With four games yesterday, there was plenty of notes and quotes from the TBS crews in Arlington, Milwaukee, New York and Philadelphia. TBS has separated the quotes by National and American League Division Series. We’ll go chronological in the press releases as the NLDS finished before the ALDS.
Lots of quotage so get ready to scroll for a while.
Notes from MLB Postseason on TBS / NLDS – October 1, 2011
The MLB Postseason continues on Sun., October 2 beginning at 2:30 p.m. ET on TNT with MLB on Deck followed the Detroit Tigers @ New York Yankees (Game #2 – 3 p.m. ET). The Arizona Diamondbacks @ Milwaukee Brewers (Game #2 – 5 p.m. ET) on TBS followed by the St. Louis Cardinals @ Philadelphia Phillies (Game #2 – 8:30 p.m. ET). The night will conclude on TBS with the post-game show Inside MLB.
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TBS MLB on Deck
Matt Winer (host) and Dennis Eckersley, Cal Ripken and David Wells (analysts)
TBS reporter Sam Ryan interview with Milwaukee Brewers’ second baseman Rickie Weeks prior to the game:
Weeks on his ankle injury: “The guys here (Milwaukee teammates) have been great. I have been trying to get strong and healthy and back in the game to help this team win. I feel pretty good right now.”
Eckersley on Diamondbacks starting pitcher Ian Kennedy on why the huge leap in production: “It’s his change-up… everybody knows about his change-up. Beyond that, he commands his fastball. He strikes guys out… almost 200 strikeouts this year. This is the biggest reason why the Arizona Diamondbacks are there is because of this kid. The Yankees had him, let him go and look what happened….”
Wells on Milwaukee Brewers starting pitcher Yovani Gallardo: “He’s got a great change-up, as well. He’s going to get you out when he needs to. Overall, this is why these guys are there; not only for their power-hitting but their pitching, as well.”
Ripken on watching Brewers starting pitcher Yovani Gallardo pitch: “He’s a power guy. The thing about him when I watch him pitch, he looks just like Dennis Martinez (former Ripken teammate and Baltimore Orioles pitcher)…and Eck too!”
Eckersley on St. Louis Cardinals starting pitcher Kyle Lohse: “This guy has been a forgotten guy over the past few years. But this year he has done a nice job in the second half (of the season) and especially down the stretch. That’s why the Cardinals are here… because of this guy; he knows how to pitch.”
Ripken on the Cardinals and Phillies match-up: “When you look at the series, you think this is a classic match-up – the No. 1 offense playing the No. 1 pitching staff. Normally, pitching staffs beat offenses but we will see how it plays out.”
Eckersley on Detroit Tigers starting pitcher Doug Fister: “He gets traded to Detroit and takes them right where they want to be. He’s not a power pitcher at all. He has a sinker. He’s got a breaking ball. He changes speed and I mean this guy has been lights out. He’s got guts and he is not afraid to pitch in.”
Wells on New York Yankees starting pitcher Ivan Nova: “This guy is tall, lanky and he has easy ‘cheese’ mechanics almost like a Mo (Mariano) Rivera type. It’s just easy with him. He’s got a great big curveball that I like.”
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Arizona Diamondbacks (1) @ Milwaukee Brewers (4) – Brewers lead the series 1-0
Announcers: Victor Rojas (play-by-play) and Joe Simpson (analyst) with Sam Ryan reporting
Simpson on the Diamondbacks run to the postseason: “They (Brewers and Diamondbacks) both prove that there are different ways to get to the postseason. Nobody picked the Arizona Diamondbacks to win the West this year. They went from worst to first this year and they are a very scrappy bunch.”
Simpson on the Brewers: “They (Milwaukee Brewers) went all in in the beginning of the year with some acquisitions (Zack) Greinke and (Shaun) Marcum for the rotation and set a franchise record for wins. Their MVP candidates (Ryan Braun and Prince Fielder) in the middle of the order are the ones that they are going to rely on in this series.”
Rojas on Brewers’ first baseman Prince Fielder and his hitting abilities: “When this MVP candidate gets up to bat, you cannot allow him to extend his arms. He has tremendous power. If he gets his arms extended watch out.”
