A Fan Speaks Out

November 7, 2005

Inside The Clubhouse At The World Series

Having the good fortune to have a press pass for the World Series, and with clubhouse access at that, SportzNutz Feature Columnist Darrell Horwitz had the opportunity to speak to White Sox heroes Jermaine Dye, Bobby Jenks, Joe Crede, and Ozzie Guillen after game one and the Astros’ Brad Lidge and Jose Vizcaino after game two.  Here are some insights into the players’ and manager’s minds before, during, and after the game.

Darrell: You reached base four times in the game today and showed a lot of patience at the plate.  Were you concentrating on making the pitcher work to get a good pitch to hit and maybe get into the bullpen early?

Dye: I think everybody’s game plan was to work deep into the count.  Hit your pitch and try not to swing at any bad pitches.  I just felt good at the plate and took what the pitcher gave me. 

Darrell: Was the team’s strategy today to make him throw good pitches and not give up any easy outs?

Dye: I think the strategy against Roger (Clemens) was to try to go the other way with him and keep your mind off of the split.  Make him get balls up in the zone, and guys were fouling off pitches and came up with some clutch hits. 

Darrell: Since Ozzie put you in the three hole, the team has really taken off.  Do you feel more comfortable batting third?

Dye: I started hitting there probably the last week of the season.  Any time you’re in a position to drive in runs, which I have been doing my whole career, you just get geared up and ready to play.  I don’t change my approach hitting in the three hole.  I just go out there and do what I can do. 

Darrell: Is the pressure playing in a World Series game different than a regular season contest?

Dye: It’s a little bit different.  Every pitch is key; every inning is key.  Fans are more into the game.  But I think we’ve used this whole playoff experience and tried to look at it as a regular season game and just go out there and have fun.

Darrell: You guys always seem to pick each other up and find ways to get the run in during key situations.  Have you ever played on a team like that before?

Dye: I played on one team in Oakland in 2001 that was pretty good.  We play the game the way it’s supposed to be played.  We move runners over, get guys in, guys get clutch hits, and it all starts with pitching and defense. 

Darrell: Bobby, you were released by Anaheim last year, were converted from a starter to a reliever by the White Sox, and now you find yourself as the closer in the World Series.  Can you believe all that has happened to you in the past year and are you nervous being in this position?

Jenks: For me no, not at all.  I got a little taste of it in the series against Boston.  So I kind of knew what it was like.  So I just took that, built it up, and kept it inside to use it the next time I was out. 

Darrell: Do you prefer closing to middle relief and is there a different mindset as a closer?

Jenks: No, not for me.  If I’m in the bullpen and they want me up in the 5^th or the 6^th inning, I’m going to take the same mental approach out there as the 8^th or 9^th inning.

Darrell: You threw a couple of pitches to Bagwell in the 8^th pretty high up the ladder.  Were you trying to put a little extra on the ball to try to get it by him?  

Jenks: No, I was going off of the scouting reports we had on him.  On a 0-2 or 1-2 count, it said he’s very aggressive with balls above the zone.  So I was throwing it there. 

Darrell: Does the fact that Ozzie has shown such confidence in you putting you in the position that he has despite pitching such a short time in the bullpen helped your confidence?

Jenks: Yea, that has.  That came a while back ago when he sent me back out there when I blew two saves against Cleveland.  That was a big series for us at the time.  H kept sending me back out there so I knew he had the confidence in me so I just kept going and running with it. 

Darrell: So you think the fact that he did believe in you and kept sending you out there helped you?

Jenks: A lot sooner than it would have, yea.

Darrell: Joe, while you were out for a while you mentioned you watched a lot of video of yourself at the plate.  Did Greg Walker (batting coach) also help you out quite a bit?

Crede: Yea, we kind of sat there and he picked apart some things with my swing and what I was doing right and he guided that into the stance that I have now, and we just quieted things down there and to have the mentality of not trying to do too much.     

Darrell: What are you doing differently with your swing than you were doing before?

Crede: I raised my hands up a little bit, but I mainly take a deep breath and try not to do too much with the ball up there.

