ALCS Clincher Quotebook (Part One)

DiehardMagazine.com was in the locker room late Sunday night as the Red Sox celebrated their AL Championship Series victory over the Indians. Here’s a sampling of the quotes from Mike Timlin, general manager Theo Epstein and assistant general manager Jed Hoyer. Remember: Other sites talk about the Red Sox. Only Diehard brings you into the clubhouse! (Part one of two)

Mike Timlin:
I tell you what, ever since I’ve been here, it’s been one of the best teams I’ve ever played on. Best organization that puts people together in the right position. And we go out and we play hard and we win.

On all the comebacks the Sox have made since he joined the team in 2003:
It’s amazing. When I came here as a visitor a lot of times, it was always this Fenway magic. And it’s pretty much what it is: Fenway magic. We’re comfortable here, we play well here and we’re not afraid of anybody.

On this ALCS comeback:
We expected to win the first game back here. We really did. Then when it was 3-3, it was anybody’s game.

On what allowed this Sox team to come back from a three games to one deficit despite having a different persona than the 2004 team:
Different team, same tenacity. Same thing built into this squad. Same thing up and down. Everybody tries to do too much sometimes. We took a step back, just did what we could handle and go get ‘em.

On the momentum swings of the series:
It’s a feeling that you can’t describe. You can feel it move. And it shifted back and forth two or three times in this game right here.

On celebrating his fourth AL pennant [two with the Blue Jays, two with the Sox]:
Never gets old. You know, I’m probably one of the oldest guys here, but this is not old to me. It’s awesome. We’ve got a great team—a great run all year. Played hard all year long. Led the division a long time. Tried to give it away at the end, but didn’t give it up. We kept coming.

On what this means to him after an injury-plagued season:
It means pretty much everything right now. At this moment, it means everything. It’s great. I had a couple times [on the disabled list]—two months off and fought hard to get back. [Pitching coach] John Farrell and Tito [Francona] never gave up on me and kept putting me in there. And I got things back on track.

More on the comparisons to the 2004 team:
You know, it’s the same theme though. Twenty-five different guys, but we have the same team. We have the same heart, we have the same right. We have the same never say die attitude. These guys fight the whole way and it’s just unbelievable.


Theo Epstein:

On most of the players on this team having been acquired since he took over as general manager in December 2002:
I don’t care when they were acquired or anything like that—free agent, drafted, trades, they’re all Red Sox. They’re all our guys. And all the different elements to a team can’t come into one without all 25 of those guys contributing. And our scouting and player development people really established a Red Sox way.

On if he ever had any doubts about the Sox when they were down three games to one:
No, I mean, with what we’ve been through in the past, being down 3-1—it’s intimidating, but it’s not enough to knock you off your game. And our guys kept going out there.

On Dustin Pedroia and if was pressing earlier in the series:
I think he did a little bit. But he’s been the same player in high school that he was in college that he was in low A-ball and all the way up through the system. He’s been an offensive force. A lot of people think he can’t play because he’s too small and swings too hard, but none of that matters when you’ve got his heart and his coordination. He’s a helluva ballplayer.

On having so many homegrown players contribute:
It’s awesome. I mean, all along we’ve been trying to win World Series but establish a Red Sox way of doing things. Hopefully, today was a little bit of an exclamation point—or, I guess, you could say the start of things to come as well.


Jed Hoyer:

On what the pennant means for the organization’s philosophy to build from within:
The philosophy’s working. Certainly, the team has changed from 2004. We try to make decisions the same way. And it’s wonderful to see a guy like Jacoby [Ellsbury] and [Dustin] Pedroia and [Kevin] Youkilis. It’s fantastic. Those guys obviously came up huge tonight, and really, the last three days. Manny [Ramirez] and David [Ortiz] obviously still played well, but they didn’t carry us the way they did for, say, the first five or six games. And those guys stepped right in and carried us. They were awesome. [The] five runs that Pedroia knocked in, that’s probably the key to the game.

On if homegrown players can be prepared in the minors for October baseball:
We try to prepare them. But at the same time, I think the most important thing is we know the guys we think are going to perform well here, and those are the guys we try to make sure we get ready for positions here. So I think there’s some self-selection in there, you know?

On what the comeback says for Terry Francona as a manager:
I think Tito is the most underrated manager. I think people haven’t given him the credit—manager of the year type accolades. But look at what he’s doing in the postseason, 2004 and this year. It’s fantastic. He’s well-prepared. He makes the right moves, and for some reason, people seem to overlook it. But they shouldn’t. And he should be considered right up there with all the Mike Scioscias and, formerly, Joe Torres of the world.

On what this team has in common with the 2004 team that came back from a three games to none deficit to win the ALCS:
Well, I think they’ve got a lot of guys in there that want to play hard. No one ever gave up. And I think, frankly, series are ebb and flow. I think everybody makes it if you win the first game—everyone thinks that’s of utmost importance. It’s not over until you lose four games. And I think that’s really important. We’ve never done that. And the nice thing is it was nice to get back here. Cleveland had awesome fans. Really nice to get back here, I think that was really important.