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AL DIVISION SERIES: RANGERS v RAYSOctober 6, 2010Nolan RyanTAMPA, FLORIDA: Game One Q. In terms of the style that you wanted to bring to being an owner, were there people who were owners of the teams that you played on that you're taking any chapters from? NOLAN RYAN: Well, you know, it's a little hard for me being in the position I'm in and with the background that I've had to keep a low profile, as I would like to. But I would think probably when I broke into the game, the owners were always in the background and weren't up front like so many owners are today. But that would be my preference. It depends on, you know, just what's required of me. Q. With the success you've had, owner, pitcher, what have you, does it aggravate you when someone doesn't do as well as you think they should, or how do you transfer being a player into being somebody that probably mentors people more than ever? NOLAN RYAN: Well, my attitude has to be when I watch performances that are sub-par, I have to think about when I was that age and what I went through and how much failure I experienced and be understanding of what they're experiencing, what they're going through and what they're dealing with. And so I think the experience that I gained as a player certainly helps me in the position I'm in now to understand what the players are experiencing, and I think that as long as I don't lose sight of that -- and I think the fact that I struggled early in my career helps me with that, gives me a foundation from where they are. Q. People talk about the impact you've had on this organization. When you took this job a few years ago, what was your intention as far as what kind of impact you wanted to have, immediate and long-term? NOLAN RYAN: Well, I really -- because I didn't follow the Rangers the three previous years before I got here because of my involvement with the Astros, I didn't watch them on a day-to-day basis, I watched them on an occasional basis. So the first year my intent was just to be an observer and try to get a feel for our organization and what I felt like that we needed to address. And that's pretty much what I did. And I can tell you there were times it was very frustrating to watch some of our games because we'd be up 12-6 and we'd go home down 13-12, and those games were very painful and long to sit through. It didn't take too long to realize that we needed to address our pitching issues, and I put that number one as a priority. Q. What do you attribute the fact that Wash has had the continuity that's gotten this team to make the steps its made to get to the playoffs to this point? Is there something to the continuity factor? NOLAN RYAN: Well, I think with Ron, he's been very consistent in the way he's approached his job, himself as a person, and I think he has certain values that he lives by, and I think that the players respect that. He's a players' manager. He certainly understands what the players are experiencing and what it is to go through 162 games in 180 days. I think he relates to them really well. And then he's had his own issues that I think he stood up and admitted to his shortcomings and the fact that he asked players for their support and their forgiveness, and I think all those things have established a special relationship that they have with him. Q. Joaquin Benoit of the Rays has had a great season after a shoulder injury and spending a lot of time in your organization and actually cites you as his favorite player growing up. If you have any thoughts on Joaquin, would you mind sharing them? NOLAN RYAN: We're glad to see him come back and contribute as he has this year. When people come back from shoulder problems, I think they're obviously -- there's more questions about those than elbow problems, as we're seeing, as sports medicine is evolving. So for him to come back the way he has is remarkable, and we're very happy for him because he's come back and really resurrected his career after last year being out the whole year and not being able to -- basically somebody taking a chance on him, and it worked out for him. Q. What's the impact of Cliff Lee to your team? NOLAN RYAN: Well, it's -- he's impacted us in several ways. Obviously having the caliber of pitcher come on to your staff like that, and it's not too often you have an opportunity to acquire a No. 1. And then the other thing, the amount of innings that he gives us on each start. And I think the way he goes about his work and his efficiency with his pitches I think has had a positive influence on some of our young pitchers, because I think they see that you don't have to be an overpowering pitcher, you don't have to have a devastating breaking ball to be successful; it's a matter of locating your pitches and being able to get your secondary pitches over on a high percentage. Q. With all the off-field business-related issues you had to deal with this year, are you looking forward to next year and being able to focus almost completely on baseball again? NOLAN RYAN: Well, it's obviously going to be a -- starting with the off-season it's going to be different for us because we will be in a situation where we don't have near the restrictions on us that we had last year. We went to the Winter Meetings with a budget cut in our payroll of about $10 million, and we had some obligations, and so we really were scratching our heads about how we were going to get it done and how we were going to improve the ballclub. I was really proud of our baseball folks as we came out of Indianapolis last year with what we were able to accomplish and what we had -- we felt like we might be able to get done before the winter was over. I think that's totally going to be different. And then I think, too, just the atmosphere around the ballpark from the employees not having that hanging over our heads and being able to do some of the things that we've had to put on hold over the last three or four years just because of problems that we've had. Q. In June and July you were expressing frustration that you couldn't enjoy the season because of how the sale was dragging on. How much of that has lifted off you and how much are you able to enjoy this now that you're here? NOLAN RYAN: Well, obviously the last month has been very enjoyable and even through some of the poor performances that we've had. We have a stretch where we lose five or six games, and it looked like it was going to turn into a race again. So your focus and perspective is different, but we didn't have the bankruptcy hanging over our head. It seemed really strange that one day you walk out of the courtroom and you don't have to go back over there when that pretty much dominated your life for about a six-week period. It was just an adjustment getting used to it, but I can tell you it's much more relaxed around the stadium and the front offices now. Q. What's your advice for the Rangers' pitchers? A lot of them have not been in post-season pressure before. What would your advice and counsel be for them to handle it? NOLAN RYAN: I think with young players their tendency is to try to do more than they're capable of doing or trying to go outside of their normal -- what their normal comfort zone is. And so what you try to do is control your emotions and not let that affect you and try to get into just a comfort level that you play your game and realize what your contribution is to the ballclub. End of FastScripts |
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