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NL CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES: CARDINALS v GIANTSOctober 17, 2012Bruce BochyST. LOUIS, MISSOURI: Game Three Q. Obviously with the weather forecast, how much in contact are you with the League? When are you going to hear like when Cain gets up, are you going to need to hear something before you get him up to warm up? BRUCE BOCHY: Yeah, we've already talked about the rain as the situation. Right now it looks like both batting practices will get in. And really at this point we'll take it a step at a time. As we get close to the game we'll look at the situation and we'll get with the umpires, both managers, GM's and we'll talk about if we should start the game or not. I think it's fair to say we don't want to start this game if it looks like rain is coming in an inning or two and have to change starters. So at this point we'll just wait and see where we're at as we get closer to game time. Q. Just to follow up on this, if you get to a point where the League and everybody decides, look, this is our window, we've got a couple of hours here and it's going to get worse after, can you envision a circumstance where you start somebody else, we can't risk starting Matt today knowing we might go 3, 4 or 5? BRUCE BOCHY: No, I can't see that being a possibility. I've been caught before where you try to predict what's going to happen with the rain and started ‑‑ just a couple of years ago, I started a pitcher thinking the same thing and it didn't rain for four or five innings, then I put my starter in and then it started raining, and so it came back to bite me there. It's a tough call. It's nature and it's unpredictable to what's going to happen. So Matt Cain will start the game if we start this game. Q. I know you haven't announced your pitcher for Game4, and what happens today could change everything. But I wondered if you could talk a little bit about what you take into consideration with the guys you're considering to pitch in Game4. BRUCE BOCHY: Well, I'd say more than anything we're trying to keep our options open. You look at today, with the possibility of rain, having a rain delay, having to take your starter out. We have all of our guys available. And if I have to use them, we use them. Then we'll see where we are after the game. So I think that's as much of it as anything. Now, we have talked to all the starters. They have a good idea what the plan is. But we'll wait and see how this game goes and then we'll announce Game4 starter. Q. I think Zito and Bumgarner threw side sessions yesterday; is that correct? BRUCE BOCHY: Right. Q. Is it normal for Zito to throw a side session two days before, what's his regular schedule? BRUCE BOCHY: It can change, but usually a couple of days before. These guys usually have ‑‑ we call it a feel bullpen, nice easy one, sometimes they'll do it twice in between starts, sometimes once. But it's pretty normal for both of them. We just want to get Madison in the light bullpen, touch and feel is what we call it, just to get him back in sync. Q. How concerned are you about Bumgarner at this point? BRUCE BOCHY: Well, I don't think I'm concerned to a point where we don't plan on using him. He's on the staff. He had a hiccup his first start, actually the last couple. He's getting out of sync with his mechanics a little bit. He knows that, so that's why he took a bullpen, a light one yesterday. The kid's done a lot for us. We have to remind ourselves. He's 23 years old and he's had a lot thrown at him the last two, three years, and he's pitched some innings. I'm not as concerned as you may think, because he's healthy. There's nothing going on with the arm. He's a big, strong guy. He's pressing a little bit more than anything. And we've just got to get his confidence back. Q. You've been here many times as both a player and a manager, played in the other ballpark here, I wonder if you can speak to if this is a place that players or managers or whatever enjoy coming to, if it's a place you look forward to playing to on the road? I know you enjoy your home environment, but could you talk about St. Louis. BRUCE BOCHY: Yeah, I think if you ask the players all over the League, St. Louis is considered one of the better baseball towns; great fans, a lot of tradition here, great history with this ballclub. I think they all will say they enjoy coming here and playing here. They get tremendous support and the fans are very good baseball fans. They're into the game, but they're not too hostile, but they support their home team. And it's a very nice ballpark. But it's considered one of the better baseball towns to go to. Q. I want to follow up on the question about Bumgarner. Would you consider starting him in a game in this series? BRUCE BOCHY: Sure. Sure. Q. You would? BRUCE BOCHY: Yeah. Again, we're keeping all our options open. That's why they both threw yesterday. If we get into a situation where we think we need him to start, sure, he would be on the mound. Q. Kind of with a completely different cast of characters almost, but you guys are like 9 and 2 on the road in your last 11 postseason games. How do you explain that and is there a mindset that you take into these games that's a little different? BRUCE BOCHY: Some things are hard to explain. That's one of them. I couldn't explain why we lost two games to Cincinnati at home. It's hard to explain how we went three there. I will say the second half they've done a much better job on the road. They've been really tremendous at keeping their focus and being road warriors, because that's important that you do play well on the road, especially here in the playoffs. Why? That's hard to explain. But I will say that they seem to have a sense of comfort playing on the road. They don't have any problem dealing with the fans on the road. It's a team that seems like it's very relaxed and they showed it the second half. Q. What have you seen from Tim Lincecum so far this postseason that has made him rejoin the conversation to join the rotation again? BRUCE BOCHY: Well, I think if you look at how he's pitched, first of all, but just I think his mechanics as much as anything. He's been in a good rhythm, tempo out there. He's shown a lot of confidence coming out of the bullpen. We asked a lot of him to do what he's done and really has done a tremendous job at giving us multiple innings there. But I would say more than anything he's gone from the stretch and seems more comfortable with his delivery right now, which he was battling most of the year. Q. Scutaro in the lineup, was that an easy call; was that 52 percent thought, how close a decision was that? BRUCE BOCHY: Actually, it was a pretty easy call, more than 50 percent. I was looking at maybe 70 to 80 percent that he would play today. I kept in touch with Dave Groeschner, our trainer, saw Marco yesterday before we traveled, and after talking to him I could tell in his eyes that he was a lot more optimistic about playing today. Then yesterday he had orders not to go out there. But he wanted to go out there and take a few swings and test it. I, last night, felt a hundred percent that he would be out there today. Now, with that said, he will take ground balls, he'll get tested to see how the knee and the hip respond. If we have to adjust, we will. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
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