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AL DIVISION SERIES: RANGERS v RAYS

October 11, 2010

Ron Washington

TAMPA, FLORIDA: Workout Day

Q. Given the success that you guys had in Game 1, how similar do you think tomorrow's lineup will be to Game 1?
RON WASHINGTON: Well, it will probably be almost the same lineup. You know, I haven't decided what changes I'm going to make yet, but it will certainly be more or less the same.

Q. How would you assess the mood and readiness of your team at this point?
RON WASHINGTON: Well, we're ready to go. When we started, it was a five-game series. It ended up being a five-game series. So I mean, we won here; they won at our place. We've got two of the best pitchers going tomorrow, and when it's all over, the team that scores the most runs will get it. And I hope it's us (laughter).

Q. Can you describe in any way the dialogue -- any of the dialogue, that's gone on between you and Hamilton, either you to him or him to you, about the way that he's struggled in this series?
RON WASHINGTON: Well, it's day-to-day. You know, we understand the fact that he's been out of the lineup for a month, and I don't really care who you are; if you haven't stepped in that box, it's not that easy to not face live pitching, get into a rhythm. But he's given us everything he has.
You know, they've done a good job of trying to keep him off balance, and he just has to continue to make adjustments. Hopefully tomorrow those adjustments come together. But you know, Josh's presence means a lot to us, and we understand the fact that he just hasn't seen pitching. And then you have to face the type of pitching that the Rays have, it's tough.
But we're going to fight through it, and hopefully everyone else around him picks him up and he gets an opportunity to pick us up.

Q. Could I follow up? Has he expressed to you anything about, like, you know, where he is and whether he's feeling like it's coming around, or have you said anything to encourage him?
RON WASHINGTON: Well, I'm always talking to my guys encouraging them, and Josh is no different. What I try to tell Josh is go up there, try to slow things down, know what you want to hit, know where you want to hit it and try to hit it. He's the only one that can help this come together by just seeing pitches. Until things lock in, what you see is what we'll get.
He's a very talented player, but once again, he missed a month of seeing live pitching. It's not that easy to go out there and just hit live pitching. He's doing a great job because of his talent. I know if I missed a month, I couldn't look like Josh right now.

Q. Vlad had a big Game 1 here, been a little quieter since then. What have you seen in his at-bats lately?
RON WASHINGTON: Once again, it goes back to the Rays' pitching. Those guys pitch pretty good. They've done it all year. I think there's four of their starters that have taken the ball every single day. You know, they haven't made any mistakes since the first day, and hopefully tomorrow we can get Price to make some.

Q. Have you been surprised at all how much Maddon not only flipped his lineup lefty to righty but also dropped some guys down, has switched things up? And considering you got the lefty going out, do you expect to see a similar lineup to Game 1?
RON WASHINGTON: I don't really know, but Joe has a ton of versatility over there, and he's used his lineup the way he's used it against us all year, so I don't see anything different in what he's doing. It's just that his left-handers have been giving him some very good at-bats, and those guys do that. But he has a ton of versatility over there. He can mix and match and it doesn't really matter, and he can set that lineup where it doesn't matter what you do, they can handle it, even if they leave a lefty on our lefty. Just got a very good versatile team.

Q. You mentioned the Rays' pitching, how well they've been doing. What are your impressions of their bullpen?
RON WASHINGTON: Well, they have some power arms down there, and the past two days back in Texas they got an opportunity to go to them. The first two games here, we kept them away from those arms. Going into tomorrow we've got to try to keep them away from those arms.
They've done the job all year, and an opportunity presented itself in Texas and they came in and they did exactly what they've been doing all year.
So we've just got to figure out a way to put more runs on the board than they have.

