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NL CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES: GIANTS v PHILLIES

October 20, 2010

Bruce Bochy

SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA: Game Four

THE MODERATOR: Questions for Bruce Bochy.

Q. Bruce, is Uribe hurt today?
BRUCE BOCHY: I did talk to Juan. And he's not quite 100 percent. And so we think it's the right thing is to give him the night off. So Pablo gets the start at third base.
It was evident yesterday the wrist was bothering him. I could tell with his swinging. I talked to him today, and he admitted it's still bothering him.

Q. This has obviously been a very stable team and sort of knows what it wants. But do you think there's any danger at all, people are all talking, quote, World Series, end quote, that they might get ahead of themselves?
BRUCE BOCHY: We're not talking about that. I don't know who is. I know we're not. Our focus is on tonight's game. That's the way it has to be. We're going to be facing a good pitcher tonight and go out there and try to win a game tonight. That's the only thought we have.

Q. Your former catcher is doing rather well in this postseason, too. Could you talk a little bit how Bengie Molina helped to shape all of your young pitchers that went so well today?
BRUCE BOCHY: Bengie, he did a great job helping develop our young pitchers, being a veteran catcher that he is. He helped groom them and develop them to what they are today, and I think Bengie deserves a lot of credit.

Q. Bruce, you guys have had some success against Halladay this year. And I know it's a small sample. But is there something about your team's approach that explains why you've done well against him?
BRUCE BOCHY: No, I can't say we've done anything different. Some things are hard to explain. That's one of them. But he's a tremendous pitcher. And that game could have gone either way. And Ross had a big day. That's how we won the game.

Q. Can you talk about keeping Rowand in the lineup and not bringing back Torres in the lineup?
BRUCE BOCHY: Yeah. I just like the way Aaron's been swinging the bat, even though he hasn't been in the games but watching him and, of course, yesterday getting a big double there. And Andres, I think it's fair to say he's going through some struggles right now at the plate.
And so I decided to stick with Aaron. He's been through this. He's got the experience and I just like the way he's swinging right now a little bit more than Andres, to be honest.

Q. Pablo looked like he was maybe fighting his way back towards the end of the year and loses his spot here in the playoffs. How is his frame of mind right now?
BRUCE BOCHY: Pablo's been great. Even though he hasn't been starting, he's in the dugout rooting for everybody. He's working hard. Early hitting. He's in a great frame of mind. He understands that we're getting matchups and things like that.
But this kid never stops working, I'll say that about him. He's handled the year as good as he could. He's had his ups and downs. He's missed some starts, but he's never stopped believing or come out here working hard.

Q. Do you think at some point in the playoffs that your offense is going to have to produce more runs than it's been thus far? Or is this going to be enough to keep going?
BRUCE BOCHY: Well, it would be nice to score more runs, we know it. That's not our way. But we know we're going to have to put some runs on the board. And we faced a tough pitcher yesterday. They found a way to get it done.
And, of course, our pitching was great. But we have to find a way to score runs and we can't just rely on the long ball, we know it. And I thought yesterday we did a good job.

Q. Is it hard to know what you might see from Blanton, considering he hasn't started a game since September 29th? I mean, Cain showed yesterday a long layoff doesn't necessarily mean anything.
BRUCE BOCHY: You know, we expect to see the guy that's been throwing the ball very well in September. He's been pitching very well for them and he's got good stuff. He's got playoff experience and we have our work cut out.
So as far as our approach, we expect to see him throw the way we've seen him throw in the past. He's been tough on us, and of course the way he's been throwing in September.

Q. Just a couple of quick follow-ups to questions already asked. Regarding Torres, did his at-bat against Contreras yesterday sort of firm in your mind that decision?
BRUCE BOCHY: Not really. That's a pinch-hit there. It's not an easy job. But, no, I can't say that one at-bat affected whether he was going to start today or not. Again, it just looks like Aaron's seeing the ball a little bit better.

Q. Did you see Bengie? Were you watching when Bengie hit the go-ahead homer yesterday, and what did you think?
BRUCE BOCHY: No, I was not watching the game. I was out to dinner.

Q. In '98 you had Kevin Brown as kind of your big stud, and he had plenty of experience doing what he was doing in the postseason. Lincecum this year, despite his Cy Young Awards, had not had that track record. How do you get -- can you compare the two? And the fact that Lincecum has emerged as the big-game pitcher everybody thought he would under these circumstances.
BRUCE BOCHY: Well, I guess the best comparison I can make between the two is they're incredible talents and they both have a great makeup that you like from a starting pitcher. They compete very well. And the one guy you're talking about, Timmy, didn't have that playoff experience. But he did have an All-Star start that he had something to draw back on. And this kid's pitched Opening Day for us.
And those things help a young pitcher, but it gets down to having the equipment that these guys have, the tough pitchers, and they're good because of also their mental toughness. And Brown, he had it; Timmy has it.

Q. Obviously this is an organization that has had a lot of great players but has gone a long time since winning the whole thing. Other teams seem to have to deal with that like on a daily basis, the Cubs, the Red Sox for a while. Is that something you're aware of or is that something you never have to deal with your guys, the history here?
BRUCE BOCHY: No, we just deal with the present. I don't think anybody's thinking about the history of the Giants. I mean, they've had tremendous teams here. They've been in the World Series. Sure, they haven't won one, but right now we're just thinking about playing the Phillies and that's the last thing on our mind, to be honest.

Q. How much has Lincecum's popularity the last couple of years had to do with the revitalization of this franchise? Obviously what he's done on the field speaks for itself, but he's become a phenomenon out in the Bay Area?
BRUCE BOCHY: I think it does a lot for baseball and the Bay Area when they have a marquee player like Timmy. He's unique with his stature and how well he throws. And fans love to see a kid like this have success.
I enjoy watching him. I'm a baseball fan when he's out there. So no question, anytime you have an impact-type player like Timmy or any great player, it does a lot for the fans to come out and watch. They appreciate the gifts and talents that these players have.

Q. Aubrey Huff's rally thong has gotten a lot of attention. I was wondering what you thought of his eccentricity. And there was a report he was distributing them to the team, and I was wondering if you got one as well.
BRUCE BOCHY: Yeah, I'll be honest, he passed them around. I don't think anybody wants to see me in one. And I don't really enjoy seeing Aubrey in his (laughter). But he's proud of his body and he likes to walk around in it and he gets a lot of laughs. And it keeps the guys loose.
But we've got some characters on this club. As I've said, in my mind they're like the Dirty Dozen, the cast-offs and the misfits, and he's one of them. But he has fun with it. And the guys like giving him a hard time about it.

Q. Normally Rags (Dave Righetti) is the one that actually goes out to talk to the pitchers and you go out to make the changes, but twice this postseason you've gone out there with little messages or whatever. Is that just because of the playoffs or are those particular game situations?
BRUCE BOCHY: I think more just the situations. I just wanted to go out there and check on Matt and also look at him and in my mind I want him to stay out there. But I have to cover him. He's been working hard. His pitch count was up there. He assured me I feel great. So there's no question in my mind that he was going to stay out there.
But as far as when I go out there, there's certain situations. I felt like those were two times that I wanted to go out there.
THE MODERATOR: Thank you.

End of FastScripts

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