We have the quotes from TBS from a very eventful Game 1 of the American League Championship Series. Check it out.
Notes from MLB Postseason on TBS – October 15, 2010TBS’ exclusive coverage of the ALCS continues on Sat., October 16 beginning at 3:30 p.m. (ET) with TBS MLB on Deck followed by the New York Yankees @ Texas Rangers (Game #2) at 4 p.m. (ET). Coverage will conclude with the post-game show Inside MLB.
CLIP OF THE DAY
***** ***** ***** ***** *****TBS MLB On-DeckMatt Winer (host), Dennis Eckersley, Cal Ripken and David Wells (analysts)Texas Rangers manager Ron Washington on the support he received from the Rangers earlier following his positive drug test: “Nolan Ryan, Jon Daniels and the entire organization, they didn’t judge me. All they did was support me and I could never thank them (enough) for that and I could never thank my players (enough) for the support they gave me.”Rangers second baseman Ian Kinsler on how Ron Washington handled his positive drug test with the team: “The way that (Washington) handled it was very important. He came out right away and he told us all about what he did, why it happened and his regrets. We were able to back him pretty easily.”Rangers outfielder Josh Hamilton on Ron Washington’s character: “You know what he stands for and what he’s about when you meet him and when you talk to him. For him to own up to his mistake, his moment of weakness, like he did says a lot about his character.”Hamilton on his teammates dousing him with ginger ale following their ALDS Game #5 win over the Tampa Bay Rays: “It was exciting for me to realize how much my teammates appreciate me being a part of this. How much it says about them, their character and them personally. For them to understand the sensitivity of my situation(being a recovering addict) and knowing that I don’t want to put a bad message out there for other people that struggle with what I struggle with. For them to take those first ten minutes and douse me with ginger ale, it really meant a lot. It made me really feel like part of the team.”Eckersley on the Rangers celebrating with ginger ale for Josh Hamilton: “(Hamilton is) such a high-profile player and everyone has known about (his recovery) for about three years now. I think people understand addiction more now than 20-25 years ago. I’ve been recovering (myself) for that period of time so I was sensitive (when I was playing) at the time when we were celebrating. I think this is great (with Hamilton). For them to do that as a team, that was special. He could be the MVP of the American League. If you can’t do it for him, you can’t do it for anybody.”Wells on the Game #3 pitching match-up between the Rangers’ Cliff Lee and the Yankees’ Andy Pettitte: “(The Yankees) have some guys that can hit Cliff Lee. So if he goes into (Game #3) thinking he’s going to slide, (the Yankees) are a different team in the Postseason. I like the flip-side of that, you’ve got Andy Pettitte (starting for the Yankees in Game #3), who’s the best pitcher in Postseason history. (Lee) isn’t going to lose (Game #3), I promise you, he won’t lose it but he’s not going to win it. He’s going to come out of it smelling like a rose with a no-decision. I think Andy Pettitte has the upper hand.”Eckersley on Yankees relief pitcher Boone Logan: “The thing with Boone Logan is that he’s got gas and he throws pretty hard for a left-hander. He’s kind of got a flat breaking ball and he has to be careful that he keeps it on the outside part of the plate. There’s a lot of pressure on this guy. They think its no big deal to come in and facing one left-hander. Meanwhile…don’t walk him. It messes everything up if you walk him.”Winer on Rangers president Nolan Ryan throwing out the ceremonial first pitch: “Not many Major League teams can send out the owner to throw the first pitch and expect him to hit 90 (mph) on the gun.”***** ***** ***** ***** *****Game 1: New York Yankees (6) @ Texas Rangers (5) – Yankees lead ALCS 1-0Announcers: Ernie Johnson (play-by-play), Ron Darling (analyst) and John Smoltz (analyst) with Craig Sager reportingSmoltz on the importance of starting pitchers throwing their finesse pitches well in the Postseason: “One of the keys to pitching in the Postseason is ‘can you calm your nerves?’ Can you throw all of your finesse pitches with the consistency that you need? You know your fastball is going to be there because your adrenaline will take you there.Darling on Rangers second baseman Ian Kinsler: “He can spin on his left heel and really handles the ball from the middle of the plate-in as well as anyone in the American League.”Darling on the Yankees using their Postseason experience to their advantage: “There are a hundred different problems when you’re facing the Yankees. One of them is that they have so much experience in the Postseason that they’ve been in every single scenario. They’ve been up three (runs) trying to hold on and they’ve been behind five (runs) trying to come back. There’s no panic with this Yankees team.”Smoltz on Rangers reliever-turned-starter C.J. Wilson: “Out of the bullpen, he would say, ‘here is my fastball, see if you can hit it.’ Now he throws any pitch in any count. Now he’s become a transformation from a hard throwing closer to an all-around really good starting pitcher.”Smoltz on CC Sabathia: “You might beat CC Sabathia on certain days but you’re not going to wear him down. He just gets better and better”Washington on Game #1 starter C.J. Wilson: “I always say that C.J. has tremendous stuff and sometimes he can’t control it but lately he’s been pounding the strike zone. He’s keeping the ball down and keeping them off-balance. To keep a lineup like (the Yankees) down, you really have to give credit to CJ.”Darling on Rangers team president Nolan Ryan’s influence on the Rangers pitching staff: “It really starts from the top with the (Rangers team) president Nolan Ryan has passed down to (pitching coach) Mike Maddux what he wants his pitchers to do. He wants them to go deeper into games and they have been doing that since Nolan has been here.”Smoltz on Rangers starting pitcher C.J. Wilson being comfortable in Game #1: “(Wilson) seems comfortable. He doesn’t rush anything. It feels like, ‘this is where I want to be’ waiting for the hitter to step in and then doing his job.”Darling on the depth of the Yankees: “(The Yankees) have so much depth in their lineup that when they get deep into (the bench) late in games, they just seem to outscore the (opposing) team every time.”Darling on the Rangers’ Ian Kinsler getting picked off of first base in the eighth inning down a run: “You just can’t let those little mistakes happen at this time in the season. You appreciate the aggressiveness but you can’t get picked off, especially with the Yankees inability to throw out base runners. You don’t have to get the greatest jump (to steal a base).”TBS reporter Craig Sager interviewed Yankees outfielder Brett Gardner following the gameGardner on the Yankees comeback in Game #1: “It was an uncharacteristic start of (Sabathia) and that happens. We’ve got guys in the bullpen that can come in and shut the door. They kept them held down and we were able to come back and get five big runs in the eighth inning. Obviously, whenever you’re leading coming into the ninth inning with Mariano (Rivera) on the mound, you feel pretty good.”***** ***** ***** ***** *****Inside MLBWiner, Eckersley, Ripken and Wells
Eckersley on New York Yankees closer Mariano Rivera: “What does he do to a left handed batter? Eats them alive.”Eckersley on Texas Rangers Ian Kinsler getting picked off in the eight inning: “This was a huge play. You can’t get picked off. You cannot let it happen at this point in the ballgame. You never know what is going to happen. There is no one out on that 2-1 pitch so you think they are going to make a rally. It could have been a completely different ballgame if that didn’t happen.”Wells on Yankees relief pitcher Dustin Moseley coming in to throw two scoreless innings: “Who would’ve thought thiis guy is coming into a pressure situation. He just went out and had some fun. The movement that kid had on the ball had these guys baffled. That is what (the Yankees) needed. That was the key reliever for the New York Yankees tonight. He kept them in the ballgame and that is what you have to do.”Ripken on Yankees second baseman Robinson Cano’s approach at the plate against left-handed pitchers: “Most hitters stand a little bit closer to the plate and they have a little bit of an open stance and they just kinda spin. In the old days you had guys like Larry Parish and some other guys that dove into the plate. I dove into the plate. Robinson Cano has an open stance but he has his front side real closed, covering the outside corner and keep his bat in the strike zone a long time which is really critical to hitting left handers. He hits them as good as anybody in the league from the left side.”Eckersley on Yankees closer Mariano Rivera: “When pitches have to be made, Mariano Rivera makes pitches. This guy is 40-years-old and he is doing it and everybody is waiting for it to happen but he made this one a little interesting. It makes me nervous, even watching the great Mariano Rivera, but he gets it done.”Craig Sager interviews Texas Rangers second baseman Ian Kinsler following the gameKinsler on the Rangers losing Game # 1 despite having a lead late: “It is tough. We played well up into that point. That is what they do, they come back on teams. They are good on offensive just like we are. You just have to keep getting outs. They did a good job in the eighth and we lost the game so tomorrow is a new day.”Ripken on Kinsler trying to make something happen offensively for the Rangers: “I read a little into that. He was trying to steal bases to make something happen. It is almost like the freedom they have, that (Rangers manager Ron) Washington gives them. That’s they way they play that is the freedom they enjoyed against Tampa Bay. They were going to make something happen, it just backfired this time. It worked in Tampa during Game #5 but it didn’t work tonight when they tried to make something happen. The Yankees executed and that is what they talk about how they can execute and stop the running game.”Wells on Ranger pitcher C.J. Wilson handling the Yankees lineup: “(Wilson) went out there and man-handled this Yankees line-up like they were little leaguers. I mean literally. This guy did his job. You had guys out there to bring it on but this kid did his job.”Wells on Philadelphia Phillies closer Brad Lidge: “(Phillies manager) Charlie Manuel believes in this guy. Yes he will give you goose bumps and scare the crap out of you. This guy throws sliders, sliders, sliders. He is going to really make you hit his pitch. His plan is I’m going to try to get ahead of the count and make you hit my slider. Even last year when he was up and down the whole year and he couldn’t get the job done.”Ripken on Brad Lidge: “I think one of the biggest problems is that he was perfect one year. So how do you come back from that? He has some injuries and didn’t have his good slider. He’s got his good slider again. I don’t project him to go two innings or five or six outs, it is probably three outs or that ninth inning that he owns but he’s got to have a bridge to get there.”Eckersley on Giants closer Brian Wilson having presence on the mound: “You talk about presence; this is what this guy brings to the mound. He has two buttons missing at the top. He is going to come out of his shoes; he is going to throw 98. This guy can paint and he has a cutter that he loves to use against left handed hitters and to get them off his fast ball. Presence is such a big deal when you are a closer. When this guy comes to the mound, you think it is over because he has gas and presence.”
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