Darrell: Watching you all year, even when you were not hitting as well earlier in the year you seemed to rise to the occasion in clutch situations.  Is that something you look forward to?

Crede: Yea, definitely.  Being in a position to go up there and help your team win, I think everybody kind of looks forward to that.  It seems like your mentality and focus rise the bigger the situation in the game is. 

Darrell: What gives you more satisfaction, making a great defensive play or coming up with the big hit and driving in runs?

Crede: Getting the big hit.  I’m more of an offensive kind of guy.  I like to get the big hit or the big home run. 

Darrell: What’s does it feel like playing on the big stage in the World Series?

Crede: It feels great, awesome.  It’s a dream come true to be in a position to play in the World Series.  This is a year you’ll always remember and always look back on years down the road and even when you’re done playing so it’s definitely special to be a part of.

Darrell: Are you surprised at all at how well this team has played all year and were you expecting this coming out of spring training?

Crede: I don’t think so.  I mean going into spring training we knew we had a great team and it was just a matter of everybody staying healthy and doing their job and playing the way they’re supposed to play.  Basically just playing fundamental baseball and not trying to do too much, so I don’t think it surprised too many of us the way we played. 

Darrell: You played under (manager) Jerry Manual before Ozzie came in to manage this team.  How important do you think Ozzie is to the way this team is playing now?

Crede: He’s definitely the leader and he keeps us loose in the clubhouse and takes that from the clubhouse to the field and that’s huge. 

Darrell: Ozzie, you talked to Kenny Williams before the season and told him the type of team you wanted to have.  How proud are you right now of the way that they are playing?

Guillen: They play good.  We build this team around pitching.  If you don’t pitch, you’re not going to win.  I don’t care how good you are.  Kenny and I are on the same page.  The general manager and the owner know how much I want to win.  Once in a while you have to listen to each other and we have great communication. 

Darrell: Are you surprised at how well the players have adapted to the style of baseball you wanted to play?

Guillen: Well, that’s the baseball we’ve got to play because that’s the team we built around.  Catch the ball, clutch hits, make sure you have fun.  A lot of times before I threw the players under the bus because I wanted to be better.  I wanted them to know how to play the game.  Here we lose together and we win together.  I don’t want anyone on my ball club, if they say anything bad; say something bad about me.  Don’t go out and burn your teammates, because then you’re going to hear me.

Darrell: I talked to you back in May when I did an interview for the ‘Heckler’ and this is your quote right here, “People in this town like the Cubs better than the White Sox, but I’ll say a fact, whoever wins here is going to be the team to love.”  Do you feel right now with your team in the World Series that your team has taken over this town from the Cubs?

Guillen:  It’s going to be hard.  When you’re a Cub fan you’re a Cub fan no matter what.  We hope the kids that grow up in the Chicago area grow up as White Sox fans.  We are not the South Side White Sox; we are the Chicago White Sox.  We’re not just one part of town.  The Chicago people should be proud of this team no matter if you’re a Cubs fan or a Sox fan.  When we go on the road, the jerseys say Chicago; they don’t say south side or north side. 

Darrell: Does it bother you with the dislike it seems the fans of both teams have for each other?

Guillen: I don’t abide by fans, because they will like one team better than another.  But I think right now everybody in Chicago should be rooting for the White Sox.  I got the best phone call from Jim Hendry, the general manager of the Cubs.  He called on my cellular phone and said I feel proud of you and I feel proud of Kenny and the great job you’ve done.  People, they don’t know that.  And you know why he says that is because I never say anything bad about the Cubs.  I love Dusty Baker and I respect Dusty Baker. The only thing bad I say about the Cubs is Wrigley Field.  I hate it.  I hate everything about it.  But the thing is, you guys think the same shit I think, and you guys don’t have the guts to say it.  I asked the media that particular day when I made the comments “well how much do you like it, no, well say it.” 

Darrell: You’ve made the comment before that managers will play the percentages because that’s what they’re supposed to do, that’s their excuse if something goes wrong.  You seem to go against the book.  You let your pitchers finish a game.  You don’t necessarily put your set-up man in the 8^th or the closer in the 9^th.  You seem to go by your gut.

