We have quotes from the TBS crew for Game 2 of the National League Championship Series. It’s quite long, but always good to have.
Notes from the MLB Postseason on TBS – Fri., Oct. 16, 2009
TBS’s exclusive coverage of the National League Championship Series (NLCS) continues on Sunday, Oct. 18 beginning at 7:30 p.m. (ET) with TBS MLB on Deck followed by Game #3 of the Los Angeles Dodgers @ Philadelphia Phillies at 8 p.m. (ET)
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TBS MLB on Deck
Ernie Johnson, Dennis Eckersley, Cal Ripken and David Wells
Wells on what the Phillies are hoping to get from starting pitcher Pedro Martinez in Game #2: “(The Phillies are hoping for) about nine innings. I think (Charlie Manuel) is just crossing his fingers because Pedro was a dominating guy (earlier in his career) but he has been off for a couple of weeks. He’s got his work cut out for him. I think they should’ve gone with (Joe) Blanton, but (Pedro) has to go out there and do his best. The Dodgers will be patient because he will be around the plate.”
Ripken on players being intimidated facing Pedro Martinez: “Pedro has legend status. When I faced Steve Carlton, Tom Seaver or Nolan Ryan, you have a tendency to put them on a pedestal and you might waste one or two at bats. (Dodgers hitting coach Don) Mattingly wants them to understand this isn’t the Pedro that threw 97 miles-per-hour, lets bring him back down to Earth and not waste those first two at-bats.”
Eckersley on if Dodgers Game #2 starting pitcher Vincente Padilla’s hot streak is about to end: “How long is that going to last? This is branch-work for me and it’s a matter of time before he falls out of that tree. This is a big game for this guy. This might be the game where he takes gas.”
TBS continued its “The Pride of October” series for MLB on TBS. “Mr. October” Hall of Famer Reggie Jackson interviewed Hall of Famer Yogi Berra.
Berra on how he got the nickname “Yogi”: “You know who gave me the name; ‘Yogi’? Bobby Hoffman. We played on the same American Legion team. We didn’t have benches to sit on so we sat on the ground. I had my arms folded and my legs crossed and he said, ‘you look like a yogi’ and it stayed that way. My wife calls me Yogi now. If she calls me Lawrence, I know she’s mad at me.”
Berra on catching Don Larsen’s perfect game during the 1956 World Series: “That was a happy day. Every (sign) I put down, he got it over. He had good stuff that day. Don had a pretty good fastball too and he could throw hard. He just had amazing control.”
Berra on his most famous quotes over the years: “I don’t even know I say them.”
It ain’t over ‘til it’s over: “When I managed the Mets we had to play the team we had beat the last month of the season and I said, ‘it ain’t over ‘til it’s over.’”
It’s déjà vu all over again: “When Mickey Mantle and Roger Maris were going for the homerun tile in ‘61, they had back-to-back homeruns and, ‘well, it’s déjà vu all over again.’”
When you see a fork in the road, take it: “I live on a street called Highland Avenue and I go up Edgemont. There is a fork there, but either one you take you go on Highland Avenue, so it doesn’t matter.”
Wells on how he would react to a hitter gloating after hitting a homerun off of him: “They are wearing one in their ear flap. I’ll warn them one time, but if they do it again they are going to wear one. Run the bases don’t sit there and show me up. I’ve never been a guy who if I strike you out or get you out on a big play, I don’t sit there and gloat and check it out and get all happy about it, I walk to the dugout.”
Eckersley: “To me it depends on how important it is. If you give up a homerun in the ninth inning and it’s a game winner, you can do anything you want. You’re glad, I’m sad. If you got bridge in the first inning and you start styling on it, it’s a different story.”
Wells: “Ear flap. Wear one, buddy.”
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NLCS Game #2: Philadelphia Phillies (1) @ Los Angeles Dodgers (2) – The series is tied (1-1)
Announcers: Chip Caray, Ron Darling and Buck Martinez with Craig Sager reporting
Darling on Phillies pitcher Pedro Martinez: “The sheer velocity (Pedro Martinez) had in those days (early nineties), (he was) an untapped talent. They always said he was one of those pitchers that they didn’t know if he would last because in those days if you were not a tall right-handed pitcher you were put in the pen because they thought you would not be able to take the strains and rigors of a 36-start season.”
Martinez: “If you were playing the amateur ball the size of Pedro Martinez, Tim Hudson or Greg Maddux you probably wouldn’t get drafted.”
Martinez on what managers should advise hitters during the postseason: “As a manager, the important thing you want to do in the postseason is to remind the players that this isn’t anything special. You can’t do different things in the postseason and go away from what worked for you during 600 at-bats during the regular season. Just try to repeat what you did all season long.”
TBS’s Caray, Martinez and Darling interviewed Dodgers managers Joe Torre during the game.
Torre on Dodgers pitcher Vicente Padilla: “(Padilla) looks really comfortable out there, moving the ball around in and out which is the most important thing for him. A few balls hit in the air, but I still think he seems pretty set on what he’s doing.”
Torre on having his pitcher try to match or outlast Phillies pitcher Pedro Martinez: “I think it’s important to have your pitcher match (Pedro Martinez). Keep the game close, make him work hard, make him throw a lot of pitches, get him out and hopefully beat the bullpen.”
