This is the quotage from yesterday’s coverage of the League Division Series on TBS.
Notes from MLB Postseason on TBS – October 9, 2010 The MLB Postseason continues on TBS on Sun., October 10 beginning at 12:30 p.m. ET with TBS MLB on Deck followed by a tripleheader featuring the Texas Rangers @ Tampa Bay Rays (Game #4) at 1 p.m. ET, San Francisco Giants @ Atlanta Braves (Game #3) at 4:30 p.m. ET and Philadelphia Phillies @ Cincinnati Reds (Game #3) at 8 p.m. ET. The night will conclude with the post-game show Inside MLB.QUOTE OF THE DAY“If you’re an opposing pitcher, (the Yankees) lineup just wears you out. Eventually they are going to get to you. The sixth through ninth (batters) have really done a lot of damage. When you’re attacking this lineup, you think, ‘I got to get through the meat of the order. If I have to walk some of those guys to get to the bottom (of the lineup).’ It’s just a great lineup. I’ve got a theory that will never pass but if anyone pitches a shutout in this stadium against this lineup, if I’m a GM (general manager); I’m giving the guy a three year contract.”–– TBS MLB analyst John Smoltz on how good the Yankees lineup is***** ***** ***** ***** *****TBS MLB On-DeckMatt Winer (host), Dennis Eckersley, Cal Ripken and David Wells (analysts)Ripken on the two ALDS: “I can see how Tampa can win it but I’m still trying to figure out how Minnesota is going to beat the Yankees.”Eckersley: “(The Yankees) have their foot on (the Twins) neck. That’s how it is. This is when you want to put them away and not give them a breath.”Ripken on the Yankees’ approach at the plate: “(The Yankees) go up (to the plate) with a plan. They know what they want to hit and they simply do not swing at bad pitches. So if they don’t get that first pitch that they want, they work the count and consequently, they do run the pitch count up. They are very professional hitters and they are very wearing and taxing on pitchers, especially the young guys. After a while, they want to just throw one down the middle and say, ‘lets be done with it.’”Wells on how pitchers need to keep the hitters uncomfortable: “As a pitcher, trust your stuff. Don’t be afraid to pound (the batter) inside. You don’t want a guy feeling comfortable up there at the plate. Move their feet, move them off the plate and make your pitches. It’s as simple as that.”Eckersley on Yankees Game #3 starting pitcher Phil Hughes: “(Hughes) has been a star since he was 20-years-old coming up in the big leagues. (The Yankees) babied him all year long. He started off the season as the fifth starter but as (the season) went along, he ended up being the second (starter) in their five-man rotation. He has great gas, jumping gas and a little cutter. He’s got all the pitches and they’ve been waiting for him for a long time. Last year, they put him in the bullpen and he was lights out.”***** ***** ***** ***** *****Game 1: Tampa Bay Rays (6) @ Texas Rangers (3) – Rangers lead the series 2-1
Announcers: Don Orsillo (play-by-play) and Buck Martinez (analyst) with Marc Fein reportingMartinez on the Texas Rangers’ balanced attack on offense: “(Rangers manager) Ron Washington knows that they have a balanced attack. They still have guys that are dangerous and can knock it out of the park. But it’s taken Ron Washington a while to convince these guys that have been here in Texas that there’s more to it than hitting home runs. They can manufacture runs but they can still hit the ball out of the ballpark.”TBS’ Orsillo and Martinez interviewed Rangers manager Ron Washington during the gameWashington on the Rangers needing to mix up their pitches against the Rays lineup: “(Game 3 starting pitcher Colby Lewis has) been mixing his pitches pretty well and that’s what you have to do against (the Rays). If you stay in a set pattern they can certainly get you.”Martinez on the hitter’s frustration when facing a pitcher throwing strikes consistently: “I can’t tell you how difficult it is as a hitter to continually have the pitcher throw strike after strike after strike. It seems as though you’re always rushed in the batters box. It’s almost as if you want to say, ‘Hey, wait a minute. Let me get comfortable here.’ The Rangers pitchers haven’t allowed the Rays to get comfortable.”Martinez on why young hitters can have trouble pinch hitting: “It’s tough for a young hitter to have a lot of success as a pinch hitter. You sit back and watch the game for seven innings. Then you have to get up there and into the emotional aspect of the game. It’s tough for younger hitters to do that.”