Oct. 9 Joe Maddon workout day interview

Q. Do you guys need to be warned about overconfidence, or does that go without saying? Everything’s going so well?JOE MADDON: That’s always something from outside coming in. I think we attacked it, the day, the same way from Spring Training to this point. That’s what we preach. That’s what I talk about, be present, not perfect. We would be foolish to be overconfident about this situation. They’re really good, they have done this before, that is a group that is just dripping with tested veterans and a manager that’s outstanding. So you never take the Giants for granted. Never.Q. You were very proactive, you and Bos, in managing the workloads and the rotation late in the year. Was that just an example of taking the long view and not only keeping them healthy but keeping them fresh and sharp hopefully for the postseason?JOE MADDON: Yeah, and it’s always tough to rein in a thoroughbred. They all want to pitch. They all want to play. They want to throw more pitches. They want to be on five-man rotation from the first day to the last. And you just have to listen to that. But at some point you got to know what’s the right thing to do, and we talked about this, but I think it’s really wise to consider a six man before and right after the All-Star break. I think that’s the perfect time to — if you have that guy. Many teams are just trying to find five guys or four guys that they like in the starting rotation. But if you can somehow of finagle that extra guy from your system or really be proactive in the off-season to get that balance in the middle of the season, you saw what happened to us prior to the All-Star break. We weren’t very good. And that was just a fatigue situation. Nothing to do with anything else. So, I think anything you can do to guard against fatigue, during the course of the season, that’s probably the best that you possibly can focus on. Extra hitting, extra throwing, extra ground balls, there was a time that I thought that. Instruction league, it’s beautiful. Spring Training, it’s beautiful. In a regular Major League season, to prevent fatigue is the most important thing.Q. How do you even sum up what Madison Bumgarner has done on this postseason stage in recent years? And also just the way this team has played elimination games under Bruce Bochy?JOE MADDON: It’s like when I was a kid. I could only relate it to that. I was a Cardinal fan growing up, and seeing Bob Gibson do what he did in the ’60s and then Mr. Kaufax, what he did. So you have to kind of draw the parallels or the comparisons from when you were a kid. When you’re caught up in the moment, you don’t really — for me, you don’t really make those kind of evaluations. So I look at it as, wow, it’s just like what Gibson did, it’s like what Kaufax did. And maybe with Whitey Ford and the Yankees prior to that. It’s unique. So I hope the kids that are really watching right now understand how good this guy is and how it parallels throughout baseball history, what he’s doing right now. He’s good. It’s not just purely his stuff; it’s his competitive nature. I think that’s what gets lost in this a lot with what we do. Everybody’s always analyzing numbers and pitches and how he does this and spin rotation and whatever. This guy competes. That’s what sets him apart. It’s not that his stuff is that special, it’s really good, but how he competes is what sets him apart. That’s what kids should — if kids are watching this and really want to understand how to get good, you compete, and you compete every pitch. And that’s why he’s as good as he is.Q. How important is it that Jake rise to the level of the Bumgarner challenge, find that version of himself that can pitch with anybody and beat anybody? Do you get the sense that he needs that?JOE MADDON: I think he had it. I think he has that. I think last year really is indicative of what Jake’s all about. This season everybody’s been overscrutinizing him based on what he had done last year. He’s had a great season. It’s not maybe as great as last year was, but it’s hard to replicate that. So, I don’t think Jake is cowered by any situation. We have a lot of confidence in him. I think he projected last year exactly what he’s all about. He’s done it this year, too. Again, it’s just hard to maintain the level of excellence that he had last year. This year’s he’s been outstanding. Last year, it’s really hard for him to beat that. So, I know he’s ready for the challenge tomorrow night.Q. Now that you managed Jason Heyward for a year, do you think that’s guy that you maybe can’t fully appreciate until you watch him play every day because of the little things he does, whether it’s base running, defense, influence in a clubhouse?JOE MADDON: He showed me that last year. Played the Cardinals, what, 19 times during the season, whatever that — 18? 18? And then I got to see him in the playoffs. I was a fan. I never really saw him before that. But he showed me last year, proved to me last year what a good baseball player he is. And then I get to see it every day. You’re right. Again, we get caught up on bating averages. And, of course, there’s more in the tank for him with that, with his offensive numbers, but everything else he does this year and he’s done this year has been superlative. And I really appreciate good baseball. I don’t think it’s any coincidence that he’s played on a hundred win teams the last couple years. He’s been such a big part of the fabric of those groups. So, I did appreciate it last year. I’m appreciating it again this year. He’s just different in all the best ways, and it’s going to keep getting better. I really anticipate an uptick in his offense next season and in the years to come. He’s a great student, tremendous athlete, and he’s great to be around.Q. Pitchers in these kind of high-level pitching matchups often say, well, I’m not going against that other guy; I’m going against their lineup. Do you think that’s really true, or do you think when these two guys like this face off against each other, it actually — they’re actually thinking about what they have to rise to to beat –JOE MADDON: I think the trap would be to worry about that. I think that the correct analysis would be it’s the player, the hitter in that particular moment. How do I get this guy out. I’m really big into the moment as opposed to getting into the macro component of those kind of things. I think the pitchers — Jake’s good, Bumgarner’s good, they’re both really good. So I don’t know why you would want to focus on that other particular quarterback or pitcher or center in basketball whatever. I think it’s much more important to focus on the moment. When you’re doing your prep work, you can’t go, oh, I’m pitching against …

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