Torre on the pressure of playing at home: “The fact that we’re home, I always felt that there was more pressure on the home team because you’re supposed to win. Losing last night’s ballgame was frustrating. Having the quick turnaround today, these guys are ready to play, hopefully we can continue maintaining our patience and the second time around with Pedro (Martinez) we can have some better whacks.”
Martinez on the experience of Phillies pitcher Pedro Martinez allowing him to identify adjustments he needs to make: “It’s amazing. When you have the experience of Pedro (Martinez) he can make adjustments on the mound. You don’t need a pitching coach to come out or a catcher to say, ‘hey, Pedro, you need to do this.’ He can tell by the feel of his release.”
Martinez on Phillies manager Charlie Manuel putting thought into his decision to start Pedro Martinez: “A lot of people think that managers just sit around and flip a coin about how they are going to make decisions. But you think about the (J.A.) Happ situation, a left-hander, added innings in the bullpen, (Joe) Blanton who can pitch late…you just knew that (Martinez) was going to be ready for this start.”
Darling on Dodgers hitter Manny Ramirez trying to adjust to Phillies pitcher Pedro Martinez: “That back and forth that (Manny) Ramirez is doing in that batter’s box has got to feel like teetering on a boat in stormy waters.”
Martinez on the Los Angeles Dodgers staging a comeback against the Phillies: “(The Dodgers) have got a lot of confidence. Joe Torre’s club’s mindset is to play 27 outs and it’s paid them huge dividends this year.”
TBS’s Craig Sager interviewed Dodgers outfielder Andre Ethier and catcher Russell Martin.
Ethier on how he resisted swinging at ball four which led to the Dodgers scoring the winning run: “I knew (J.A. Happ) wanted to challenge me, but didn’t want to give me too good a pitch to hit. So I just stayed calm, stayed composed, looked for my pitch, it wasn’t there and ball four right there.”
Ethier on how this come from behind win compares to the many the Dodgers had in the regular season: “This is bigger than all of them, this is for our livelihood. We’re playing to keep going on in this playoff here and it’s one game closer to reaching our goal, which is to get to the World Series.”
Martin on batting against Phillies starter Pedro Martinez: “(Martinez) wasn’t really making any mistakes. He was mixing his pitches well, just keeping us off balance, he had good stuff today. He was a tough at-bat out there.”
Martin on the Dodgers coming from behind to win Game #2 against the Phillies: “We’ve been fortunate to come from behind more than a few times this year. It just seems like we’ve got that home magic right now. Every time we’re out there we feel like we’ve got a chance to win, especially when Andre (Ethier) is out there, he’s been coming through for us all year.”
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Inside MLB
Johnson, Ripken, Eckersley and Wells
Wells on Phillies pitcher Pedro Martinez keeping the Dodgers hitters off-balance: “Just look how much (Martinez) has these guys on their front foot. Nobody got comfortable, they couldn’t get their foot down. Pedro attacked the strike zone like no other with his off-speed stuff and he was just brilliant.”
Wells on Phillies pitcher J.A. Happ, normally a starter, coming in for relief during the eighth inning: “It’s tough being a starting pitcher (and going in during the game). You feel so comfortable in the beginning of the game, you got out there and you’ve got your repertoire going. When you’ve got to come in to a game late it’s just not the same feeling as at the start. You might feel a little uncomfortable, but you still have to go out there and strike one and try to make your pitches after that. I feel for the kid, but he made some good pitches, they were down, but I just don’t think had it really going out there.”
Eckersley on the Phillies bullpen appearing chaotic because they don’t have their pitchers slotted for certain situations: “For a team to be in the playoffs and not know who is going to be your guy in the eighth inning… (Chan Ho) Park threw good last night, let’s bring him back, he’s our new set-up guy. This bullpen just seems chaotic.”
Ripken on Phillies manager Charles Manuel managing the bullpen “Charlie’s moves have been the right ones, he’s been manipulating and it has worked, but today it didn’t work.”
Ripken on Phillies pitcher Pedro Martinez being a legend in his opinion: “We talk about (Martinez’s) legendary status and maybe that would carry him through a few at-bats. He proved to me that he is a legend. Two weeks without pitching at all and then coming in and commanding his breaking ball and his change-up that way to set up his fastball. That was amazing.”
Wells regretting doubting the pitching abilities of Phillies pitcher Pedro Martinez: “Nobody feels worse than me because I said that Pedro (Martinez) wouldn’t make it through four (innings). So, Pedro, I am sorry. I blew this call big time. I know what it’s like not pitching for a month and then going out there. I’ll never doubt him again. He’s a veteran guy and he knows what it’s like to go out there. So I’ll shine your shoes, I’ll do whatever I’ve got to do, but man you were absolutely brilliant.”
Eckersley on the difference between pitching for three outs versus pitching for four outs: “It’s not that it’s that big a deal, how much of a load is that to get another out? It’s what you’re not used to. I pitched games in the eighth inning where I got the last out and you’re all fired up. I went back to the dugout and then when I came out I wasn’t the same guy (in the ninth inning). You’re not used to flipping it twice, you’re used to all the adrenaline at one time – boom, boom, boom, the inning is over, but guess what, you’ve got to get it up again. That’s the biggest difference. It’s not like it’s a physical difference. I mean how strong do you have to be to go two innings? It’s not being used to having to gear it all up for the eighth and ninth innings and that’s where I had trouble.”
I’ll have an NFL preview of Week 6 from the networks coming up later.
