NL CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES: PADRES v BRAVES

October 14, 1998

Bruce Bochy

BRUCE BOCHY: Well, we were going to try to make them work a little bit and get the ball up. He was making some good pitches on the first pitch. You're trying to be aggressive at the same time. But these guys know his control. We did make him work a little bit.

BRUCE BOCHY: I tell you, it's hard to put your finger on that. I thought both teams played incredible baseball. The series, I don't know if it could get any better than that. And it comes down to pitching. Last game, Hitchcock, I can't say enough about what he did. Through the whole postseason, he had to go against Johnson and Maddux and Glavine. He gave us what we needed on three day's rest. But we got a very fine pitched ballgame today.

BRUCE BOCHY: Well, I had some concern there. And I talked to the trainers, and said, "Is it all right to put him in motion, if I have, to during the game?" They felt, yeah, he's fine to go. He actually felt very good before the game. And he was going to make a little adjustment in his running, not pick his legs up so high because of that quad. But I felt like I had to put him in motion, because I'm confident Cami is going to put the ball in play and be aggressive there.

BRUCE BOCHY: I just told him what a great job he did. He pitched on three day's rest. He's going against Glavine. He wanted the ball, and he did a tremendous job for us.

BRUCE BOCHY: Well, he didn't say he was unhappy. I'm sure we wouldn't stay out there. His pitch count was getting up there, he was approaching a hundred pitches. I don't know exactly where he was. With him going on three days, with a fresh bullpen, he had taken us far enough.

BRUCE BOCHY: To be honest, no. He pitched very well for us this year. We started him in the bullpen early in the season, but when he went in rotation, he gave us some terrific games. That's why we said he was going to be the third starter in the postseason. He had to go against the best pitchers in the game. We have all the confidence in the world with Hitchcock, and it shows what he's made up of, because he did a great job.

BRUCE BOCHY: It doesn't get any better than this. It's a euphoric feeling that's hard to describe. I've never been in Yankee Stadium. I was a role player at the World Series, but as a manager, you play a little bigger role. When you lose a game, sure, there's going to be games they question. And you're on the spot a little bit more. So I have to say, this is a lot sweeter this time.

BRUCE BOCHY: Well, I think the team had all the confidence in the world when Kevin Brown went out there. If I had to do it again -- in fact, I thought that was one of my best decisions. It just didn't work out. And that's part of this game. But I had my best guy out there. But I don't regret that, and I'd do it again.

BRUCE BOCHY: Exactly. To me it was a win/win situation. I had my best guy out there, but something did happen, like it did, he was still available for tomorrow's game. So I just felt like I couldn't lose and it made all the sense in the world. I felt for Kevin, because he's the one that jump-started us. With the game against Houston, he gave us a sense of confidence. I felt bad for him. But for me, it was the right move to make.

BRUCE BOCHY: Well, actually, Dave Stewart and I talked about a bullpen situation before the game and created scenarios, and he was on me to use Boehringer. He had a lot of confidence in him. Dave Stewart and I talk a lot and he was the one that really felt like Boeh could do the job. And Chipper Jones hit left-handed. I'm sure he was going: Why bring in Boehringer? He was the freshest and threw very well for us down the stretch.

BRUCE BOCHY: I know he has one of the ugliest swings that you'll ever see. He has the knack of putting the ball in play. I wanted to get another inning or two out of him. He battles up there, and we got a break, there's no question about it. Because they almost made a great play on it, the ball bounced away from them.

BRUCE BOCHY: Yes, he will be.

BRUCE BOCHY: I had confidence in my hitters they're going to put the ball in play. Glavine is a controlled pitcher; hits a lot of ground balls, and I want to stay out of the double play. It was a concern with Greg Vaughn, putting him in motion. The trainers said, "Let him go. He's fine." And they felt like he wouldn't pull anything.

BRUCE BOCHY: I don't think a team of horses would have gotten him out of there. Tony game-faced me when I made the double switch. They all wanted to be out there. I can't say enough about Tony, because he played today, I asked him a couple of times if he was okay to go, because he's pretty banged up with his knee and his he'll. But he said, no way, I'm going to stay out there.

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