Guillen: Well, some guys are just protecting their butt.  You know why, because they don’t want to be second-guessed.  I’ll bring this guy in because he’s my closer.  I’m going to do the best thing for my team to win, not what people think.  I’ve said it before.  I could care less what the fans think.  I’m going to do the best I can everyday to win games.  And nobody knows this team better than me.  I’m going to go with the best guy at that particular time to do it. 

Darrell: Tony LaRussa was the one who started the 9^th inning with the closer when he had Dennis Eckersley.  Are you trying to change that and be the manager that brought back the complete game?

Guillen: No, because I go by my gut feeling and what’s best for the team. 

Darrell: Are you more of an old-school manager with the way you manage the game?

Guillen: No.  I’m an old-school manager the way I handle my ballplayers.  I want them to be the best that they can and I will be hard on them everyday.  You go by the rules and that’s the way it is.  I’m not afraid of my players.  I respect them and I love them to death and they know it.  But I don’t care about who you are or how much money you make, you’re not bigger than the game and you’re not bigger than the twenty-four guys here.  That’s why a lot of managers now are afraid of the players.  Because they think if one of the players gets mad, they’re going to lose their job.  You’ve got to worry about twenty-five guys, not just one. 

Darrell: Do you think with what your team has accomplished so far this year where if you win only three more games you’ll be World Series champs puts any more pressure on the Cubs to win?

Guillen: No, not really.  If they win they win, if they don’t they don’t.  It’s nothing that has to do with the Cubs.    

Brad Lidge was gracious enough to answer everybody’s questions after serving up the game winning home run to Scott Podsednik after game two, while Jose Vizcaino told me what he was looking for coming to the plate against a closer with a 100 mph fastball and the game on the line with two outs.

Darrell: How are you psychologically right now having given up the homer to Pujols (Albert) against the Cardinals in your last outing and now giving up the game winning homer to Podsednik in your very next game?  I know you want to go back out there and Phil (Garner) said he’s going to put you out there, but is it tough after the last two outings you’ve had?

Lidge: No, it’s like I said, and you guys are looking to make a little more of it than I would like, and I’ll answer all of your questions on it but it doesn’t bother me as much as maybe you guys think it might.  Because you have to put it behind you.  That’s our job description and if you don’t do it, you can’t play very long.  It is what it is and I’m not happy about it, but I’m not going to change just because something happened.  I’m going to go out there and fire strikes and hopefully this will stop.

Darrell: As a closer, do you just have to put what happens that day behind you and start over fresh the next time out?

Lidge: It was an unfortunate night for a lot of guys out there tonight.  Obviously their closer blew a save too.  But that being said, I’m sure he’s going to bounce back, and that’s kind of our job description.  I have to be the last one out there, so it looks a little different, but it doesn’t bother me a whole lot.

Darrell: Jose, what was your thought process going up and facing a guy like Jenks, who throws a hundred miles an hour with two outs in the 9th and what were you looking for up there?

Vizcaino: A fastball because that’s his best pitch, and with a guy who throws a hundred miles an hour, you can’t go up there and look for an off speed pitch.  I went up there looking for a fastball and he threw it to me. 

Darrell: Were you just going up there looking to make contact and put the ball in play?

Vizcaino: I was just trying to get a base hit and trying to drive in those two runs.

Darrell: You haven’t been playing a lot but you seem to do well when you get the opportunity.  Are you disappointed you don’t play more and has Phil said anything about maybe giving you a start?

Vizcaino: No, because that’s what I’m here for, to come off of the bench.  You get a start when they give a day off to the regular guys.  So you have to be ready whenever he calls.

SportzNutz Columnist Darrell Horwitz isn’t shy when it comes to “A Fan Speaking Out”… he holds nothing back and tells it like it is, from a fan’s perspective.  A Chicago native, Darrell is a lifelong Cubs and Bulls fan. Along with his “A Fan Speaks Out” column, Darrell is the fan writer for the Chicago Cubs, here on SportzNutz.  If you have any comments or questions, please feel free to email Darrell at darrell.horwitz@nutzworld.net