Q. When you were with the A's, you saw a situation a couple times where one team won the first two teams and the other team forced a Game 5. Is there any momentum carryover or once Game 5 starts is everything else forgotten?
RON WASHINGTON: Well, I think this was a different time. When I was in Oakland and that happened, we were playing the New York Yankees who had just won four or five World Series or three World Series in a row. I don't think they felt any pressure. We were the Oakland A's, young team, first time, of course we felt the pressure to put the game away. The next time that happened to us, we were playing the Boston Red Sox, so you see the similarity there.
But you know, I think the difference in Texas and the difference here, we got a lead, our pitchers held it, and Texas, you know, we battled back and forth, and then when we got a lead, they held it. That was the difference right there. It's been the pitching.

Q. In a Game 5, do you think the importance of scoring first is magnified in a winner-take-all game?
RON WASHINGTON: Well, I think it depends on how many runs is put on the board when you score first. If you put one run on the board, you figure you can catch up with that. You put two runs on the board, you figure you can catch up with that. As long as it doesn't get past a grand slam, I think you're in good shape.
But then again, you give a guy like Price or Garza or one of those guys a three-run lead, they know how to take it to the finish line. In reverse you give that to C.J., you give that to Cliff Lee, you give that to Colby, we'll take it to the finish line, also.
We had opportunities yesterday, but in the playoffs it's not about getting base hits, it's about getting big base hits at the proper time. We had some opportunities, we just didn't get the hits.

Q. Is there any message you're going to send your team out with tomorrow night in a big game like this?
RON WASHINGTON: Well, I sent my message to them yesterday. This was a five-game series when it started; now it's a five-game series. They proved they can beat us on our field, we proved we can beat them on their field. This is what it's about now. They have the right person they feel that's going to be throwing tomorrow, and we certainly feel the same way. So it's a matter of going out there, getting Cliff some runs, and if we get him some runs, he'll take it to the finish line. That's what it's all about.

Q. Can you just talk about the impact Jeff Francoeur has had on this team on and off the field since he got here?
RON WASHINGTON: Well, Jeff brought a lot of fun to the clubhouse. He's a professional. He's always upbeat. He keeps everyone alive, and he has a live bat, and I'll get a chance to put that bat in that lineup tomorrow and hopefully Price can throw a ball in the wrong spot and he can help us put some runs on the board.
But he's been a great acquisition. He can play all outfield positions, although I haven't played him in center field. He brings a lot, and he's a right-handed bat that we needed.

Q. Do you have a scenario in mind where you might go to C.J. out of the pen instead of one of your lefty relievers?
RON WASHINGTON: Every pitcher that's not hurt is available, and that includes C.J. If for some reason Cliff stumbles along the way, of course I will go to C.J., without a doubt, early or late.

Q. Can you talk about getting a chance for these hitters to see these starting pitchers against in this series? Is there anything that a hitter can take away, maybe a little advantage after seeing these guys in Game 1?
RON WASHINGTON: Well, I think the two guys that are throwing tomorrow, they're different in ways. Price is a power pitcher. He'll go to his off-speed stuff, but he doesn't make his living off his off-speed stuff. He makes his living off of power. And I think that's his strength. So you've got to look at it, when he goes out there and he's in trouble, he's going to his strength.
Cliff Lee, he's a maneuver-type pitcher. He moves that ball around. He can power you. He can slow you down. He can cut it. He works fast, throws strikes. So I don't think you'll see too much of a difference in those two guys.
I think Price may go to a little more off-speed stuff, but when it really comes down to it, he's going to rare back and power you. That's his game.

Q. Just from kind of your experience in baseball all your years in the game, how unique or special is it to have a match-up like this on the mound in a winner-take-all kind of game?
RON WASHINGTON: Well, I'll tell you, I won't have to do much motivating. The two pitchers that's out there, you'd better be motivated. If you're not, somebody is going home. Somebody is going home anyway, but you'd better be motivated because if you don't, there could be a ton of strikeouts and there could be a ton of hitters looking bad out there. We certainly don't want to look bad.
We'll be prepared, and we'll go out there and hope that Price makes enough mistakes that we can take advantage of him and hope that Cliff makes no mistakes so they can't take advantage of it.

End of FastScripts

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