Notes from MLB Postseason on TBS / Division Series – October 10, 2012
MLB Postseason coverage continues on TBS today, Thursday, Oct. 11, beginning with the TBS MLB On-Deck presented by Dodge Dart pre-game show at 12:30 p.m. ET. The network will exclusively televise all the action including the San Francisco Giants at Cincinnati Reds, NLDS Game 5, at 1 p.m. on TBS; the St. Louis Cardinals at Washington Nationals, NLDS Game 4, at 4 p.m. on TBS; the Baltimore Orioles at New York Yankees, ALDS Game 4, at 7:30 p.m. on TBS; and the Detroit Tigers at Oakland Athletics, ALDS Game 5, at 9:30 p.m. on TNT. The night will conclude with the Inside MLB presented by Captain Morgan post-game show on TBS.
QUOTES OF THE NIGHT
“It’s a great experience. We do it as a team and we stay after it. I’m blessed to have the opportunity to come up like that. We do it together. It’s about a team and it’s about winning.”
– New York Yankees’ Raul Ibanez on hitting the game-tying and game-winning home runs in Game 4
“We’ve been doing this all year. It’s an awesome feeling. We’re just trying to give it our best every night. We don’t give up. Hopefully, it ends up in our favor again [tomorrow].”
– Oakland Athletics’ hero Coco Crisp on hitting the game-winning single in the bottom of the 9th
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MLB On-Deck presented by Dodge Dart
Matt Winer (host), Dennis Eckersley and David Wells (analysts) with Shane Victorino (guest analyst)
Victorino on Giants starter Barry Zito: “He’s very tough. He hits his spots. He’s got a devastating breaking ball.”
Eckersley assessing New York Yankees third baseman Alex Rodriguez in the first two games of the postseason: “I give A-Rod a break. This guy had hip replacement and then he got drilled by ‘King Felix’ [Hernandez] in the wrist. You see him, he’s lost it. He’s getting older. He’s naturally getting older. He’s one of the greatest players that ever played this game. I have more respect than anything for this guy.”
Victorino on Yankees’ Alex Rodriguez: “This is the type of guy that can turn things around in a heartbeat.”
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NLDS, Game 4: San Francisco Giants (8) at Cincinnati Reds (3) – Series tied 2-2
Brian Anderson (play-by-play), Ron Darling and Joe Simpson (analysts) with Tom Verducci (reporter)
Darling on 22-year-old San Francisco Giants catcher Hector Sanchez: “You see a lot of catchers that come up – it’s offense first, defense second. That’s always been the case with Sanchez but he’s learning.”
Simpson on Sanchez replacing Buster Posey behind the plate in Game 4: “He’s a terrific-looking, young, offensive player. If he can continue to develop his catching ability they’ve really got something.”
Anderson, Darling and Simpson interviewed Reds manager Dusty Baker during the 6th inning
Baker on all the moves Giants manager Bruce Bochy made in the first five innings of Game 4: “They’re going to try anything they can do tonight.”
Simpson on Giants reserve shortstop Joaquin Arias’ big Game 4: “If this series goes to [Game 5], this guy is bidding for a chance to start.”
Simpson on Giants back-up catcher Hector Sanchez who started Game 4: “He’s done a nice job behind the plate. He’s called a good game. I haven’t seen too many [Giants pitchers] shake him off. [Game 4 starting pitcher Barry] Zito wasn’t on his game today but that’s not on Hector.”
Simpson on St. Louis Cardinals starting pitcher Chris Carpenter’s return from injury to perform well down the stretch and into the postseason: “Its one thing to come back…but he’s come back and pitched well. It’s really impressive to come back with so little work and do what he did today [Game 4 win].”
Darling: “He’s the king of getting those key four, five, six outs that you have to get in order to have a great game.”
Darling on how Giants manager Bruce Bochy utilized Tim Lincecum in Game 4: “Bochy managed the 4th and 5th innings like they were the 8th and 9th. Once he got through that, he needed someone [Lincecum] to give his bullpen a rest and his brain a rest. That’s what Lincecum did.”
