NL CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES: METS v BRAVES

October 13, 1999

Bobby Cox

BOBBY COX: The plane is supposed to leave at one o'clock, and we're going to fly right into LaGuardia and go to the ballpark. The baseball gear is being flown up early in the morning; so it will be in everybody's locker when we get there, and we won't have to fight traffic to the hotel and back to the park and back to the hotel. It's the smart thing to do.

BOBBY COX: Four o'clock.

BOBBY COX: Well, it did, really, because initially, I had thought a couple of days ago I'd probably play Hernandez today against Rogers, and with Millwood pitching. But the fact is, Walt had a great night. He looked good at short, and he swung the bat well. I think he's a little bit -- he's swinging the bat a little better from the right side than he is the left side; so we're going to go ahead and go with the hot hand right now. It's not demeaning Hernandez in any way. I feel very good with him out there; it's fine. But Walt is playing good right now, so we'll go that way. It's a great situation having two right-handers on the bench instead of one; so it's a little bit of a plus.

BOBBY COX: He's been a great coach. He's worked hard. I think he's got the attention of a lot of the hitters. We have scored some runs this year. I like Don an awful lot, and everybody knows he can manage, and he's going to do it again real quick.

BOBBY COX: Oh, yeah. There's no doubt in my mind.

BOBBY COX: No, we're not going to be delayed today. We're going to be on time. The forecast is real good. It should be clearing up here in another 45 minutes to an hour. I looked at the radar a little while ago with the guy. He said it looks real good. We're going to be fine. I'd rather play the way it's set up, not miss a day, not get any rainouts, because your pitching is already set. You'd rather keep it on the terms that you've set up.

BOBBY COX: I don't think so. I haven't talked to him yet, but he threw a little over 20 pitches. He's had plenty of rest coming into this series, and that was four outs last night. He should be fine. I don't think there's any problems.

BOBBY COX: Remlinger has been a great pitcher for us. He's done a great job. I felt fine with him in there, but I know Rock has done a good job with Olerud; Olerud hits left-handers very well. There's no advantage to bring in a left-hander because he hits them. He's a little tougher to hit at for most left-handers. Remlinger is great with right-handers. He swung hard last night, himself. But just in that situation, Rocker had plenty of rest. I thought it might be the best thing to do.

BOBBY COX: Our bullpen has been good all season. But we are missing Seanez; he's been gone a couple of months. He was a huge part of it. We've always had pretty good bullpens in Atlanta. We didn't win the Divisional Championship and get to the World Series a couple of times and play this good without a good bullpen through the years. One of the best closers we ever had was Alejandro Pena that was washed up with the Mets, and we got him late in the year for nothing. He was remarkably good. He was fantastic. He did it basically with one pitch, a fastball that wasn't anything like Rocker's, but it was located in great areas of the plate. And Ligtenberg has been good. Wohlers, a year or two has been good. It was an easy position for most critics to pick on, because there wasn't much else to pick on or talk about. Every once in a while, you blow a game; so it's highlighted in the bullpen.

BOBBY COX: Yeah, Rock is a conditioned guy. He's always in great shape and he keeps himself in great shape, and maybe even too much so sometimes, I think. He does an awful lot of work, and he's a big kid. Two years ago, John Rocker was not fairing very well in our Minor League system. And all of a sudden, he went to the Arizona Fall league and started pitching in relief a bit, and wound up that same winter during the draft. He wasn't picked in the expansion draft; he was exposed. He went over to Puerto Rico, and was named Fireman of the Year in a short period of time. He came back to our camp and we sent him to Triple-A to get a few games under his belt. And then the guy just blossomed like that; it was history.

BOBBY COX: For one out or so, it's not bad, but for two complete innings, if you're up against the wall and he's rested, sure, you would probably do that. Last night's game he could have been out of there in 11 pitches, and then he had to face some extra pitchers. If they're rested, it's usually no problems. Rivera did it the other night; Wohlers used to do it quite a few times during the course, if he's rested, he could go a few innings. If they're hot, you have to take advantage of it, but only if their properly rested.

BOBBY COX: I don't know. In John's case, maybe he was born to be a relief pitcher, because you guys are getting to know him pretty good during the playoffs. He's a little different (laughter). He's very high strung and excitable, but yet keeps his composure with his deliveries; mechanics are good. Maybe he was born to be a relief pitcher. A lot of relief pitchers were always a starter, and John was always a starter in the League. Gossage was a starter; Eckersley was a starter, at the beginning of their careers. But maybe -- in this case, maybe he was born that way.

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