball. Johnny, as much as anybody, understands that when things aren't going well for him, he's his own worst enemy and he had to eliminate that. And I think he's done that. Q. Bruce, how does Lincecum seem today? Anymore hype than usually or -- BRUCE BOCHY: No. Timmy, you go in the clubhouse, you wouldn't know he's pitching today, and that's the way he is. That's the way he is today. He's looking forward to this. He's excited about being here, but he's no different than he normally is. Q. Bruce, knowing that you want to keep Tim Lincecum open on short rest, will that impact how you use him today? BRUCE BOCHY: Not at all, it will not change my thinking of how I will use him today, we'll do all we can to win the ballgame today. THE MODERATOR: Thanks, Bruce. End of FastScripts |
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