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NL CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES: GIANTS v PHILLIES

October 17, 2010

Charlie Manuel

PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA: Game Two

San Francisco Giants 1
Philadelphia Phillies 6

THE MODERATOR: Questions for Charlie.

Q. It was a tight game most of the game. Can you talk about Oswalt's pitching and Polanco's execution at the plate in RBI situations?
CHARLIE MANUEL: I thought Oswalt was very aggressive with his fastball and looked like he was having a little trouble getting a feel for his breaking ball. Threw some changeups, but mostly he had command of his fastball. And Polanco, he did a good job tonight. Of course, he singled in a run and he played a heck of a game. Like, he can handle the bat good for us and that's basically -- got a sac fly. That's exactly what we needed. Polly is that kind of hitter and tonight he got some situations where he could produce.

Q. What do you think when you see one of your pitchers running through a stop sign and then scoring?
CHARLIE MANUEL: I said, "go for it." (Laughter) after he run the bases, what the hell are we going to do, rope him? I ain't that good -- I'm not a cowboy. I might look like one, talk like one, but I'm not one.

Q. Is it difficult for you as a manager to have to wait for a guy like Rollins to finally get that big hit, to show the confidence to stick with him? Did you ever consider not --
CHARLIE MANUEL: No. I never considered it at all, really. You know what, when you show me you can do something, when I see it and I trust in you -- this is a game. I mean, and this is a game where you can really go bad. But yet at the same time you've got to grind and get yourself out of it. Like Raul IbaÃ±ez told me, I had a lot of serious talks with hitters, but Raul said, "I got myself into it and I need a chance to get myself out of it." And, like, he did.
I mean, seriously. When people start hollering to me about doing things, look, when I see you do something and you're like -- I know how good Jimmy Rollins can be. As a matter of fact, I'm sitting there I'm telling Pete, I hope he keeps the fastball down to him like, like he did on Braxton last year. He's got a good chance to hit him. Go ask him, almost got the same kind of hit. I got a lot of faith in him and I stand there and I pull for him, and I know how good he can hit and also I know how good he wants to be up there or how much he wants to be up there. Stay right with you, son. I'll go down with you. (Laughter).

Q. In that fifth inning after Victorino's double, Utley shows bunt, is that something he did on his own or did you give him the sign?
CHARLIE MANUEL: No, he did it on his own, yeah.

Q. Getting back to Jimmy how much did you think the bases-loaded walk helped get him going and set the tone for him?
CHARLIE MANUEL: I thought it was a good at-bat for him, but he started seeing the ball better in that at-bat and the rest of the night.
The hit he got was a big hit, of course, and cleared the bases for us. But he got jammed, the ball that Renteria caught running out to left-center, and actually the ball got in on him, but at least, like, he didn't go too fast at it. He stayed on the ball and he was letting it travel a little bit. And that was a good sign to me. It was a good sign he was staying on the ball.

Q. What is it that you like about Rollins batting sixth?
CHARLIE MANUEL: I put him there because he's a switch-hitter mostly and he hasn't been playing and he's trying to find his swing. By being a switch-hitter, that offsets our lefty/righty situation. I like the two right-hand hitters against the lefty, and then Raul sandwiched in between Ruiz. That's why. And I kind of looked to see how much balance I can find in the lineup.

Q. I'm not sure how close you thought this was to a must-win game, but is this why you traded for Roy Oswalt?
CHARLIE MANUEL: Yeah, it's definitely games like tonight and also like to bolster our pitching roster of course, that's exactly what we got him for.

Q. What was the conversation with Roy when you went out to the mound in the eighth inning? Were you thinking of pulling him at that point?
CHARLIE MANUEL: I went out there to check on him. I was not going to pull him. But, like, I wanted to look him in the eye and see how he felt. He told me -- he said, "I'm all right, I can get him." Yeah, whatever, like.

Q. Flip-flopping Utley and Polanco in the order tonight really seemed to pay off for you. Is that something you'll stick with, you think, in Game 3 on Tuesday?
CHARLIE MANUEL: I liked the way we played. I liked -- Utley looked good in the two hole tonight. And he did a good job. Stolen bases were big.

Q. What's your level of confidence in Cole Hamels? And you pitched your two aces now, and what's it like just to have that third guy in your pocket to roll out there?
CHARLIE MANUEL: I've got a lot of confidence in Cole Hamels. I think that he's going to pitch a good game for us in San Diego -- I mean San Francisco. Last time out in Cincinnati, of course, he was real good. I feel like he's actually really -- he's getting better. He's coming into his own.
The more he pitches right now this year it seems like the better he's getting.
THE MODERATOR: Thank you, Charlie.

End of FastScripts

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