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MLB ALL-STAR GAME

July 12, 2011

Bruce Bochy

PHOENIX, ARIZONA

Q. Rich Dubee last week talked about not wanting his guys to get overworked in this game, and both pitched into a second inning and then obviously no Giants pitched in the game. Do you worry at least about the perception that maybe you took care of your guys and compromised a competitor?
BRUCE BOCHY: Not really to be honest. We never had any word that we need to shut them down. If you look at the pitch count on both pitchers, I think they were good counts. We talked to Cliff (Lee). He said, if I have an easy inning, I really want to go back out.
If you look at their records, or how they have done the first half, I think they were very deserving to be out there. Well, more so than my guys I think, to be honest, and so, no, I'm not thinking about it.

Q. You've only had I guess two guys who pitched on Sunday who you couldn't use, you really had a deep staff tonight, how nice was it to have all of those options pitching-wise?
BRUCE BOCHY: It was great to have the pitching set up the way it was. We had three starters which we need with what happened a few years ago in Milwaukee. We had to have innings covered in extra innings, so we felt like we were covered there early in the game and then the sixth, seventh, eighth, ninth, we thought we had the relievers that would help us.

Q. (Prince) Fielder, turned all of the boos to cheers with the three-run homer?
BRUCE BOCHY: Yeah, it's hard to beat great pitching and a three-run homer. Great at-bat, two strikes, and we are down one run, and you get the Most Valuable Player, which he should, so it's nice to hear the cheers for him.
Because I know yesterday, they wanted (Justin) Upton in there, but he was the clean-up hitter and he's been doing what he's been doing all year.

Q. Could you just talk real quick again about the home-field advantage situation? Obviously played a big factor for you last year.
BRUCE BOCHY: Well, it did. I mentioned that to the players. I think the players last year, and especially Brian McCann, that big hit he got, because when the World Series started, it was a nice way to start the series. And it really benefits you.
So that was part of the message, how important it was for us, and how important the game was; do it again for the National League champion. The guys did it, we played well, pitched well and had some big hits.

Q. Can you talk about the decision to take the Cardinals starters out in the third inning?
BRUCE BOCHY: The Cardinals starters?

Q. (Matt) Holliday and (Lance) Berkman.
BRUCE BOCHY: I talked to both of them. I had the luxury of doing that, because of the number of outfielders, and Berkman even said, "You know what, I really would want some guys to go out there who haven't played in the All-Star Game."
And I talked to Matt yesterday, and he said, "Yeah, three innings is good for me." So these are things we do talk about. It wasn't something about the Cardinals; I sat down with most of the players and talked about the game plan.

Q. Did you feel the pressure after the three-run homer from Prince Fielder to win the game, considering you had a huge advantage; did a lot of pressure come off?
BRUCE BOCHY: Yeah, it does. You are in a one-run ballgame and you get a three-run homer, yeah, the pitchers, it does take a lot of pressure off them. Especially when you are being shutout at that point. That home run I think just did so much for the ballclub.

Q. You were probably trying not to have to use Brian (Wilson) at the end but can you talk about that circumstance, and then the last at-bat with (Paul) Konerko.
BRUCE BOCHY: Yeah, I said earlier that Brian would be the closer. So we had a four-run lead, and a pretty good guy out there. We made an error and a base hit, so now we are in a closing situation. We had Brian ready, and comes down and gets the job, and it's a great at-bat by Konerko, a good battle there. I was glad to get the game over with to be honest, because they had some good bats coming up.

Q. If you could talk about Rickie Weeks' trip around the bases, I think in the fourth inning, the way he finds a way to score every time he gets on base?
BRUCE BOCHY: That's why he's such an exciting player. He can beat you with the long ball. He can beat you with speed. These types of players are special, especially a lead-off hitter. I can go back to Rickey Henderson, a similar type player. Maybe not quite the base stealer, but they can get on base and find a way to score a run for you.

Q. Can I ask you about the pregame lineup card, a moment with John (Green) and what that was like for you?
BRUCE BOCHY: It was pretty emotional, it really was. It breaks your heart what happened, and it was a beautiful young girl, and for her family to go through that, it was emotional for everybody. The players were talking about it, so it was nice to have them out there, and I told them that it was a special moment, I thought, but a very tough moment, for us and for the family.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

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