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AL CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES: YANKEES v RANGERSOctober 19, 2010Ron WashingtonNEW YORK CITY, NEW YORK: Game Four Q. Early in the season, you guys got hit pretty hard by the Yankees in your first series here, can you compare the confidence of that group earlier in the year with the confidence that you're playing with now? RON WASHINGTON: Well, you know, we've been through a full season since then, and you've got a young group of guys, as each day comes and go, and each game comes and goes, you begin to understand what you can and can't do, and you begin to gain confidence in what you can do and you try to work on the things you can't do. We came in here the first time, and I thought we were prepared to play these guys, but they beat us. And we left here and all we can think about is the next town we were going in. That's the type of group I have. But right now, you know, because we have got some time behind us as far as playing baseball, and we accomplished some things that we set out to accomplish, with all of that, confidence continues to grow. We are playing with a lot confidence right now. We know your style of baseball and we just try to perform when it's presented to us. Q. The first game, the Yankees have scored a total of three runs, they are hitting .194 within the first two games. Is it realistic to expect your pitchers to contain them like that? RON WASHINGTON: Well, anything is possible. Right now we are pitching well and when you're in the playoffs, that's what gives you the opportunity to be successful is pitching. But the only thing that we are really concerned about is Tommy Hunter today, and we certainly expect him to go out there and pitch his type of game, and if he does that, knowing the type of game that he's capable of pitching, hopefully we can stymie them again. But the type of lineup that the Yankees have, you don't know what's going to happen until the day is over. All we can do right now is continue to go out there with the confidence that we've gone out there with, and then when the game starts, we will see where it goes. Q. When you think about what Michael Young has done for this team over the years and spending his entire career here, how happy are you on a personal level for what he's been able to accomplish, and especially now on this stage? RON WASHINGTON: Well, I'm very happy with what we have accomplished, and Michael Young is certainly a part of "we". As long as he's been in Texas and as long as he's been dying to be in this position in the playoffs, and the leadership that he's taken on through the way he goes about his business, his professionalism; his caring for his teammates, I'm really overwhelmed. To watch him go out there and bounce around like a young kid, doing exactly what the game of baseball is about; it's a game, and you should have fun and you should enjoy it. It's nice to see him enjoying it. Because at this point in the season, especially when you get to the playoffs, that's what it should be. It should be about enjoying something that you have dreamed about and wanted to play in all your life, so why make it complicated. And right now, he's having the time of his life, but he's focused and he has everyone else in that clubhouse focused. Q. Are your struck at all, are your players struck at all by the differences between these franchises in terms of history, playoff experience, things like that? RON WASHINGTON: I think every player in the game knows the history of the New York Yankees. And if you ever wanted to model yourself after someone, it would be the New York Yankees. I mean, you've got 27 or 28 championships. That's what you play for. But once you get between those lines, it's about competing. It's about rising to the challenge. It's about respecting the game. It's about respecting your teammates. It's about respecting your opponents, and you just go out there and you try to stay focused on what the game might ask you to do so you can do your job. That's the way we are. You know, it's not something that happened overnight. It's something that these guys gained along the way, and now we are experiencing it. And each day brings a new challenge, and you know, we are certainly ready for it. I can't look in a crystal ball and predict what's going to happen, but the only thing I can predict, Texas Rangers will be ready to play baseball. I don't know what the result is going to be yet. Q. Cliff has got a lot of attention, deservedly so, but C.J. Wilson has put together a good post-season for you, as well. Can you talk about how he's pitched, his first time in the post-season? RON WASHINGTON: Well, I don't know how many of you guys had an opportunity to talk to C.J., but he's certainly one guy that don't lack confidence. (Laughter.) He's also a guy that works hard. He works just as hard as anyone I've ever seen at their craft. So when he takes the mound, all he has to do is focus on what he wants to do with that baseball, and he has been able to do that, simply because of his work ethic, simply because of the attitude that he brings. And I think since he's become a starter, he's become a better person to be around, also. And that's only because when he was in the bullpen as a closer, he was always in a destroying mode, and now that he's a starter, he has to destroy when he has to get through innings, and because he was a closer, he knows how to do that. He's a special breed. He lacks no confidence whatsoever. And when he takes the mound, he expects to win. I'm very fortunate to be the manager of the Texas Rangers and to have a guy like both he and Cliff Lee to give the ball and both have the same attitude when they come to the ballpark and take the mound. Q. You got Bengie in the middle of the year and as much of an impact as he had during the regular season, have you seen that rise even during the post-season because of his experience with the young rotation? RON WASHINGTON: Certainly have seen his experience kick in. When Bengie arrived, he was quiet because he was trying to feel the way that we play baseball over here and the type of things that we like to do. But once we won the West, he became vocal. He began to express his experience. He began to show us things that we should look for, things that will happen. Things that we have to keep in our mind as a mindset that we have to do and not take for granted. It's just been great sitting and listening to Bengie talk. He certainly brings a lot, and I'm so thankful for the organization to take the time to go out and get a guy like that, because he has tightened things down quite a bit and it's mainly because of his experience. He's been there; he's done that. And since we've been in the playoffs, he's been more vocal. When he says something, you listen, because he's right on it. Q. Can you speak to the season Josh had for you, and given the depth he came from, are you surprised or even amazed at how well he's done? RON WASHINGTON: No. I think with each year since he's been here, I think it's his third -- his fourth, he's gained maturity. More than anything else, he's learned how to play through aches and pains. He's learned how important he is to his teammates. And he's done a lot for us this year, and the way he's went out and kept us together, we've had quite a few injuries, and can't say enough about his maturity. He's turning himself into one heck of a ballplayer, he's made a difference