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AL CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES: YANKEES v RANGERS

October 14, 2010

Ron Washington

ARLINGTON, TEXAS: Workout Day

Q. Have you guys made a roster move?
RON WASHINGTON: Nothing yet.

Q. Are you going to do it today?
RON WASHINGTON: No. We got time. We haven't decided to do anything today yet.

Q. What influence do you think Nolan has had on the organization and the players?
RON WASHINGTON: Well, you know, he has presence. He has credibility. Those are things that makes a big difference in everybody's thought process. He's been through the wars. He's been on the field. He knows exactly what the players are going through and knows what they are feeling when times are going well and knows what they are feeling when times aren't going well. He's got sensibility.
He's an icon. He's put a lot of presence on our pitching staff as far as the mind-set of going out there and keeping the ball as long as you can, not going out there with looking over your shoulder, looking for help, take care of business yourself. He's matter of fact. I mean, that's the type of people that you love working with. I know I do. No secrets.

Q. Two separate questions, first of all, your impressions of the Yankees lineup, and looking at so many pitchers, and your relationship with Jon Daniels and his faith in you and his hiring you and then stuck with you through the past.
RON WASHINGTON: The Yankees lineup, deep. They will make sure that pitchers throw the ball over the plate, and if you don't, you can be in trouble. Because throughout the lineup, they have guys that can punch the ball out of the ballpark. Along with that, they have a lot of experience. They have speed. They can beat you a lot of ways. They have pitchers that's been in this position many times before.
So they are a very tough club. There's no doubt about it. They are the reigning champs, and we are looking forward to playing some baseball again.
Jon Daniels, I love him, and I don't only love him simply because he supported me. I love him because he gave me an opportunity to be a Big League manager. He always involved me in any decisions that he makes. He may not always go the way you want it, but he never does anything over the top just by making a decision because he feels he has to. He always thinks things out. I appreciate that.
But more than anything else, he's brought an organization together and he made us all believe, and when it came time to do things to help, he was there, and that's what I love about him the most.
The problem I experienced, he didn't judge me. He supported me, and I could never say enough about that support. When you're a manager, a lot of times, you get hired to get fired. And whenever that time comes, and I hope it's a long time in the future, I hope that I can always have him as a friend.

Q. Can you talk about the impact of Jeff Francoeur on the field and off?
RON WASHINGTON: Jeff comes from an organization, the Atlanta Braves, that we all know won 14 straight titles, so he has a winning attitude. He's always upbeat. He's a great teammate. More than anything, he plays winning baseball. We are very fortunate that at the trading deadline we was able to acquire him.
We certainly were looking for a right-handed bat that could help us against left-handers, and he's been that guy since he's been here. He's a professional. He's learned the game very well, from a very good organization, the Atlanta Braves. He's certainly helped as many people as he possibly can with his knowledge. And once again, the bottom line is, we are very fortunate to have him.

Q. What led you to Clint Hurdle as your hitting instructor, why did you want him in that position and what impact has he had on your hitters this season?
RON WASHINGTON: No. 1, Rudy has been here for 30 years, Rudy Jaramillo, we certainly needed someone that had presence, someone that was a teacher, and someone that would let the players have their ideals, sit down with them and talk about those ideals and try to see what's the best solution to those ideals.
And the fact that he was a manager helped me, also, because I'm a fundamentalist, and I always believe in doing what the game asks you to do. And knowing that he was a manager, it would be easier for him to understand what I wanted done on the offensive part of it and be able to go out there and make those players understand what has to be done.
I also coached for Clint, so I had a chance to know exactly the type of guy he is. He brings a lot of energy. He loves the game of baseball, he loves to teach, and those are things that I love to do. So I thought we would work out real well. And as it turned out, we haven't gotten to the point where we want to get his fourth execution, but we are certainly 100% better than we have been in the past. And being able to be better than we were in the past is the reason why we are sitting right here right now with a chance to play through the World Series.

