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AL CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES: TIGERS v RANGERS

October 10, 2011

Ron Washington

ARLINGTON, TEXAS: Game Two

THE MODERATOR: We're going to get started again with Ron Washington.

Q. Wash, on Saturday night, after the second rain delay, you were able to bring in a guy who has been a closer in the fifth inning. What does that mean for your bullpen to have so many guys out there who have been closers who know you can put at different roles?
RON WASHINGTON: It means a lot. It means they're used to getting outs. And if there's tough outs, it doesn't affect them. I think when you get to this point of the season, that's exactly what you need, guys that know if they go up in there and execute their pitches, good things can happen, and not out there throwing the ball hoping they execute.
That's the difference right there, and having the guy that's gotten outs before late in ballgames and guys that haven't.

Q. After playing a full season where you're playing just about every day, you guys have had a lot of off days. You had those three days, and then another day yesterday. How does that affect you, if at all? And is there anything you need to do to keep the hunger going or anything like that?
RON WASHINGTON: Hunger? We're very hungry. Off days? We need them. We've played some stressful games down the stretch. The guys that I have on the field now, they're the guys that carried us here. So they were out there every single day.
Any time I can get them a break where we didn't plan it, I'm all for it. We'll be fine. We'll just go out there and once again we'll just approach the game the way we always approach it. Try to have good at-bats, keep the ball in the strike zone, catch it when it's put in play, opportunity presents itself on the base paths, run it. Our game is our game.
They need the days. It's just a day where it wasn't planned. Our focus is where it should be, and especially at this time of the year. So there's nothing you can do about it. So you just flow with it.

Q. You mentioned this time of year, and it seems certain athletes have the ability to put nagging injuries and stuff behind them. You look at the fact that Delmon Young could possibly play today after what he went through. What is it about professional athletes when it's on the line that they can I guess mind over matter when it comes to dealing with injuries?
RON WASHINGTON: It all goes down to attitude, commitment and effort. Delmon Young has great attitude. The Detroit Tiger team has great attitude. They are committed. That's why they're where they are. And everyone on that team put forth whatever effort they got to put forth that day.
You get to this point of the season -- people talk about giving 100%, just give me 100% of what you got. I think that's what Delmon is going to do today. If he happens to be in the lineup, he's going to give 100% of what he have. He's been around the game long enough to know what adjustments he has to make in his swing and know the adjustments probably could still have him productive.
He's not a young kid, so he knows what he has to do. If he's able to make the bail at .319, I'm quite sure he's going to be dangerous in some capacity.
But professional athletes, especially those with great attitude and commitment to what they are trying to do, they find a way. At this time of the year we all have to find ways.

Q. Colby sounded kind of disappointed that he's going to be taken off and not be here with you for this game today. Is that just kind of a no-brainer he has to deal with? What do you expect from him in Detroit against a team that he had some struggles against this year?
RON WASHINGTON: All year we did this with our starters. We got them into the town the day before we got there. You never know what may happen during the course of the a ballgame and what time you arrive.
At least we know our starter is fresh and ready to go. The players, they can make adjustments as the game progresses.
Only thing I expect out of Colby is what we expected all year, and what he's given us all year. Keep us in the ballgame. If he goes out there and keep us in the ballgame instead of it taking five or six hits to put runs on the board, it may only take one. That's what we expect out of all our starters, just keep us in the ballgame.

Q. Ron, what have you seen from Elvis Andrus at the plate during this last couple of weeks?
RON WASHINGTON: Well, looked like his timing is a little off. But the thing about Elvis, you can think his timing is off and all of a sudden he shows up. He's a tremendous young ballplayer. He has a lot of knowledge of what he can do and what he can't do.
We faced Tampa Bay, who has one of the best pitching staffs in the game. And now we're facing Detroit, who has another one of the best pitching staffs in the game.
So I think more than anything else when you see these guys struggle, I think you need to look at the guy who is on the mound. Pretty tough. But he'll keep fighting. I expect him to come through today.

Q. You talk about him at the plate. Talk about him defensively. The last month and a half or so, he's been pretty flawless out there. Well, not flawless for you, I know, but the difference you've seen in him.
RON WASHINGTON: He has been flawless. But that's the type of defense that Elvis is capable of playing. You know, as a team this year, we had to realize that we had a wake-up call. We certainly wasn't catching the ball with the capability that we are able to. We woke up. All it was was focus.
You know, he's a third-year player. As I keep saying, he unseeded a Gold Glover at shortstop as a 20-year-old. Twenty one years old he was in the World Series. When you're that young and you're that successful, sometimes you take things for granted. The thing about this game of baseball, it will humble you. He got a wake-up call with the way he was playing defense. His teammates let him know that the way he was doing it was unacceptable and he got refocused.
Right now the way he's playing is the way we always expected him to play. And I just hope it continues.

Q. Ron, Ogando has such an unusual history because he's worked as a reliever extensively, he's worked as a starter extensively. Knowing that, how do you structure his rest? Looking back on yesterday, would he have been available for you?
RON WASHINGTON: Well, yesterday we certainly didn't have any plans on using him if we would have played, but that doesn't mean that if we needed a big out and we felt Ogando could get us that one out, that we wouldn't have put him out there.
He's a very resilient kid, and what he's doing out of the bullpen right now since we've been in the playoffs, he's done for us before. We knew he was the one guy that we could swing out of the starting rotation and put in the bullpen, because he's done it and he has had success at it. And of course we're going to monitor him.
As I keep saying, at this point of the year, all hands on deck, and if you can get your arm up, then I'm going to give you an opportunity to get it done.
THE MODERATOR: Okay, thank you.
RON WASHINGTON: Thank you.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

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