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ALDS, Game 3: Baltimore Orioles (2) at New York Yankees (3) in 12 innings – New York leads series 2-1
Ernie Johnson (play-by-play), John Smoltz and Cal Ripken, Jr. (analysts) with Craig Sager (reporter)
Smoltz on New York Yankees starting pitcher Hiroki Kuroda: “This was a one-year signing and I don’t think they [Yankees] realized how great it was going to be. He has been terrific.”
Smoltz on Orioles starting pitcher Miguel Gonzalez: “There’s nothing super great about his pitches. They are just all good and he knows how to pitch. He goes in, he goes out…he mixes up his pitches and he’s not afraid.”
Ripken on Orioles outfielder Adam Jones: “Adam is an emotional guy and sometimes he needs to pull it back a little bit. It’s always better to be too emotional than not enough because you can always pull it back a little bit. He’s trying really hard.”
Smoltz on Orioles outfielder Nate McLouth revitalizing his career in Baltimore: “Nate is not your prototypical lead-off hitter. He does have the speed of a lead-off hitter…but he’s got more power than people think. Playing in Pittsburgh and coming over to Atlanta, he was trying to define what kind of player he was. Filling in a role in Baltimore has opened up some eyes for the future…who leads off [for the Orioles] next year?”
Ripken on Orioles starter Miguel Gonzalez’s performance in Game 3: “I’m really impressed with his poise and his control. He’s not throwing the ball down the middle [of the plate] but he’s always ahead 0-2 [in the count].”
Ripken on Yankees’ Alex Rodriguez and his struggles throughout the ALDS: “I see a hitter that’s in-between. He’s not waiting on the breaking ball and he’s behind on the fastball. You have to make up your mind one way or another, ‘I’m going to go up there and hit this fastball but be fooled by the breaking ball.’ You can’t hit all of them.”
Smoltz on how the Orioles pitching staff has successfully approached facing Alex Rodriguez: “They’ve been moving the ball around on A-Rod. They’ve been pitching him hard [inside] and they’ve done a good job of keeping him guessing for a guy who has a lot of pressure on him.”
Ripken on then-Yankees manager Joe Torre moving a struggling Alex Rodriguez to eighth in the batting order during the 2006 ALDS: “I like Joe Torre a lot but I didn’t like that move. I didn’t like pushing him down to eighth. He’s a legitimate, big-time superstar and you’re going to count on him. I think the mental damage that might be caused by that wasn’t worth it. I just didn’t like it.”
Ripken on superior pitching in the Orioles/Yankees ALDS: “The pitchers have been taking care of the hitters in this series.”
Ripken on the dream season that Orioles starting pitcher Miguel Gonzalez enjoyed: “I’m sure there were lots of steps along the season that he wanted to pinch himself and say, ‘is this really happening’…[Game 3] is probably the biggest one.”
Ripken on Yankees’ Raul Ibanez’s pinch-hit game-tying home run in the bottom of the 9th: “It amazes me that he could come out there without a sweat and turn around [Jim Johnson’s] fastball like that.”
Smoltz on Yankees manager Joe Girardi finding a way to win despite facing obstacles throughout the season: “I think this year, Joe Girardi has done one of his best jobs managing because the pieces have not all be aligned as you’d typically think. You’ve got guys that have disappointed offensively, you’ve had members of the pitching staff who have gone on the DL [disabled list], you lose your closer [injured Mariano Rivera] and they’ve found a way to not only get in the postseason but have the best record in the American League…[Girardi] found ways to get it done.”
TBS’ Craig Sager interviewed Yankees’ Raul Ibanez who tied the game with a home run in the 9th and won the game with a home run in the 12th
Ibanez on his performance off the bench in Game 4: “It’s a great experience. We do it as a team and we stay after it. I’m blessed to have the opportunity to come up like that. We do it together. It’s about a team and it’s about winning.”