Rojas talking about the National League MVP race: “It’s been a terrific season, huge. You aren’t going to go wrong with MVP candidates Milwaukee Brewers (Ryan) Braun, Milwaukee Brewers (Prince) Fielder or L.A. Dodgers (Matt) Kemp.”
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St. Louis Cardinals (6) @ Philadelphia Phillies (11) – Phillies lead the series 1-0
Announcers: Dick Stockton (play-by-play) and Bob Brenly (analyst) with Craig Sager reporting
Brenly on Cardinals catcher Yadier Molina: “He’s one of the better situational hitters in the league. If you give him a hole on the right side of the infield, he’ll try to shoot to the opposite field. He’s very aware of where the holes are defensively.”
Brenly on Phillies second baseman Chase Utley: “He’s had an off-season by Chase Utley standards but he is still a really dangerous clutch hitter.”
Brenly on how Phillies outfielder Hunter Pence’s high energy affects the team: “Hunter Pence is a maximum energy, high energy guy. It’s the only way he knows how to play this game. The Phillies are such a professional, cool group of players, and that injection of energy into the middle of that lineup, has really invigorated that entire ballclub.”
Brenly on how the Phillies are built to win the World Series: “Given the way this Phillies team is assembled, the strong starting pitching, the veteran presence all over the diamond, I don’t think they will settle for anything less than a World Series this year. This team is built to win a World Series. Some of their players are on the downside of their career and this might be their last run at it. Just a Postseason appearance is not enough for (manager) Charlie Manuel and the Phillies.”
Brenly, a former catcher, on Cardinals’ backup catcher Gerald Laird entering the game as a pinch-runner for Albert Pujols in the ninth inning: “This has got to be the highlight of Gerald Laird’s career…coming into the game as a pinch-runner in the Postseason. Granted, his team is down by eight runs at this point but what a thrill for a backup catcher.”
TBS reporter Craig Sager interviewed Ryan Howard following the game:
Howard on his sixth inning home run off of Kyle Lohse: “In that situation, I knew (Lohse) wasn’t going to come with a fastball so I just sat on the change-up. He just kind of left one hangin’ for me.”
Howard on the Cardinals getting to Phillies starting pitcher Roy Halladay early in the game: “They got out on him early and sometimes that happens. It’s one of those things that if it’s going to happen, you want it to happen early and we can continue to get ourselves back in the game. Roy just beared down a little bit more, he made his pitches and was Roy Halladay.”
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Game Break
Matt Winer (host) and Dennis Eckersley, Cal Ripken and David Wells (analysts)
Ripken on the Phillies offense: “They have an explosive offense. They haven’t performed recently due to injuries but they have an explosive offense. They are every bit as capable as St. Louis’ (offense).”
And after that long set of quotage, we have the ALDS after the jump break.
Here’s the American League Division Series quotage.
Notes from MLB Postseason on TBS / ALDS – October 1, 2011
Sunday’s Games:The MLB Postseason continues on Sun., October 2 beginning at 2:30 p.m. ET on TNT with MLB on Deck followed the Detroit Tigers @ New York Yankees (Game #2 – 3 p.m. ET). The Arizona Diamondbacks @ Milwaukee Brewers (Game #2 – 5 p.m. ET) on TBS followed by the St. Louis Cardinals @ Philadelphia Phillies (Game #2 – 8:30 p.m. ET). The night will conclude on TBS with the post-game show Inside MLB.
Monday’s Games: The MLB Postseason continues on TBS on Mon., October 3 beginning at 4:30 p.m. ET with TBS MLB on Deck followed the Texas Rangers @ Tampa Bay Rays, Game #3 (5:00 p.m. ET) and the New York Yankees @ Detroit Tigers, Game #3 (8:30 p.m. ET). The night will conclude with the post-game show Inside MLB.***** ***** ***** ***** *****
Tampa Bay Rays (6) @ Texas Rangers (8) – The series is tied 1-1
Announcers: Don Orsillo (play-by-play) and Buck Martinez (analyst) with Jaime Maggio reportingBuck Martinez on Postseason game nerves: “Adrenaline will take care of the pitch count in this series.”
