MLB WORLD SERIES: RAYS VS BREWERS

October 25, 2026

Pat Murphy

Tropicana Field

Milwaukee Brewers

Workout Day Press Conference

Q. Are you ready for a good Mike Vassallo stat?

PAT MURPHY: Give me one.

Q. Last night you moved past Casey Stengel for managerial wins in your first three seasons and the other names on this list are pretty good.

PAT MURPHY: Who else has got a question?

Q. We always ask the players when they're on these kind of lists to see what they think. What do you think when you hear names like this?

PAT MURPHY: Mike's challenged in a lot of ways. There's a lot of things to find out about what's going on right now except that.

Q. When you think of great managers in the past --

PAT MURPHY: I don't like where this is going at all.

Q. What traits do you like about those guys? Joe Torre, et cetera?

PAT MURPHY: I like about Joe Torre that he looked like he was sleeping in the dugout. I'm like is his eyes open? He told me all about it. So I'm grateful for that friendship. He was at Game 1, did you know that? He was there, and I got to see him.

I love Joe. I didn't know him then, but I watched him when he played third base with the Cardinals.

All right. Let's get on to real questions.

Q. There's a lot of talk about checked swings, swing or no swing in this series in a couple of plays. We all know there's no real definition of what that is. In your mind when you're watching it, what tells you if it's a swing or no swing, and what did you think last night on Diaz in the ninth?

PAT MURPHY: I can say this in general, that's why the league is testing this opportunity to maybe be having a check bat and have a definition of what it really is because it is so tough to see and tough to judge.

We've had a couple like that go against us, and you see the barrel at some point -- stop action, you see the barrel out in front of the plate, and you're like, wait a minute. If he hits that ball, it's maybe half pulled, and you can tend to see that.

The one that I saw last night, from the view that I saw last night, I'm like, no, he didn't go. He did it so nicely, so quick, then brought his hands up. I didn't feel like where I'm standing -- I've got a pretty good view, but I didn't think they were going to call it.

Now, when you slow it down, sure enough, his barrel's in front. That's why we're getting into these rule changes and ways to make the game even better.

Q. When Turang and Ashby were in here a little while ago, they learned for the first time about the stingrays in the outfield here. Wanted to pick your brain about The Trop. What are your thoughts on it, experiences on it. Is there any sort of specific preparation that's going to be or stadium-specific preparation?

PAT MURPHY: For sure. We're out there right now. That's what we're going to work on, adjustment to the ballpark. It's very much a different place. It seems like a great place, and you have to make adjustments to it. That's part of being a Big Leaguer. You have to make adjustments to it.

Q. With you having so much time and skin in this game managing and interacting --

PAT MURPHY: Can we go one session without the age stuff?

Q. Managing and interacting with so many players and superstars over the years, how have you seen this game grow over the years and continue to grow?

PAT MURPHY: I'm just learning. I'm learning every year about the game. Again, a guy that spent a majority of his life standing on the sidelines watching games, I see the game in a state where everything's bigger, stronger, faster. The game hasn't changed much, the rules of the game, it's just gotten a little bit better. All the adjustments that MLB has made is for the betterment of the game.

We keep changing with it. As it gets bigger, stronger, faster, we keep changing it and tweaking it a little bit. But it's amazing how the rules of the game have basically stayed the same, and it's really kind of cool.

And the tweaks that we make usually are for the better, and everybody accepts it.

Q. JoJo Romero has been in the majors for a while, but this is his first postseason appearance, if I'm not mistaken.

PAT MURPHY: It's his second, right?

Q. Is it his second?

PAT MURPHY: Didn't he go there with St. Louis?

Q. I don't know. I don't think so. Either way, it's not a ton of experience. What has impressed you about the way he's gone about it and the opportunities he's been given and he's come through for you?

PAT MURPHY: From day one, we got him, he's just ready to go, I'll do anything. Tell me what. You want me to go multiple innings, I will. Whatever you want me to do, I'll do. And that attitude is just -- everybody has a great attitude this time of the season, right? But he had it when he walked in.

He's been -- think of the way he's thrown in the last month. It's been really good.

Q. Pat, at Mitchell International this morning in Milwaukee at 4:00 a.m. tons of people coming down here. I know you have to have a road mentality, but what does it mean to you and the players that you will have Snowbirds and people and whatever pulling for you?

PAT MURPHY: Players respect it, you know what I mean? They know that they have a fan base that follows them, loves them, supports them, travels for them. I mean, there's been a lot of places we went this year on the road that would just stun you how many Brewers people are there.

You're like we're pretty far away and we've got all these Brewers people here? It's really a neat thing.

Q. So many teams have struggled over the years in the postseason where they've had as long of a layoff as you. Did you get some tips or talk to other managers who went through this type of thing?

PAT MURPHY: I've talked to a lot of managers that have went through it. They all had great things to add. Everybody has a different makeup of a team. Everybody's team makeup is different. I try to blend it all together and see what works.

The one thing I arrived at is contrived antics to create a game probably has to come from within. The players would have to kind of make it that competitive themselves.

So bringing in fans and doing things like that, I didn't feel like was going to feel organic. And I just wanted -- I wanted the guys to rest and I wanted them -- and we're still -- you can see the rust that we still have from being off that long. Yeah, they forgot about that now, you know what I mean?

