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MLB WORLD SERIES: RANGERS v GIANTS

October 31, 2010

Bruce Bochy

ARLINGTON, TEXAS: Game Four

Q. Since not all of us are familiar with how you make some of where you are substitutions and changes, can you take us through the thinking of the lineup today.
BRUCE BOCHY: Yeah, we tweaked it a little bit and it's pretty much what we've been doing all year. If somebody is not quite seeing the ball as well, we give them a break and just put somebody else out there. We've gotten contributions from everybody and that's what we're doing with Pat. I did talk to him today.
But a couple things, I think he gives our lineup a little more balance, a couple more left-handed hitters. We have a legitimate DH in Aubrey Huff, who has experience doing that. It probably tightens up our defense, too, with who's out there. Basically it's probably the back end of our team -- in the back end of the game, I mean, starting a game. Schierholtz and Ishy are usually in there at the end of the game, so we're starting it that way. And just to give Pat a chance to work on some things and try to get his timing back, and I expect to see him tomorrow out there.

Q. On Pat, what can you work with him on in such short time that will get him out of the funk he's in right now?
BRUCE BOCHY: Well, that's what Bam-Bam Meulens and Pat will be working on, the timing part. That's something you work on any time you have any kind of struggles, and he'll be doing that in the cage today, just trying to get back to where he was, whether it was moving your hands a little bit, getting your starting foot down sooner, things like that.

Q. When did you make the decisions? Was it last night, this morning? And what was the decision you came to first, playing Schierholtz in right or playing Huff as a DH?
BRUCE BOCHY: Playing Huff as a DH. I decided on this last night. I let Huff know, I let Ishikawa know that he would be at first base.
Now, as far as Nate being out there, I slept on it, and I got here early. Pat was here early, talked to him, and just decided to go that way today.

Q. Your team has a lot of guys with a reputation of being kind of off-beat, colorful characters, but do you think at times that ever overshadows the kind of serious intent that you guys have when a game gets going?
BRUCE BOCHY: Oh, I'd say a little bit. We do have some characters, but what they do well is they come prepared. They go out there and play hard every game. They give you everything they have and sometimes that is forgotten because of who they are and their personalities.

Q. With any professional athlete there's that sense of pride and there's that thinking that today is the day I'm going to break out of it. Is it hard as a manager to go up to a professional and tell them, I know you think you're going to get out of it today but I need you to sit?
BRUCE BOCHY: Sure, it is. He's been out there pretty much every day. He's a big reason why we're here, but he also understands and he admits that his timing is off a little bit, and they want to go out there and find it. But that's what's probably the toughest part of managing sometimes is you have to make that decision, and I made it and told Pat my thinking here, and he's fine. He'll be there ready to come off the bench and pinch-hit tonight.

Q. People think about the DH giving you that extra bat, but is this about your best fielding configuration, do you think, that you have on the field today?
BRUCE BOCHY: Oh, I'd say, yeah. That's what I touched on. This is the lineup that's out there at the end of the game if we have a lead. So it does tighten up our defense.

Q. With the concern expressed about Sanchez' velocity last night, are there any plans to even consider petitioning MLB to bring another pitcher on the roster and drop him?
BRUCE BOCHY: Right now, no, we haven't made any plans. Dave Righetti and I will get together and talk about where we think Jonathan is. But right now we haven't even discussed that.

Q. You did this with Torres during the National League Championship Series, gave him a blow for two days and had him pinch-hit both days, and then Bam-Bam I guess worked with him on getting on top of the ball a little more. Is that the type of thing that you think you can turn around quickly with Pat?
BRUCE BOCHY: Sure, it is. It's exactly what we're doing. Sometimes it's good to step back and watch a game and just get it off your mind. But it also allows you a day to work on some things, take some extra swings and hopefully find it. It's the same thing, you're right, we did with Torres. His timing got off a little bit, he worked on it, found it, and Pat will do the same.
We all go through them. Everybody has their ups and downs, and Pat is such a good hitter, we just haven't seen this from him this year. But it happens. He's just getting a day. It's a right-hander that has had more success off of right-handed batters.

Q. You said he'll be back tomorrow?
BRUCE BOCHY: That's the plan right now.

Q. Another Pat question: Specifically for him to be striking out so much, is that surprising you, not even putting it in play?
BRUCE BOCHY: Well, I think it shows you that his timing is off. He's not a guy that strikes out a lot. He has a good eye up there, he's just not quite seeing the ball as well.

Q. Did you think there was something about your approach against Lee that led to the success or do you think it was a bad day for him? And how do you go into tomorrow and face him again?
BRUCE BOCHY: A little bit of both. I thought we had a good approach, but also he probably wasn't on top of his game as I mentioned after the game. But we'll talk about that tomorrow. Right now we're thinking about Hunter tonight.

Q. Obviously you guys won the first two games. After the game last night a lot of the Ranger players were talking about how they had gotten momentum back. How big of a deal is momentum in a series like this? And do you think the Rangers have the momentum at this point?
BRUCE BOCHY: Well, really that starts with the guy on the mound, how he pitches. You know, you're in a seven-game series, so there's not a lot of time to create that momentum. But they got a win, they needed to get a win. So I'm sure they feel good about it, and now our job is to go out there and turn it around.
We've been resilient all year, and we're on the road playing a good team, and we're going to have to go out there and pitch well and catch the ball.
I thought we played fairly well last night. We made some good plays defensively, but they pitched very well.

End of FastScripts

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