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NL DIVISION SERIES: BRAVES v GIANTS

October 11, 2010

Tommy Hanson

ATLANTA, GEORGIA: Game Four

THE MODERATOR: Questions for Bobby Cox.

Q. Bobby, I know you probably didn't have a whole lot of options. But can you talk about your decision to go with Glaus at third and the lineup today?
BOBBY COX: Yeah, I talked to Brooksy at length this morning. And, you know, he needs a day off. He needs to get away from it for a day. As you know, he's the darling of the fans here all season long, and this shouldn't happen to anybody in the game of baseball. But it's happened to Brooksy, and he needs a day off. I told him to hold his head high, and maybe pinch hit and win a game for us.
You know, he was our defensive replacement all year long. At second and third. And we couldn't wait to get him in games. So it's an unusual thing that that's happened.

Q. You've been around the game a long time, Bobby, there have been other scenarios, postseason play, Willie Davis had three errors in one inning back in the '60s. Is this the closest you've been to a guy personally who has gone through a nightmarish-type scenario?
BOBBY COX: Yeah, on a personal basis, yes. And the Cincinnati Reds, I'm not sure if they led the league in Philly or not, but they didn't made hardly any errors all year, and they made two, four and three. How do you account for it? My answer is it's baseball. That's all you can say.

Q. He came in in defense in Game 2, but Glaus, being a starter for the first time this year at third base, what are your thoughts about that?
BOBBY COX: He has played third. He played third at Gwinnett for a week, two weeks, three weeks, whatever it was, and did okay over there. And we'll see how it goes.

Q. Can you talk about Heyward and dropping him down to six?
BOBBY COX: Just trying to switch the lineup to get some. We got shutout in Game 1, yesterday we were shut out until the 8th inning.
Try to get Matty up front, maybe, and get on three or four times, see what happens. And maybe Jason can drive somebody in from down there as well.

Q. What did you think of Hanson's outing in the second game?
BOBBY COX: Good. I thought he threw the ball extremely well. He made one really bad pitch. He was going outside on a fastball to Burrell on the first pitch of the at-bat, and it ran all the way middle in. Right in the wheelhouse. I said then, if he had pitched eight innings, he would have had 12, 13 punch outs. He had that kind of stuff. He had real good stuff.

Q. So you're comfortable with a him in a Game 5 against Lincecum?
BOBBY COX: Yeah, very much so, sure.

Q. Was it tough to talk to Brooks about that? I know you've always pulled for him.
BOBBY COX: It's always tough to talk about a subject like that. I just, you know -- the fans have really had his book all season long. I'd like to see them continue that. He needs that help right now.

Q. How did he react, Bobby, when you talked to him this morning?
BOBBY COX: Well, we talked for a good length, and he was fine. It's not easy. His concentration is there, everything there is there. He's been a real good fielder for us. And, for whatever reason, you know, I cannot explain.

Q. You said you were going to sleep on it. Did you sleep?
BOBBY COX: No, I didn't sleep very well last night, yeah. We came within a pitch of winning a huge ballgame, and we let it slip away. It's the first time we've had trouble like that in the 8th or 9th inning with our bullpen the whole series, really. Even the 6th, 7th inning, we've been able to cover and that's the way we've won all year. The bullpens covered for us.
No bullpen in baseball is perfect. But we've been almost perfect all year long.

Q. Did you tell Glaus to be ready last night or today?
BOBBY COX: I think he knew what was up last night. I didn't talk to him last night though.

Q. The other side of Brooks is Hinske's at-bat last night. It might get lost a little bit. Your flexibility on the bench tonight? You have a couple of switch hitters, you have some speed, you also have Eric. I'm assuming if they make a switch early, possibility of seeing Eric a little bit earlier?
BOBBY COX: Yeah, and we can pinch hit. We'll see how it goes. We're a little short on righties on the bench tonight.

Q. I know, of course, you're thinking optimistically today, but when you were missing your sleep last night, did your thoughts at all go to today could be your last game?
BOBBY COX: It hasn't. It hasn't (laughing). That's the first time it's been brought up today, and I haven't thought about it. Trying to plan a trip for tomorrow, and get the times of a small workout here in the cages before we leave and things like that.

FastScripts by ASAP Sports

An interview with:
ATLANTA BRAVES
TOMMY HANSON

THE MODERATOR: Questions for Tommy Hanson.

Q. Can you talk about what you're comfortable with out there in Game 2? It looked like maybe you were going through breaking pitches a little bit more.
TOMMY HANSON: Yeah, I just wanted to go out there and try to keep them off balance. Kind of had a feeling they were going to be jumping off the fastballs, so just wanted to keep them off balance and mix in those pitches early and just go from there.
But I was only in the game for four innings, so didn't really get to feel it out too much.

Q. Does that help the bounceback; that you only went four innings and 61 pitches?
TOMMY HANSON: Yeah, I really wasn't sore the next day. I still feel like I could have pitched yesterday, but my recovery time was a lot sooner.
So, hopefully going with a win today, and going into Game 5, my arm feels great. I'm going to throw a side today. So everything feels really good. Just hopefully make some better pitches, I guess.

Q. Could you describe the incident where the ball came back and hit you in the eye during batting practice?
TOMMY HANSON: Yeah. We were doing a slash, a fake bunt and swing. Just kind of stayed inside a little bit. Tried to pull my hands in. Just hit straight down, hit home plate and bounced up and hit me in my eye.
My eye just started gushing water, so I didn't know if it was blood. I didn't know what was going on. Obviously I couldn't see my eye.
But I just walked inside and it was tearing up a lot. It didn't really hurt or anything like that, but obviously they wanted to take every precaution and make sure everything was fine with it. So saw a couple doctors and everything was okay.

Q. How can a pitcher have an advantage facing a team twice in the span of five days? Obviously, they know your repertoire, what is the advantage you have?
TOMMY HANSON: I think it goes both ways. I think my first outing, I don't think I made too many quality pitches, and the ones I didn't make, they took advantage of.
But I think just when you see guys from my standpoint being able to watch them for five games or four games going into my fifth game, you just have a better understanding of what they're trying to do on the plate in certain situations, and how their approach is at the plate.
So I think you just get more familiar with them. I think, if anything, going only four innings, they're only going to see me twice. Obviously they've seen me during the season, too.
But just being familiar with those guys is the one advantage.

Q. How much of an advantage is it maybe mentally having a first postseason start under your belt, getting ready for a second one?
TOMMY HANSON: Yeah, I think that will help. Going into that last game I was really, really amped up to get out there and really excited to get out there. Almost like my debut, you know, last year. I just wanted to get it under way.
That first inning I don't think I was thinking as clearly as I was throughout the season. I was just kind of going out there and just going full bore at them and not thinking too much.
So hopefully this next time I'll be able to slow it down a little bit and try to, you know -- when I'm out there, try to process everything and make some better pitches. Yeah, that's really it.

Q. I know it was early in your routine today, but have you seen Brooks in the clubhouse? Do you have any feel for how he has weathered what he went through last night?
TOMMY HANSON: Yeah, I think he's fine. I think everybody has bad days. Obviously Brooks feels worse about the game yesterday than anybody else.
But Brooks is one of the reasons we're here, so I don't think he's down. I think he's disappointed in how the game went yesterday, but who wouldn't be? It was a rough game.
He's fine. I think he's going to come back and come up big for us like he has all year.

End of FastScripts

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