in our lineup, just his presence. I think you guys have gotten a taste of what he can do on the defensive end. He's tightened his game up a lot on the base paths now. He's becoming a complete player, and I certainly don't want him out there trying to steal dirty bags. I want him to get the mindset that he can get a bag when we need it, and if that's 15 in the year, that's good, but he's certainly capable of getting 40. But you know, and he's inexperienced. You've got to understand, he missed a lot of baseball. He's so talented, but with each year that comes and goes, he gets better, and we are certainly looking for big things from him as he moves forward. Q. You mentioned last night you wanted to give Feliz some post-season experience before you used him in a tight spot; last night, three up and three down with three really good hitters. Do you feel like if he's in the same situation tonight, he's ready to handle it? RON WASHINGTON: Yes, I do. He saved 40 games for us. Every opportunity that I could get to get him out on the mound in this environment, I want to get it so that he can understand that there's nothing that changes. If you make your pitches as you have to have to this point, you can get the results that we have been getting to this point. If it's a one-run game, two-run game, three-run game tonight, I'm going to give the ball to Feliz and I'm going to be standing over there and I'm going to be comfortable. Q. When you take a look at the first three games as a grouping, what facet of the game do you feel like your team isn't doing well? Where are you demanding improvement? RON WASHINGTON: That's a tough question to answer. Because we have been more or less playing our game. Other than my bullpen not getting it done in that first ballgame, the rest of our game has been what we've been doing all year. I think it's just taken for us to be on this stage for people to really recognize that the Texas Rangers are a pretty good team. We are confident, but we are not overconfident. We are a group that hangs together. But as far as what we need to get together, I think we've been playing pretty good baseball. We're real good at taking advantage of what's presented to us, and when you can do that, I feel like there's nothing that can happen in the ballgame that you can't react to, and that's what the game of baseball is about. Seeing something, and reacting to it. So if I tried to make up something, that's what I would be doing. Can we play better? Yes. We have. But I'll take what we're doing, because we're under control, and we just doing what we do; play baseball. Q. There's been so few times this season where you've had your full compliment of players to choose from as far as the lineup is concerned, because of the fact that this is such a large stage and you do have the luxury of having everyone available, has that made things more difficult as far as the managerial aspect of your job is concerned? RON WASHINGTON: No. I don't look at my job as being difficult, because I love what I do. I have a deep passion for it. As a manager, you make a decision, and you live with it. A thousand think you're right; a thousand think you're right. So in my case, I think it washes. If I've done something I've felt good about, I'm going to stand up and believe in it, and whatever arrows I have to take, I'll take it. As long as those arrows don't kill me, and I don't think any of them have, so I can live for another day. But it is nice to finally have the full complement of my players, because I really haven't. This is the first opportunity I've had to have them all, and right now, we are playing pretty good baseball together. And I certainly don't want to do anything to break that up. I just want to put them out there and stay out of the way and enjoy watching them play. That's it. I'll do what I have to do as the manager. Other than that, I just want to watch them play and make them understand how much joy and pleasure I have watching them play. And I hope that that motivates them to go out there and focus and play even better. Q. Could you talk about Mike Maddux, his role with C.J.'s transition, and his work with the young pitchers like Hunter and your young relievers. RON WASHINGTON: Well, Mike has been a very special addition to my staff. He's so smart. He's always ahead of things. He's taught me a lot about pitching. I've taught him a lot about other aspects of the game. He believes in commitment, he believes in attitude, he believes in effort, and those are the things that he instilled in our young pitchers, especially C.J. and Tommy Hunter. Going out there and trusting your stuff and committing to the pitch that you decide to throw, and then when the results happen, the results happen. But he's been a tremendous addition. No one can out-work him as far as preparation, and I'm just happy to have him. And I know every single pitcher in that clubhouse is happy to have him. He's their friend. He's their mentor. And when it's time to chew them out, he's not afraid to do that, because what he's gained, is they have a passion for what he has to offer. I think when you are a coach, that's what you try to get out of players, a passion for what you have to offer, and that gives them a passion to go out there and be the best they can be. And that's what he's done with this pitching staff. We don't have the very best pitching staff in baseball, but we have a bunch of guys that believe and a bunch of guys that trust and a bunch of guys that have a ton of confidence. That's a dangerous combination. Q. The midseason move for Lee gained plenty of attention, but you guys made some more maybe under-the-radar moves that changed your team a bit during the season, whether it be Molina, Francoeur, Cantu. What have those guys done to improve your team, and what challenges does that impose for a manager to incorporate on a team that's already winning and in contention? RON WASHINGTON: Well, the first thing I did when those guys arrived is I told them the type of team we have and the type of attitude we like to have around here. We are not expecting those guys to come in here and put us on their shoulder. We just expect them to come in here and fit in and be the baseball players that they are. In Cliff's case, I told Cliff, don't put us on his shoulder. When you take the ball on your day, do the very best you can on your day, and that will rub off on everyone else. If you decide you want to go around and talk to people, you do that, too. But you're not here to be our savior. You're here to help us. Francoeur's case, I expressed to him that he will face left-handers. All I want him to do is keep a good attitude. Try to keep these guys as upbeat as he can, because that's the type of guy I heard he was. Just be who he is; if he's a clown, be a clown, I don't care. We have a loose clubhouse in there and we want you to be loose. Cantu, we brought him over to face some righties and play first base. He struggled in the beginning. He dealt with a lot of demons inside him because he had something like 87 at-bats before he drove in a run. But he got the runs in that got us the West Division Championship this year. He loves the atmosphere, he fits in. And if you can't come into the Texas Rangers clubhouse and fit in, something is wrong with you. My guys are loose. But when it comes time to play baseball, they are serious. They fit in perfectly. End of FastScripts |
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