NL DIVISION SERIES: MARLINS v GIANTS

October 1, 2003

Jack McKeon

JACK McKEON: It was very important, there's no question about it. But this club has been that way all year. Our guys are resilient. We've had a lot of tough losses, and they bounced back against the Red Sox, against the Phillies, against Atlanta when we were, you know -- they could have closed the door on us, but these guys came back and fought hard. They did the same thing today. I'm not saying it's because we won the game today, but I was very confident these guys would come out and be ready to play and play hard, because that's the type of guys we got. We got some warriors out there.

JACK McKEON: Well, I think you saw that yesterday really. You know, the first two guys in our lineup are the catalyst really. They get on and they cause havoc with the pitchers, there's no question about it. It makes it much easier for the guys following them in the lineup. They're getting better pitches to hit. Also the pressure's on the pitcher. And most times, they're concentrating on those two runners. You know, they're not centering as much on that hitter. It gives the hitter a greater chance to do something. But they're very important to our offense, the two guys. You see, look at the box scores, see when Castillo or Pierre get on two or three times during the day, we're going to score some runs. If they don't get on, we're in trouble.

JACK McKEON: Like I said, you know, earlier, you're damned if you do, you're damned if you don't. Almost like flipping a coin, say which way is the best way to go? You pitch to him today and he doubles. You pitch to him another time, he homers. You walk him, the next guy doubles. This is the problem you have with a guy of his caliber. You know, I think it's a tribute to Barry Bonds, he means so much to the Giant offense. He dictates sometimes how the game's going to be played. But today was a situation, we're going to pitch to him early in the game. We're just going to try to be in a position where he's not going to be able to beat us in a close game. Just like in the ninth inning, I'm looking at the score board, "Get this guy out, we'll pitch to Bonds. He can't do this. The only thing he can do is hit a three-run homer, and it's not enough." But he's a tough out. I can't give you any strict way that we're going to go because sometimes it's a gut feeling and sometimes you want to know who's out there pitching, can he execute the way we want to pitch to Bonds.

JACK McKEON: Pavano has had good luck pitching against these guys. I think Alfonzo was the hitter. I think he was (inaudible) 8 for 32 against Pavano. Pavano does have the good breaking ball and he keeps it down. I thought it was a best matchup with Pavano against Alfonzo. You know, it worked out. It's a good move when it works out; it's a bad move if it doesn't work out. So it worked out.

JACK McKEON: I'll tell you, he's just a wonderful guy. I mean, not only is he a good ball player, as I said yesterday, he's an outstanding young man. Good ball player, tremendous work habits. You know, he's always fun to be around, he's always smiling. He's a very, very dedicated young man, he's a very Christian young man. I'll tell you, you know, the way I look at him, he's almost like my son. I mean, you want your sons to grow up like Juan Pierre.

JACK McKEON: Well, it's very important. You know, that shows you the character of this club. I mean, you know, maybe we wouldn't have come back and tied it like we did. But, you know, the way the guys battle, and I've said this all along, you have to be in the dug out to see and really appreciate what takes place there with these guys. They're never quitters. They're never going to quit. And they just keep battling and they keep encouraging the other guys, "Get on base, get on base, we'll score. Come on." Stuff like that. And it's a wonderful group, and they can keep after our guys all the time. They get out there and push, push, push, push. And it's great when you can come back like that because, you know, just in the opposite way, you try to tell your pitchers when the opposition scores, "Hey, close them down that one inning, don't let them come back the next inning." In our case, we were able to come back, you know, match their three.

JACK McKEON: When we came in here, you know, this has been a tough place for us - I guess for everybody. And we come in here, and sure we would have liked to have won two in a row. But we were hoping at least we could come out of there with a split. We go back to our place, we play extremely well at home, we hit better at home, and for some reason we pitch better at home. And it's a big positive for us to get back home with a 1-1 situation here.