Oct. 10: B. Bochy pregame interview
Q. Can you go through the decision of having Hector catching, Posey at first?
BRUCE BOCHY: Yeah, we talked about it quite a bit, my staff and I. We thought about which way I would go last night quite a bit. Just decided to go how we've done it for the most part this second half and that's Sanchez catching and Buster goes to first base.
I think Hector has done a great job handling Zito, and I think Buster has, too, and I think we're getting a good bat in there. This is a tribute to the good job Hector has done for us, hitting for us, and as we go on, we can get into a situation where Belt will be out there and we can get our defense going.
Q. Is it a disappointment in Belt's at bats last night, Bruce?
BRUCE BOCHY: Well, I don't want to say last night, it's hard to face guys as hard as he was throwing the ball, but I think it's fair to say we need more offense and hopefully Hector will provide a spark to tweak it a little bit and see if we can get the bats going a little bit and he's got some big hits for us, knocked in some big runs.
But it's hard to go on one game especially the way he threw last night against us.
Q. So much has been made about Barry and getting through that first inning unscathed. Are you guys on pins and needles for that first inning? I know things have been better lately, though.
BRUCE BOCHY: No, we won't be on pins and needles. It's the case with many pitchers. The first inning they're trying to get settled. You saw Vogelsong last night. We were trying to get out of that with only one run. It's critical for most pitchers, the first inning, they're trying to get their location down and there is a settling in process sometimes. But the way he's throwing, we're not going to be on pin and needles, and he's done a great job and we expect him to give us a chance to win.
Q. Three games in, is it more about their pitching or more about your guys in a funk and pressing too much on offense?
BRUCE BOCHY: Well, I think you have to give their pitching credit. You don't want to overdo that, but when you look at how they have thrown the last two games against us, both starters have been on top of their game, hitting their spots, two different styles of pitching.
Last night we faced a guy that came off a no hitter and he even said he thought he had better stuff than he had in the no hitter, and our hitters said he threw well, throwing hard, hitting the spots. So I think it's more a case of the pitching we have been facing. We still have to find a way to score runs and really we did a pretty good job. We got a couple of walks, moved them over, and got a sac fly. That's what you have to do in a game like that. So it would be nice to get these bats going, but we have been facing great pitching.
Q. Two years ago when you told Zito he wouldn't be on the 2010 roster, how do you handle that? Could you envision that he would be starting in a game like this two years ago later?
BRUCE BOCHY: Well, how he handled it was like anybody would. It was obviously disappointing, but from the moment I told him I think he went out and threw a bullpen to stay ready in case we had an injury and needed him and he continued to do that throughout the postseason.
It says a lot about the man that he is and he understood, he was not throwing the ball as well as the other starters so there was no complaining, and he didn't back off, continued his work.
Now, as far as seeing him pitch a big game like this, sure, that's our hope, that he would get on track and throw the ball well and he would be a guy that we would count on to go out there and help us win a ballgame. He's done that this year with the wins and how he has been throwing the ball he's earned this start.
Q. Can it ever be difficult in the postseason when obviously guys are going to volunteer to pitch no matter how many innings they have thrown recently? Is it difficult for you to judge how fresh a guy is to know whether to trust him?
BRUCE BOCHY: Well, hopefully you draw on the experience that you have had with him over the course of the year and over the last two or three years so you don't overuse them, because really, at this stage they're all going to say "I'm good" or "I'm fine."
But it's up to us to get a read on them even when they're out there throwing. For example, the second game I put Casilla out there and the game ended up being 6 0, but watching him throw I felt I had to get him out of there because I didn't think his stuff was there and I wanted to save his bullets. That's up to Dave Righetti and myself to look at them and see where they're at as far as where they're at with their stuff. But at this stage a lot of times you're running on adrenaline, all the players are, both sides, every team in the postseason, still you have to keep a watchful eye on them so you don't wear them down.
Q. You gave two innings last time out, could he go 3, 4, 5 today?
BRUCE BOCHY: We could, Timmy we could stretch him out pretty good today if we need to. First of all, he's resilient. He's one of those guys it's a rare thing to have a starter who can go out there and throw over 100 pitches the next day, air it out and letting it. He's always had that ability and we've always said from day one he will be a heck of a reliever because of how he bounces back. He's had enough time off. He did get up a couple of times yesterday, but he's not a guy that throws a lot before he goes into the game and he would be available, I would say, four or five innings.
Q. You said Lincecum could be a heck of a reliever. Given that he struggled much of the year as a starter, has there ever been talk about actually making him a reliever or even a closer?
BRUCE BOCHY: No, no, it was brought up early in his career, that we thought he would be a great candidate to close games, but we haven't talked about it. He's a starter. We did say as we came into the playoffs here that he would be invaluable for us in the bullpen because we think he is probably the best guy we have among the starters to help us out in the bullpen. So this did play a part in the decision as far as him pitching in relief.