Q. You used the word support earlier and looking at what the team did with Josh Hamilton and the ginger ale celebration; do you have any special bond knowing what troubles you have gone through and the support and the second chances?
RON WASHINGTON: Well, we don't look at each other in that light. He looks at me as his manager, a guy that has always had his back no matter what. I look at him as one of my players, and I do what I have to do to support him on and off the field if he needs.
You know, that's the type of stuff that makes you what you are, having people around not judging you, seeing what they can do to help you continue to move forward in a direction that you want to move in. And you know, the 25 guys that we have in that clubhouse, it's the reason why the Texas Rangers also is what they are, because they are all about support, supporting one another.
If one of our hitters goes up to the plate and a pitcher do not want to throw to him, we have this pass the baton thing; let me help you. That's just our mantra around here. I would wish and hope that if it was anywhere else, that the same thing would have happened, because I would have stepped up and supported anybody in any situation if I feel like I have the resources to help.

Q. Can you talk about the influence Cliff has had on C.J., just talk about the influence he's had on him.
RON WASHINGTON: I think what Cliff has done for C.J. is make him understand, if you have good stuff, throw it in the strike zone and good things will happen more often than not.
C.J. has so many pitches and sometimes he was getting into the mold of trying to get people out instead of letting hitters get themselves out. And I think that's what Cliff Lee has brought; use your stuff, use it in the strike zone and usually good things happen. That's why you have defense out there.
And I think that's what he's brought to C.J., because recently, he's starting to throw more pitches over the plate, he's starting to trust himself more and he's starting to get quicker outs than he has in the past. And I think all of that has an influence on our whole pitching staff, but it's definitely an influence on C.J.

Q. Can you talk about the Teixeira trade, what you felt at the time and when you realized what you got in return?
RON WASHINGTON: Well, at the time, I think a lot of that had to do with the fact that we weren't sure if we would have been able to sign him again, and I think Mark was ready to move on also, and we knew the talent that we got back was pretty good. What we didn't know; that that talent was going to move up to the Major League level as fast as he did.
The Atlanta Braves did one heck of a job as far as the maturity this kid had at a young age. I think Matt Harrison has shown that he has the ability with four good pitches to get Major League hitters out. Neftali Feliz, we knew he had the arm. We weren't certain how long it was going to take him to understand how to pitch at the Major League level and get big league hitters out.
They just happened to come into an organization that accelerated the growth of our young kids, and those young kids was very fortunate that we had coaches at the Major League level that was willing to take the time to persevere and teach and was willing to take the time to deal with the adversity that may come with those young kids and stick with them.
And the whole picture, it worked out great for everyone. Teixeira had an opportunity to go places and have an opportunity to play in the World Series, maybe quicker than he thought he would have here and we had an opportunity to set a stage for things to happen for many, many years to come in the future with the young kids we got.
I'm happy with both parts of it because I got an opportunity to manage those young kids and Teixeira had an opportunity to go somewhere and be on the big stage to win the World Series. Now we are back on it and we are here today and have the opportunity as the Texas Rangers to win the World Series, also. And those kids we got for them is a big part of the Texas Rangers.

Q. Have you decided on a catcher and first baseman for the opener?
RON WASHINGTON: I probably will go with Treanor, and haven't really put it together yet at first base. Still talking about it.

Q. Is Treanor just a good match with C.J.?
RON WASHINGTON: C.J. is a guy that has a lot of movement on his pitches and throws a lot of breaking balls and Treanor is very good with balls in the dirt and he also calls a pretty good game. And the times that he's caught C.J., he's done a good job of getting him through the innings.
Through the season, I use both of those guys and I want to have him to be a part of this, also, and the one opportunity I give him is with C.J.

Q. What has this year been like for you with everything you've gone through up to this point sitting here, brink of the LCS?
RON WASHINGTON: Well, it's been a dream come true. We started in February, spring training, we made a commitment to each other that we felt like we were able to get to this point. And at the time, you know, a lot of people thought it was words. But we have a bond inside of that clubhouse that goes a little deeper than words. And we went out this year and we put it together. Our pitching held us there, our defense stepped up, and we got better as far as running the bases go. We got better as far as understanding the game of baseball. And things came together.
So it has been a dream come true for me, especially as the manager. And to have a group of guys that I have in that clubhouse that play nine innings for me every night, they bring an attitude of commitment and an effort to the field every day that makes you proud. There was never a day that I went to the field, went to the office, looked in the mirror and questioned what I did that day, and never questioned what my players did that day. And that's something that's tough to do.
But I can say unequivocally that I never left the field and questioned the effort that I got from my players. So it's very special.

End of FastScripts

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