October 22, 2004
Tony La Russa’s Friday Comments
Reported by Brian Walton
On Pujols’ defensive contributions:
“I think he demonstrated it as a rookie. He played average to above average defense at third, first, left and right. And now, being able to concentrate on one position, I think he’ll contend for a Gold Glove by next year.”
On Walker finally getting a chance to play in the Series:
“Larry is a good example I think of such a tremendous experience for a professional to have a chance to contend for a ring in the World Series. There are so many horror stories of, I don’t care if you’re a big leaguer, you don’t have to be a great big leaguer, and you never get the chance – that’s really something that’s missing when you retire. Larry’s one of the first-timers on our club. We have a number of them. That’s why there’s no doubt in my mind that we’re going to be really excited to play as good as we can. But, it’s a special meaning. Larry’s had everything you could possibly want on an individual basis; MVPs, batting champions. And now he gets to play in the World Series. So, I know he is very excited about it. I think it has great meaning. It will be an experience he will never forget.”
On having Rolen, Pujols and Edmonds all season:
“It’s a lot of fun. You win a game by stopping them and putting some points up there. I just think it’s really a team effort. The first three months, Scott, drove in the big run. Then, to start off Albert, for him, was a little sluggish and went crazy and then Jim for the last four months…. So, you take a big section of that season and all three of them were working. They became very important to set the table. And that is the thing we did really well with Tony and at one time with Edgar second, then Larry came in. I like what Albert said yesterday when he was asked about the MVP. It’s a team MVP, so I hesitate to brag on those three guys’ offense. Where our strength is that we have eight guys who take really good at-bats and in this park, we will have nine.”
On whether there are similarities between the Red Sox and Cardinals:
“I look at the lineups of all four teams that got into the finals. There were four outstanding lineups. And there were days when the pitching wasn’t sharp, runs got on the board. And when the pitching was sharp, as it always does in this game, they got those outstanding lineups out. I think it will be the same with whoever wins four here first. You pitch good; you get outs. You miss; there is a lot of damage in both lineups.”
On who benefits and who is hurt by the DH in the Series:
“I was trying to hope we were the underdogs, so I hate to answer that honestly. I think the American League. It is a lot easier for us to add a hitter. And you get in our park, the pitcher is involved with the game and that is not easy for him. Some guys make it work like it is no problem, but it’s not easy. They’ve got to run the bases and usually the American League lineup has a DH guy that may have a tough time playing a position. There’s a couple of edges that you lose. But, they can overcome the edge. It’s not a big thing, but it is something.”
On the rotation and DH:
“Woody tomorrow then TBD, TBA because with the win yesterday and the celebration and getting packed, the architect of our pitching hasn’t told me how we are going to pitch. We played around with it a little bit and we still have some decisions to make. We’ll have to let everybody know soon, including the pitchers. And started messing around on the plane with lineups. I don’t know for sure who the DH is going to be yet. I have a suspicion, but I might use a right-handed hitter. You can figure out which one of the right-handers might get in there. But, that’s not for sure.”
On whether he feels like a party pooper for trying to stop the Sox from breaking the curse:
“No, because I come from St. Louis. Talk about pooping a party, man. We haven’t been here in 17 years and there’s been a lot of doggie bags that have been… We lost the championship series three times. No, it’s time for both fans to be selfish and both teams to be selfish. They want to win for all their reasons. But, we have a clubhouse full of guys that have never had a World Series ring. We’re going to try to be greedy and selfish, just like they are.”
On how defense might play in the Series:
“If you play long enough, I think that the beauty of the game is that you’ll win a bunch of games if you do as much possible. If you defend all over the field, you are going to win some extra games. You know, we run the bases better than any club I have ever had. That’s won us some extra games. Will it make a difference in this series? It depends on how they defend and how they run the bases and whether you get on base to run them. And then, there’s the offense. So, I just think that… I saw quite a few of the Red Sox games, so I know they’re playing sound defense. We play good defense. Sometimes great defense. So, whoever wins; that had better be a part of it, because you’re not going to outscore people.”
On Woody as Game One starter all three series:
“Well, we didn’t time it out for the World Series. It works out that he has five days. He is the perfect one for it. The thing about he other one is we had a choice. He is very competitive. He goes out there with good stuff and without good stuff and he’s going to find a way to keep in the game. He pitched here last year and did a good job. He can make pitches to rights and lefts. He’s got good experience – good competitive experience. The only problem is that he is not going to swing the bat. That is that right hand DH I was talking about. I might just let Woody hit.”