Ibanez on teammate Alex Rodriguez, who he pinch-hit for in the 9th inning: “A-Rod is a great teammate and a great team player. He’s the first one on the top step [of the dugout] congratulating you. It’s about winning, it’s about the Yankees and continuing [in the Postseason].”
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ALDS, Game 4: Detroit Tigers (3) at Oakland Athletics (4) – Series tied 2-2
Don Orsillo (play-by-play), Buck Martinez (analyst) with Jaime Maggio (reporter)
Martinez on Oakland A’s outfielder Coco Crisp’s game-winning single in the bottom of the ninth inning: “Coco Crisp delivered again. He has gotten big hits all year long but none bigger than that one.”
TBS’ Maggio interviewed Oakland A’s hero Coco Crisp following his game-winning single
Crisp on Game 4: “We’ve been doing this all year. It’s an awesome feeling. We’re just trying to give it our best every night. We don’t give up. Hopefully, it ends up in our favor again [tomorrow].”
Martinez on Oakland A’s outfielder Seth Smith who came through with a game-tying double in the bottom of the ninth inning: “It’s hard to get a fastball by Seth Smith.”
Martinez on the Oakland A’s defense: “The defense behind [starting pitcher A.J. Griffin] has been spectacular.”
Martinez on Oakland A’s outfielder Yoenis Cespedes: “Cespedes is a very good breaking ball hitter. He’s got a great stroke and has really learned how to be selective and patient. If you throw him a breaking ball [in the strike zone], he’ll hit it hard.”
Martinez on Detroit Tigers infielder Prince Fielder’s home run in Game 4 after being robbed of an home run in Game 3: “He hit that one far enough to make sure nobody could catch it.”
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Inside MLB presented by Captain Morgan
Winer, Eckersley, Wells with Victorino
Eckersley on Prince Fielder’s fifth inning home run which gave Detroit a 2-0 lead in the game: “It was a solo job but it felt like that was the ball game.”
Eckersley on the Athletics pulling off another come-from-behind victory: “Hats off to the A’s. They are expecting this stuff to happen. [Coco Crisp] is clutch. He’s been there before and he’s been their leader. They’ve been doing this just to stay in shape all year. They can’t let this [series] get away from them. This is an incredible run and they have to win Game 5.”
Victorino on the Athletics: “They’re on a high right now. It’s called destiny.”
Wells on Orioles starting pitcher Miguel Gonzalez’s Game 4 performance: “He went out there looking like he was Cy Young the way he manhandled [the Yankees]. It was an incredible job.”
Eckersley on Ibanez’s clutch home runs: “That’s just unreal – two pitches, two bombs. It’s incredible. It really is. It’s sorta like it’s meant to be for Ibanez.”
Victorino on not being surprised about Ibanez’s home run heroics in Game 3: “I’ve seen it before. He hits more than anybody I know and works at it more than anybody I know. He’s such a humble, soft-spoken, all-about the team [person]. He never took any credit for going out there and hitting the home runs and giving them [Yankees] the ‘W’.”
Wells on Ibanez’s heroics: “Raul wants to hit in the biggest moment of the game. That’s how you make a name for yourself – by being the guy who is not afraid to fail.”
Eckersley on whether Yankees infielder Alex Rodriguez will hit third in the lineup in Game 4 – “Will he hit third tomorrow? I doubt it.”
Wells on Detroit Tigers’ Game 5 starter Justin Verlander: “He’s fired up. He’s pumped up. He’s ready to go.”
Victorino on Verlander and his frame of mind entering the decisive Game 5: “Verlander did not shut it down mentally. He’s going to be ready to go. It’s going to be a great game.”
Eckersley on Giants manager Bruce Bochy removing starting pitcher Barry Zito after 76 pitches in 2 2/3 IP and bringing in George Kontos and Tim Lincecum: “That was the move of the game. He got Zito out of there just in time.”
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