AL DIVISION SERIES: ATHLETICS v YANKEES

October 14, 2001

Art Howe

ART HOWE: He's a great competitor, and an outstanding pitcher. He's pitched well against us almost every time out. We know we have to have our game together to get after him. There's obviously some question about his health, but I think there's no way he'd be out there if he wasn't healthy.

ART HOWE: Well, I just let them be themselves. That's all. I want them to be relaxed when they come to the ballpark, look forward to coming to the ballpark, and let them know I'm going to let them be as good as they can be, and help them improve their careers in any way we can. I think they understand that and enjoy that. And as far as in the clubhouse, I just want them to be themselves, and they tend to like that. It's a great family atmosphere. The guys get along well. The chemistry is outstanding, and I think it shows the way we play, also.

ART HOWE: Yeah, I was just -- he's just an incredible player. He seems to always be in the right spot at the right time. He made a perfect flip on the play. I thought he was just going to cut it off, to be honest with you. And he was alert enough to realize he still might have a play at the plate. And I wish he wasn't there, but he was. He deserves a lot of credit.

ART HOWE: Well, with their offense Cleveland is a very dangerous team. If they get on a roll they're going to be tough for anybody. Anybody is surprised with the kind of score they put up yesterday. But going into that series I knew they were going to be tough to beat, because they can put up runs.

ART HOWE: That's hindsight. The play is over, I think Ramon was signaling him to slide, but maybe he didn't even see him, I don't know. He could have been safe, he could have been out. And the call was he was out, and we have to play today and hopefully get this win.

ART HOWE: The first game up in New York we hit some balls very hard with men in scoring position, and they made great plays to keep us from scoring. The last two games it seems like we've been getting people in scoring position after we've got an out or two. And I think the key for us to break through is maybe get that lead-off man on and get something happening, and get something happening right in the inning, instead of after an out is already registered.

ART HOWE: I think probably September of last year when they started putting that string together and fought their way into the postseason last year, I think that's when this team grew up as a team and realized we can be very competitive, and we've got a chance to go places.