***** ***** ***** ***** *****Game 2: Minnesota Twins (1) @ New York Yankees (6) – Yankees win the series 3-0, Advance to ALCSAnnouncers: Ernie Johnson (play-by-play), Ron Darling and John Smoltz (analysts) with Craig Sager reportingGirardi on the Yankees’ three-man rotation: “We thought about how we’re playing Minnesota and they have a lot of left-handed hitters so we thought we would go to a three-man rotation and try to throw four lefties at them in five games. That’s what it comes down to. Phil Hughes is throwing the ball extremely well and there are tough decisions that you have to make. But because we only went with three starters, that’s why we picked the three (starters) that we did.”Darling on how Phil Hughes can be deceptive: “For a big guy, (Hughes) hides the baseball as well as you can hide it for a right-hander.”Darling on how young pitchers can get intimidated: “Young pitchers can get intimidated by a ballpark sometimes. Whether it’s the wind blowing out at Wrigley Field or the short porch (in right field at Yankee Stadium).”Darling on how the Yankees have dominated the Twins in the ALDS: “The Yankees have almost toyed with the Twins. It’s almost like Charlie Brown and Lucy…they keep taking the football away.”Smoltz on how the momentum of a series can change: “It’s definitely a loose team (Yankees) against a tight team (Twins) and that’s what happens in a short series when things don’t go your way. The momentum switches and people start talking about all the things you haven’t done. You need something to happen to spur that team on.”Smoltz on teams needing strong pitching to win in the Postseason: “There’s no switch you can just turn on. I hate the statement, ‘they’ll win when they have to’ or ‘they’ll turn it on when they need to.’ I hate that because it doesn’t exist. You need a dominating pitching performance. That’s the only way it turns around and if you don’t get it, you better be awfully good offensively.”Smoltz on how good the Yankees lineup is: “If you’re an opposing pitcher, (the Yankees) lineup just wears you out. Eventually they are going to get to you. The sixth through ninth (batters) have really done a lot of damage. When you’re attacking this lineup, you think, ‘I got to get through the meat of the order. If I have to walk some of those guys to get to the bottom (of the lineup).’ It’s just a great lineup. I’ve got a theory that will never pass but if anyone pitches a shutout in this stadium against this lineup, if I’m a GM (general manager), I’m giving the guy a three year contract.”Smoltz on the Twins rebounding next season: “The good news is unlike some teams in their situation, (the Twins) are going to be back next year. They are going to get better and look internally at ways that they can be better as they have done in the six of the last nine years that they have been in the playoffs.”Darling on the Twins not being sharp enough against the Yankees: “I honestly thought (the Twins) had enough to take on the Yankees but they came out flat.”Smoltz on the Twins continuing to struggle in the Postseason: “I don’t think you can avoid it because it gets played so much and you have to talk about it so much. The match-ups in baseball are always so interesting in a short series. It’s so different, you have to have so many different parts to be successful. Minnesota over the course of 162 (regular season games) has relied on their way. Their way has been good. But in the Postseason, it just hasn’t been good enough.”TBS reporter Craig Sager interviewed Yankees outfielder Marcus Thames following the gameThames on how it feels to advance to the ALCS: “It feels good. That’s three wins out of the way. We’re trying to get eleven (wins to win the World Series). I’m just happy I got a chance, that’s all I’ve ever asked for. I’m happy to help these guys out right now.”***** ***** ***** ***** *****Inside MLBWiner, Eckersley, Ripken and WellsRipken on Yankees second baseman Robinson Cano: “I don’t know what you throw Robinson Cano. He hits everything.”Ripken on Yankees starting pitcher and Game #3 winner Phil Hughes: “From a hitter’s perspective, look at those swing-and-misses, they aren’t above the strike zone when somebody rides the fastball up and you can’t quite catch up to it. They are right down the middle saying, ‘hit me.’ That’s how good his fastball is.”TBS’ Marc Fein interviewed Tampa Bay Rays first baseman Carlos Pena following the game
Pena on the Rays winning Game #3 to extend their ALDS: “I’m very proud of the performance of the ballclub today. We showed a lot of heart and (starting pitcher Matt) Garza did an outstanding job on the mound. Big hits by B.J. (Upton) and (John) Jaso. It was just a great all-around performance by our ballclub.”TBS’ Craig Sager interviewed Minnesota Twins manager Ron Gardenhire following the game
Gardenhire on if they would rather face someone other than the Yankees in the Postseason: “No, I think we want a piece of (the Yankees). I wish we could have another shot at them in the next series right now. That would be fine for us just to see what happens. They got us, you tip your cap to them. They went out and outplayed us through this series. They got the big hits when they had to. That’s what they do, they are professionals over there and a great bunch of baseball players. (Yankees manager) Joe Girardi and his staff are really good at getting their guys ready for this and they did a really nice job.”Eckersley on the Twins: “Minnesota has a great team, they really do. I don’t see them changing that much (in the off-season).”
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