Notes from the American League Tiebreaker – September 30, 2013
The MLB Postseason on TBS gets underway tonight, Oct. 1, at 7 p.m. ET with MLB Postseason Pre-Game on TBS presented by Jeep followed by the Cincinnati Reds at Pittsburgh Pirates at 8 p.m. in the Wild Card presented by Budweiser. The night will conclude with The Postseason Show on TBS presented by Johnnie Walker.
Quotes of the Night
Pedro Martinez predicted the Tampa Bay Rays will win the tiebreaker during the pre-game show: “Tampa Bay will say, ‘enough is enough.’ Momentum is on their side.”
Tom Verducci, during pre-game, on the key to the tiebreaker, the Rays would score in the first inning and go on to win the game: “The key to this game is [playing] small ball and getting out in front first.”
John Smoltz on the A.L. Wild Card bound Tampa Bay Rays: “They never cease to amaze me. They just get after it. They enjoy playing and nothing fazes them.”
Tom Verducci on the future of the Texas Rangers: “This team has got a lot of good young players, especially pitching, that’s locked up. They’re in good shape and they’re not going away. But the franchise history is not good. This is the eighth game they’ve played with a chance to get to the postseason or advance in the postseason…they’re 1-7. There is a history that the Rangers have to bear.”
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MLB Postseason Pre-Game on TBS presented by Jeep
Keith Olbermann (host), Pedro Martinez and Tom Verducci (analysts)
Martinez on Nelson Cruz being anxious at the plate in his return from suspension: “He might be anxious, he wants to do a lot for the team and he wants to come up with some answers for why he wasn’t there for the team. He will be anxious and I would take advantage of that. I would expand the strike zone and give him a taste of everything to see if he chases.”
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Tampa Bay Rays (5) at Texas Rangers (2) – The Rays advance to the A.L Wild Card to face the Cleveland Indians
Brian Anderson (play-by-play), Joe Simpson and John Smoltz (analysts) with David Aldridge (reporter)
Smoltz on a tiebreaker game: “Anyone who says it’s a regular game is kidding themselves. This is the closest thing to a Game 7.”
Smoltz on a starting pitchers’ mentality in a tiebreaker: “Starting pitchers have to come out like a closer…each inning could be your last.”
Smoltz on a pitcher’s mentality in high-pressure situations: “The hardest thing for a pitcher to do in this situation is thinking about ‘what-ifs.’ You have to lock in on one hitter and try to avoid the crooked number. You can’t worry about what might happen and giving up a big inning.”
Smoltz about pitching in big games: “What I love about these types of games is that every pitcher comes in with scripted plays like a head coach in football. You want to have a game plan that you can execute to its fullest. It’s when the hitters start making you change that execution that makes the difference [in the game].”
Simpson on Rangers starter Martin Perez pitching five-plus innings after a rough first inning: “I give him a lot of credit. He really could have folded in the first inning…he didn’t.”
Smoltz: “This is going to help him in the future. I know he didn’t want to give up any runs but he held himself together.”
Smoltz on Rays rookie outfielder Wil Myers: “He’s the second coming of a young Dale Murphy. He’s got the look, the [batting] stance and the raw ability he has to hit a fastball.”
Smoltz on the Rays’ patience at the plate: “Their patience has paid off in this game. You can get awfully anxious and the team that can play like it’s a regular season game and take what the pitcher gives you. Tampa has done that.”
Simpson on Rays’ outfielder Ben Zobrist: “Zobrist is good at dropping his bat on the ball. He doesn’t over-swing.”
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The Postseason Show on TBS presented by Johnnie Walker
Olbermann, Martinez and Verducci
Martinez on Rays’ winning pitcher David Price: “He deserves a lot of credit because he struggled the whole night. He was recoiling [with his delivery], he was having a hard time keeping the ball low and he was having a hard time spotting the ball. He still managed to keep Texas under control.”
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