But I think it's a thing. It's a thing.

Q. Have you been pleasantly surprised, though, with the adjustments you made?

PAT MURPHY: The thing we've done good so far is compete. That's what we've done good. There's a lot of little, different layers it to that word in our game, how to label it. Oh, that's really competing.

We went out yesterday and saw 184 pitches. That's abnormal, and that's what -- now, we left 12 guys on base. When you see 184, you usually score more than whatever number of runs we scored. So it's one of those things where the competing part, but the layoff is a real deal. It's a real situation we have to...

I'm sure MLB has had this on their plate for a long time. How do we do it? How do we get around it?

Q. Murph, I don't actually know how much stock, but I think you'd agree that Jacob Misiorowski's playoff performance last year was a springboard into 2026. And I wonder if we're kind of going through the same thing with Robert Gasser or if you thought he had kind of already turned a corner by September?

PAT MURPHY: Two years ago -- correct me if I'm wrong here. Two years ago, Gas put up six straight good starts for us, right? Then he got injured. So he was trending in the right way, but he gets injured.

Then comes back last year, makes the postseason roster, but never really is healthy. You go through that. It does take a year at least.

Then there's also some things that it's tough to jump right into the highest level of competition. So he did a nice job.

This year he's found himself a little bit uncertain of himself and then got a little more certain. So I think it is something that is a matter of confidence, and his confidence is in a good spot. But now you've got to execute pitches.

I don't know if I even answered your question. Not real good? Shitty? Sorry. You can follow up and get more specific if you want.

Q. I just didn't know if you thought -- because if September was already so good, maybe this is just a natural progression. It's not necessarily that he's breaking through, per se, over the last two starts and maybe even another start tomorrow.

PAT MURPHY: I think it's really helped him gain a ton of confidence that he can do it. Yeah, he's still got to solidify how the ball's coming out, his location, all that kind of stuff.

Q. Did you get a chance to talk to Quinn's uncle and cousin this morning?

PAT MURPHY: Yeah, I didn't really talk to them, I joked with them. Our flight coming in today -- I don't know how your flight was, but our flight was smooth as heck all flight. And right when we came in, it really got a little knuckleballish. When I got off the plane, I said, hey, thanks, guys. I didn't know Quinn threw a knuckleball.

I think they looked at me like what is he talking about?

Q. As you move forward and have various plans for starting pitching, do the results in Game 3 and 4 make a difference in what you do for Game 5 and 6 if there is a Game 5 and 6?

PAT MURPHY: No question. All that comes into play, our planning. We already met once today, and we just keep talking about possibilities.

We've got to get to the point where we just make a hard decision and we go from there. How do we win tonight?

Q. Are you okay waiting until the day before to let the pitchers know, or do you let them know two days out?

PAT MURPHY: We give them an idea, either this or this.

Q. Murph, you put yourself in a good position coming down here. How do you get your guys not to look too far ahead knowing what's at stake in a World Series?

PAT MURPHY: These guys are Major League players. They've been through all sorts of ups and downs over the last seven months, all sorts of, oh, my career is going this way, oh, injuries, adversity, stuff off the field, whatever it might be.

These guys go through it, and they know the reality of playing today in the now. What can I get out of today? Tomorrow will take care of itself. What do I get out of today?

I think that's number one. Hopefully we reiterate it or they reiterate it to each other. Hey, take care of business today.

It really becomes a team sport, and they let each other know like, hey, you got the responsibility in me, I have it to you. So that starts up here. The mentality is crucial.

Q. When did it become apparent to you that Ashby could handle a significantly higher workload than your average reliever, both in terms of up-downs and just total innings?

PAT MURPHY: I believe the way he was bred being a starter and never really a one-inning guy, I think that always allowed us to think multiple innings with him. And then when he started throwing the ball so well and he had his confidence and everything in order, he's a guy that likes to throw a lot to the point where you have to slow him down.

He made a comment earlier -- before the season or maybe during Spring Training, he wants to throw 100 innings. How many innings does he have? Do we know?

Over a hundred?

Q. 105.

PAT MURPHY: That's cool.

Familiarity means something when they see a guy a bunch, but we have to have other guys step up too.

Q. Back to Ashby, Pat, does it remind you of what Hader was doing when he wasn't the closer here, but he's pitching multiple innings?

PAT MURPHY: Kind of similar. That's such a great memory for me, that guy. Because like Ashby, he didn't necessarily know what he was doing. He was just chucking it, you know what I mean? Just a pure -- God, what a kid, man. That's the great part of what we do.

You get to run across these people that are -- Josh Hader, there's nothing about him that's like ordinary, you know what I mean? But he is simple. He's just a terrific personality. What a teammate. I mean, what a teammate.

You think about this Brewers organization and their success and how we've been able to maintain pretty competitive teams, it's the people in them, man. You think about Freddy. You think about Hader. You think about these dudes that -- yeah, you mentioned Ashby.

These are teammates. They're good friends to other people. I'm sure they are friends to each other, but you know what I mean? They're just really great people that you want to work with, and that matters.

But you're right, it's kind of like Hader. When he came up, we just did anything with him. Sometimes it was three. Sometimes it was one.