Don Orsillo on Texas Rangers’ designated hitter Michael Young’s career: “Michael Young has played in 1,667 regular season games, which is the most regular-season games played by any player in Rangers’ history.”
Don Orsillo on the Texas Rangers’ pitching evolution: “The Rangers are a better club coming into this postseason. There were years where the Rangers had terrific offenses but no pitching. They gave up a lot of runs, scored a lot of runs but wouldn’t get very deep in the postseason or even make it at all. Now it’s a much different organization from a pitching standpoint and you have to believe that it started with the theories of Nolan Ryan.”
Buck Martinez on Tampa Bay Rays’ third baseman Evan Longoria: “He’s the first guy you talk about in your pitching meetings.”
Buck Martinez on the Texas Rangers’ pitcher Koji Uehara’s pitching style: “He is very effective; he throws a lot of strikes. He doesn’t throw very hard, barely throws it over 90 mph, but his rotation and command are outstanding.”
Reporter Jaime Maggio interviewed Texas Rangers’ first baseman Mitch Moreland after the game on the win:
“This win was big. We were able to break through and get a few across the plate and that set the pace of the game for us.”***** ***** ***** ***** *****
Detroit Tigers (3) @ New York Yankees (9) – Yankees lead the series 1-0
Announcers: Brian Anderson (play-by-play), Ron Darling and John Smoltz (analysts) with Tom Verducci reportingDarling on the catchers in the series: Yankees Russell Martin and Tigers’ Alex Avila: “They are both a little stocky, they don’t run very fast but they have great quickness behind the plate.”
Smoltz on Tigers’ starting pitcher Doug Fister: “(Fister) is a guy that doesn’t pay attention to much. He doesn’t look at scouting reports, he doesn’t watch video and he isn’t bothered by much. He just pitches his game. He’s a good athlete…he just gets after it.”
Darling on Tigers first baseman Miguel Cabrera: “You can’t say this about most players but (Cabrera) could hit from the second he got to the Major Leagues. Kind of like a hitting prodigy.”
Smoltz: “As hard as it is to pitch against him, it’s hard to defend him. He sprays the ball everywhere and he hits for power to all parts of the field.”
TBS’ Brian Anderson, Ron Darling & John Smoltz interviewed Yankees manager Joe Girardi after the fourth inning
Girardi on Tigers’ pitcher Doug Fister: “He’s got a very good sinker and he knows how to mix in his other pitches. The one thing that Doug Fister has is really good command.”Smoltz on the Yankees ability to take advantage of other teams’ weaknesses: “If you want to know why the Yankees had the best record in the American League…they can run and they can hit for power. They may not have a dominant pitching staff but they do all the little things. When they get a chance to really pour it on and make you pay, they are one of the best teams in baseball in what they do to hurt you when a (opposing) team opens up a crack and gives them a little room.”
Darling on Yankees second baseman Robinson Cano: “Robinson Cano can make the game look as easy as anyone in the game (can).”
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Inside MLB
Matt Winer (host) and Dennis Eckersley, Cal Ripken and David Wells (analysts)Cal Ripken on New York Yankees second baseman Robinson Cano’s batting power: “I don’t think it matters who you bring in to face Cano. He has power in all fields – left field, centerfield and off the second deck. He can just hit to all fields.”
David Wells on the vibe of Yankee Stadium: “There is so much magic in that stadium and good things happen to the Yankees. I don’t know, the Gods flew over from the other stadium and came right into this one. It never ceases to amaze anyone what these guys are capable of doing in that stadium.”
Cal Ripken on the Yankee hitters: “They call them professional hitters and all that means is they know how to hit and when to look for a good pitch. They wear the (opposing) pitchers out until something big happens.”
Dennis Eckersley on the Philadelphia Phillies batting power: “Goes to show you what Philly can do — they can swing the bat. And if they do this, it’s going to be an easy series for them.”
David Wells on the Milwaukee Braves pitcher Yovani Gallardo: “I love the way he throws the curveball. He can use it two different ways – he can get ahead of you in the count and then he can put you away with it.”
And finally, we are done with this post.
