	products recent interviews FastScripts archive about ASAP Sports

Our Clients:

Browse by Sport

Find us on

Subscribe to RSS

Click to go to
Asaptext.com

View our
e-Brochure

NL DIVISION SERIES: DIAMONDBACKS v BREWERS

October 7, 2011

Ron Roenicke

MILWAUKEE, WISCONSIN: Game Five

Brewers Â– 3
Diamondbacks - 2 (10 innings)

Q. Just the way you won it.
RON ROENICKE: Yeah, it came down to Gomez, great at-bat, great stolen base. Nyjer knew what he's done so many times this year, of course, gets that big hit when you need it.
But pitching, Yovani, outstanding. And boy, they battled. I mean, they got people on base against Frankie. They got people on base against Ax to tie it up. That's a great ballclub over there that they have.

Q. This is kind of a tribute to getting something from everybody on the roster victory, isn't it? You found a role for Gomez, he gets the game home winning run.
RON ROENICKE: Gomey, you're right, we put him in for defense, and he ends of offensively helping you. He's been swinging the bat well.
We got Rickie out of there and we put Counsell in there and you don't know if that at-bat is going to come up and be important again. And fortunately, we scored there before we got to that spot. But, yeah, the bench, you know, contributing like they have all year.

Q. Did you ever feel like at a certain point that, you talk about breaks all the time, that this maybe wasn't your day because you had the 4th inning, Jerry has the deep fly ball, did you ever think that things are conspiring against us?
RON ROENICKE: A lot of times during the game today I was questioning what was going to happen because we did have that good opportunity there with the bases loaded. Hairston hitting that ball that Young made a great play on in center, you question that. Then you see the bloop that Burroughs gets, and you're kind of like, wow, what's going on here? And we hit a couple of other balls real hard to right field. Counsell starting off that inning with a bullet to right.

Q. Can you talk about what you're feeling right now, can you put it into words?
RON ROENICKE: I'm a little wet and cold (laughter).
We battle all year to get to the spot where we have the opportunity to come back here and get that home field advantage. I thought all along it was going to be a tough series. I didn't realize it was going to be this tough coming down to the last day.
But that's a team over there that doesn't give up. We're a team that doesn't give up. And I think to come through and keep battling back, even though some things didn't go maybe perfect today, but we knew it was going to be a close ballgame. And that one run is huge. They came back and got the one to tie it up.
We were fortunate to get -- you know, really we're fortunate to get a run when we had bases loaded because the fly ball that Hairston hit it carries the 2nd baseman back to where Hill can't make a turn and run home.

Q. A lot of clubs [inaudible] your club didn't, what's different about that?
RON ROENICKE: It's the same thing with our club, they fought this way all year long. We won a lot of late ballgames, whether we're tied at the point or coming from behind. But they don't quit. They keep getting after it. And it has a lot to do with the makeup of the club. They're a bunch of guys that are dedicated to win at all costs, and I think you saw that in the game today.

Q. Did you have a chance to talk to Nyjer? Did you know which personality that was that came up with the big hit, was that Tony "Clutch"?
RON ROENICKE: Nyjer can't talk right now, he's emotional. He's just -- he's a joy to have, I'll tell you. I don't care about all the little issues we have. This guy, I love him on this team. I like him as a really nice young man. He came through big, again, when we needed him.

Q. What do you do right now, do you celebrate a little bit or do you watch TV with the other game?
RON ROENICKE: I think we've done all our celebrating. I know I have. So, yeah, I'll sit back and watch what's going on with those games to see if we're staying here or we're going on the road tomorrow.

Q. Can you comment on Yovani's performance today?
RON ROENICKE: Yovani, from the first inning on, came out with a great fastball. I saw 94's, 95's, had a lot on it, not just velocity, but a lot of life on it. His slider, cutter, really good today. And then he threw some great curveballs when he needed to.
But that was a performance that we needed from one of our starters. We were real happy coming back here and having Yo starting this game. And he came through and pitched like we thought he would.
And then on the other end, Kennedy came through and pitched the way they thought he would, also. He was great again with his location and his change-up. But that fastball location is outstanding.

Q. Can you just talk about, does the series, and having it go the way it did, having to battle all the way to the end, does that give you an edge as you move on to the Championship Series?
RON ROENICKE: Well, I think the edge is kind of how we played out the season, too. We played it out to the last day. So we haven't had a game where we can relax yet.
I couldn't comment on whether it helps us or not, because I don't know what that relaxed state is where you can sit back and maybe watch a couple of games. We haven't been in that position.
That's okay. I think this is a nice way to roll into the next series.

Q. 29 years since Milwaukee has seen winning playoff baseball. Do you take pride in that?
RON ROENICKE: I take a lot of pride in that. That's the part where you look at the city, you look at how they've been behind us. Even coming on the bus, we got in pretty early yesterday morning, and coming in and seeing the high-rises with "Go Brewers" on it, or initials there. The way they come out and support these guys. The chatter that I hear all through the city. It's huge.
Anytime you have a city that backs a team like they've backed us, it's huge to be able to win. And going to that next round. We still have some work to do to get to that ultimate goal that we want. But this is great getting through this round and getting to the next one.

Q. Talk about how you didn't have to use Zack and it sets up where you can have him Sunday full strength?
RON ROENICKE: Yeah, Zack was warming up in the bullpen. He was probably going to come into that game next. So it was nice to get him a little bit of work. This was the day he needed to throw a bullpen. We held him off earlier in case we needed him tonight. He got a little work down in there. It's probably going to be right on schedule for him.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

ASAP Sports, Inc. | T: 1.212 385 0297