On whether there will be a new name in the rotation:
“No, it will be the same four guys. It’s a little bit tricky. I was so concerned with beating the Astros, that I didn’t really start messing around with it until early this morning. It’s a little bit tricky. That’s why it’s not easy to announce it.”
On Fenway’s challenges:
“It’s a neat environment. Fans are very close to the ballpark, the ballfield, the players. You feel their presence. A lot of passion. A lot of knowledge about the game. It’s different than some places where they are far away from you and they’re not as interested and don’t know as much. But, mostly Fenway is about the team you are playing against. You go to Camden Yards or name any of these ballparks and are really fun and special. It has to do with the club you’re playing against and how they play against you. So, out problem is not Fenway, it is the Red Sox.”
On whether there is an advantage in winning two of three in interleague play last season:
“I think it’s a little something. It’s two out of three in their ballpark. You could give me a number of clubs that didn’t play here in the last couple of years. A bunch of guys that were on the Red Sox then are on the Red Sox now. It especially helps because is wasn’t until late last night that we were in this thing and we’re playing tomorrow. We like to try to get ready for clubs. For this club it is going to be a real crash, hurry up thing. It helps a little bit that we have done it recently.”
On concern for an emotional letdown and Izzy’s development:
“There was a great LCS and we have so much respect for the Astros. The series was a terrific win. We celebrated. But I could tell even by their comments yesterday that especially this morning seeing them getting on the bus and the plane. They know what is at stake here. You’re not going to see a letdown. We’re going to be ready. On Izzy, any job you have, you learn by experience. He’s now been the closer for several years. He’s learning more about how to warm up, learning more about situations. Like Dunc always does, he’s added a couple of things. There were a couple of things he could do before to get you out. And now he has thee or four. In fact, he is working on five. I think he’s gotten better and better and hopefully, he’s going to get a lot of chances.”
On whether the experience with Carlos Beltran will help with David Ortiz and Manny Ramirez:
“Yeah because of the way the games were spaced, I got the opportunity to see a lot of the Yankees – Red Sox series. I saw a lot of Ortiz’ heroics against the Anaheim club. For two yours now, he’s been very clutch for them. He was big damage for us in the interleague series. You take your hat off because he’s such a tough out. It looks like guys rally around him. Beltran. Ooh. It was almost good to watch, but if you’re in the other dugout, it was very painful. We couldn’t shut them down. The mistake we’re not going to make is to concentrate on Ortiz and Ramirez and forget the other seven guys. One of Boston’s strengths is exactly what we do. We send eight or nine guys out there and any one of them can beat you. You’ve got to respect every one of them.”
On whether to bunt to test Schilling’s ankle:
“I watched quite a bit of his last performance and the thing he has to do is throw the ball well and his ankle is good enough to do that. Sometimes you pitch a guy that’s got a little hamstring problem. Terry is very sharp. He’ll play the third baseman in a little bit, play the first baseman in a little bit and take the bunt away. We’re just going to play the game. If somebody backs up, I don’t care if you have the best fielder on the mound. We try to bunt on them. If they take the bunt away, you swing. If the sacrifice is there, we sacrifice, but we’re not going to try to run Schilling around because we’ll just run ourselves into outs.”
On his emotions to be back in the World Series:
“I’m not the best at describing what you feel. It’s just like each of these guys coming in for the first time. They’re going to be very excited and it’s going to go very fast. And when they get back in, they will appreciate even more because they’ll have a better idea. So, I’ve been here before and I know it’s the best sports setting there is. It goes on for seven games – maybe. Lifetime opportunity to win a ring. Everything culminates in what you start talking about in spring training. There is so much involved in the team that survives during the season. And then, you survive two playoffs. You’ve got everything on the line and everybody’s watching. It’s the best of everything. And I just think that the fact that you’ve been here before, you just realize to enjoy the moment and do the best you can and no regrets. I think that is the only advantage from getting here before. Just like when you pop champagne, you know? You look forward to the next one. You know how great it is. Well, our guys that are in there for the first time, they’ll enjoy themselves. I think they’ll get motivated to do it again.”
