What went on in the dugout between you and Harvey before the ninth?
Well, I told him that we were going — that was enough. And he just came over and said, “I want this game. I want it bad. You’ve got to leave me in.” I said, “Matt, you’ve got us exactly where we wanted to get you.” He said, “I want this game in the worst way.” So obviously I let my heart get in the way of my gut. I love my players. And I trust them. And so I said, “Go get ’em out.” And he went out and the lead-off walk started it off.
But if you’re going to let him just face one guy, you shouldn’t have sent him out there. When the double hit, that’s when I said, I’ve got to see if we can get out of this with only one run. And it didn’t work. It was my fault.
Reflections on the overall season?
Absolutely. Absolutely. Tremendous year. I just told the players, I’ve done this for a long, long time and this is the most fun I’ve ever had in all the years. Tremendous season, all we had to deal with, but tremendous guys to be around, great experience. I’m very, very proud of them. You guys know last March or last June no one would ever have said we were going to be sitting where we are today.
I congratulate the Royals. They played absolutely great. Ned’s done a tremendous job. He deserves a lot of credit. They’ve done a great job in their organization. We couldn’t get it done, and we’re hoping to get another chance at it.
Was the crowd a factor on sending Harvey back out?
Just to answer that part of the question, I try not to let the crowd influence me. What I want is the players. When you looked in this kid’s eyes, when he came off that inning, and I mean, he’s been through a tough summer. He’s been beaten down, and I just trusted him. I said, “You got it. You’ve earned this. So go get ’em.” So it’s my fault. It’s not his. That’s who he is.
I know better than that. I know that he wants the ball. He never wants to come out, and he was pitching good. He was throwing the ball great. We got in the spot where we wanted to get to, and we talked about it all day yesterday and all day today. This was my fault.
The team had many defensive lapses, was it the pressure?
In the Big Leagues, I think at the Major League level you certainly shouldn’t be intimidated by the fact that they have speed. We know that. We’ve played teams that have speed before. But the game speeds up and they are certainly very dangerous. You’ve got to be cautious of them.
Does it wear on the pitcher every a little bit? It might. Knowing you’ve got Dyson sitting at second base. You’re waiting for him to go to third. Does it take your concentration off the hitter a little bit? Maybe. It shouldn’t, but human nature says it could. But, again, we should have not been in those situations. We should have gotten some runs earlier.
What about the Duda throw?
A good throw he’s out. Luke’s got a great arm, and threw the ball wide.
You got beat in five games, but two of these games you had. Does that make it hurt a little bit more?
Again, that’s why it’s baseball. That’s why you’ve got to play nine innings. You say you had them, you never have them until the 27th out is made. We played very well. We pitched very well. Yeah, we’re real disappointed. I know where Ned came from when he talked about how he felt last year, and that’s the way we feel right now. I told the guys, this is the time to enjoy it and be proud of your accomplishments. But when you get beat at the end of the season, it’s not fun.
What did you say to your team just now?
Well, you know, again, that stuff stays in the clubhouse. It’s the same stuff you would say to them. How proud you are they played the way they did. The things they accomplished. I went around the room and I told every single guy. There’s not — Matt Reynolds might be the exception, but everyone in that room had a piece of it. Be it a pitcher or a big hit or something else, every single guy accumulated something that got us to this point. So they should all be happy. They need to hold their heads up. There’s two teams left, and we were very proud we were one of them.
With so many guys playing more games and innings what have you learned about your team this year?
Well, again, I congratulate the coaching staff on the job they did, because they kept these guys healthy and they kept them strong. I think the one thing we need to concern ourselves with is how they’re going to be in Spring Training. This is going to be a short offseason for a lot of them. Just as you said, they pitched more innings than they ever have. So my concern is what they’re going to be like when they show up at Spring Training. When are those arms going to bounce back?
But those are all things we’ll find out as the future comes. I tell you one thing, they learned one thing: They learned how to get through this. They learned how to get through a long season. They learned what it’s like to play in October, and they’re going to be a lot better because of this experience.
Sometimes good coaching and managing is listening to your best players. One of your best players says he needs to be out there, and 48,000 people chanting for that, what outside of the result tells you that was a mistake or is it just the result?
Sometimes you let your heart dictate your mind. Again, we had said going in if Matt gave us seven, Jeurys was going to pitch two. I’ve got one of the best closers in the game. I got him in the game, but it was a little late. And that’s inexcusable, for me.
Matt will tell you different because he’s a tremendous human being. He’s going to say how he wanted to be out there and should be out there. Dan said the same thing. He’s throwing the ball great. But if you put Jeurys in, he would’ve gave up the two runs, “Well, you should’ve left Harvey.” I know how it goes.
I won’t be sleeping much the next couple of days, I’ll tell you that.