BRUCE BOCHY: Yeah, we talked about it quite a bit, my staff and I. We thought about which way I would go last night quite a bit. Just decided to go how we've done it for the most part this second half and that's Sanchez catching and Buster goes to first base.
I think Hector has done a great job handling Zito, and I think Buster has, too, and I think we're getting a good bat in there. This is a tribute to the good job Hector has done for us, hitting for us, and as we go on, we can get into a situation where Belt will be out there and we can get our defense going.
Q. Is it a disappointment in Belt's at bats last night, Bruce?
BRUCE BOCHY: Well, I don't want to say last night, it's hard to face guys as hard as he was throwing the ball, but I think it's fair to say we need more offense and hopefully Hector will provide a spark to tweak it a little bit and see if we can get the bats going a little bit and he's got some big hits for us, knocked in some big runs.
But it's hard to go on one game especially the way he threw last night against us.
Q. So much has been made about Barry and getting through that first inning unscathed. Are you guys on pins and needles for that first inning? I know things have been better lately, though.
BRUCE BOCHY: No, we won't be on pins and needles. It's the case with many pitchers. The first inning they're trying to get settled. You saw Vogelsong last night. We were trying to get out of that with only one run. It's critical for most pitchers, the first inning, they're trying to get their location down and there is a settling in process sometimes. But the way he's throwing, we're not going to be on pin and needles, and he's done a great job and we expect him to give us a chance to win.
Q. Three games in, is it more about their pitching or more about your guys in a funk and pressing too much on offense?
BRUCE BOCHY: Well, I think you have to give their pitching credit. You don't want to overdo that, but when you look at how they have thrown the last two games against us, both starters have been on top of their game, hitting their spots, two different styles of pitching.
Last night we faced a guy that came off a no hitter and he even said he thought he had better stuff than he had in the no hitter, and our hitters said he threw well, throwing hard, hitting the spots. So I think it's more a case of the pitching we have been facing. We still have to find a way to score runs and really we did a pretty good job. We got a couple of walks, moved them over, and got a sac fly. That's what you have to do in a game like that. So it would be nice to get these bats going, but we have been facing great pitching.
Q. Two years ago when you told Zito he wouldn't be on the 2010 roster, how do you handle that? Could you envision that he would be starting in a game like this two years ago later?
BRUCE BOCHY: Well, how he handled it was like anybody would. It was obviously disappointing, but from the moment I told him I think he went out and threw a bullpen to stay ready in case we had an injury and needed him and he continued to do that throughout the postseason.
It says a lot about the man that he is and he understood, he was not throwing the ball as well as the other starters so there was no complaining, and he didn't back off, continued his work.
Now, as far as seeing him pitch a big game like this, sure, that's our hope, that he would get on track and throw the ball well and he would be a guy that we would count on to go out there and help us win a ballgame. He's done that this year with the wins and how he has been throwing the ball he's earned this start.
Q. Can it ever be difficult in the postseason when obviously guys are going to volunteer to pitch no matter how many innings they have thrown recently? Is it difficult for you to judge how fresh a guy is to know whether to trust him?
BRUCE BOCHY: Well, hopefully you draw on the experience that you have had with him over the course of the year and over the last two or three years so you don't overuse them, because really, at this stage they're all going to say "I'm good" or "I'm fine."
But it's up to us to get a read on them even when they're out there throwing. For example, the second game I put Casilla out there and the game ended up being 6 0, but watching him throw I felt I had to get him out of there because I didn't think his stuff was there and I wanted to save his bullets. That's up to Dave Righetti and myself to look at them and see where they're at as far as where they're at with their stuff. But at this stage a lot of times you're running on adrenaline, all the players are, both sides, every team in the postseason, still you have to keep a watchful eye on them so you don't wear them down.
Q. You gave two innings last time out, could he go 3, 4, 5 today?
BRUCE BOCHY: We could, Timmy we could stretch him out pretty good today if we need to. First of all, he's resilient. He's one of those guys it's a rare thing to have a starter who can go out there and throw over 100 pitches the next day, air it out and letting it. He's always had that ability and we've always said from day one he will be a heck of a reliever because of how he bounces back. He's had enough time off. He did get up a couple of times yesterday, but he's not a guy that throws a lot before he goes into the game and he would be available, I would say, four or five innings.
Q. You said Lincecum could be a heck of a reliever. Given that he struggled much of the year as a starter, has there ever been talk about actually making him a reliever or even a closer?
BRUCE BOCHY: No, no, it was brought up early in his career, that we thought he would be a great candidate to close games, but we haven't talked about it. He's a starter. We did say as we came into the playoffs here that he would be invaluable for us in the bullpen because we think he is probably the best guy we have among the starters to help us out in the bullpen. So this did play a part in the decision as far as him pitching in relief.