Q. Coming into Seattle now, what's the feel around the team? How was it getting in yesterday and when you guys got to the ballpark today?
JEFF HOFFMAN: Yeah, pretty much the same, same every day. It's one of the things I love about this team. We kind of take every challenge for what it is, which is its own thing. We don't drag last night or think about what's going to happen in the future. We stay in the now and go out and put our best foot forward.
Q. We've heard stories about drawing on George's experience of being in a World Series MVP and in the playoffs all the time. Two years ago you were on a team that was up two games to none in the NLCS and didn't win it. Are there any sort of -- any way you can apply that to this situation to talk to the group about maybe, you know, this isn't such an insurmountable disadvantage?
JEFF HOFFMAN: Yeah, it's not. You got to win four. We're going to go out tomorrow night and try to get one back and all we can do is take it one game at a time. Yeah, I remember being on the other end of that a couple years ago. And the series is not over until it's over. We just got to go out and play our game and focus on the now and execute our game plan, and we'll be in a pretty good spot.
Q. What do you think, from your vantage point in the bullpen, has been the biggest thing that has prevented you guys from playing your game in the first two?
JEFF HOFFMAN: I mean, I've said it since the beginning. I mean, it's going to come down to how well you can execute your game plan. There's not going to be any secrets, not going to be any new pitches you're bringing out or anything like that. Everybody knows who you are at this point in the year. It's going to come down to how well you can execute.
I haven't gone back and looked, but I would imagine that some of the pitches we've been hurt on are pitches that could have been executed better, or potentially, you know, a different pitch in the same count or something like that. We got to go out and just be us and execute the pitches that are being called. If we do that, we'll be in a great spot.
Q. When you get to the postseason, there's a finite amount of games in a way that's different from the regular season where there's always another tomorrow, and this is a small sample, but everything means so much more. Just mentally what is that dynamic like shifting from the regular season where you know there's runway versus to now when it's going to expire?
JEFF HOFFMAN: Yeah, it's different. Obviously, it feels a little bit more like your backs are against the wall with there being kind of like a finish line in sight. But like I said, we don't look ahead. We don't look behind. We stay right here where we're at. We understand what the task is and what the challenge is in front of us. It just is what it is. It's black and white. You got to go out, you got to play good baseball, you got to play clean baseball, you can't beat yourself. And the other team is here for a reason too. It's one of the best four teams left.
It's not going to be a cake walk, it never was going to be a cake walk and we got to go out and play good baseball.
Q. What does that dynamic do to maybe the emotional swings within a game? Do you feel the emotions rise, the highs are higher and the lows are lower in a postseason game versus a regular season game?
JEFF HOFFMAN: I think our guys do a great job of not letting it get that way. I think we stay pretty even-keel. I think the crowd and stuff like that does that for us. We don't add any extra on top of the atmosphere and the intensity that it already is in a playoff game.
I think our guys do a great job of just kind of going with the flow and staying in the game and not getting too high or too low.
Q. This crowd will be as loud, if not more so, than Rogers Centre. As a visiting team, can you guys also draw from the energy of the ballpark as well and maybe use that to your advantage?
JEFF HOFFMAN: Yeah, absolutely. I mean, the atmosphere of the ballpark is something that could be used by both sides. It's not necessarily the home or the away team that gets the advantage in that. It's whoever is going to be able to kind of block that out better. I feel like the noise and the loudness can definitely be a negative if you allow it to kind of become that.
But if you are able to stay focused on the task at hand and just take it pitch by pitch and stay kind of in your own head, then that stuff won't bother you.
Q. Getting back to 2023, was there anything in particular that the Diamondbacks did that you recall that allowed them to kind of chip away at the Phillies during that season?
JEFF HOFFMAN: Yeah, they executed their game plan, like I've been saying. They totally just zeroed out our offense at that time. We were chasing at an unbelievable rate and they used that to their advantage. They didn't throw us any strikes, and they won those games, and they did what they had to do to get to the World Series.
That's why I'm saying what I'm saying about the executing of your game plan. Like, all these analytical numbers and all this stuff that they put in front of you nowadays, those numbers are what they are for a reason. If you can execute your game plan and use those numbers to your advantage, you're going to have success. I think that's exactly what they did.
Q. Louis carried a heavy load out of the bullpen. He's pitched in all five games. He's had some high highs and he's had some tough moments as well. What, if any, message do you say to him after a game like yesterday?
JEFF HOFFMAN: Yeah, I mean, I think the best thing that you can do is be good at turning the page and kind of focusing on the next task. Louis got a great arm and great stuff, and all that has stayed consistent through the time that's been here. I think, if anything, I would say that let's just really focus on making sure that we're taking care of our pitches in certain counts and to certain guys. If you're throwing breaking balls to good breaking ball hitters, we're taking care of those locations.
The same thing with the fastball. You're not grooving fastballs to a good fastball hitter and just kind of, you know, giving him that. These guys are here for a reason. They have played their way to this point, just like we have, and we know exactly what they are as an offense and we need to go out and use that against them.
Q. What is it like trying to contain the Mariners run game? Because they can be very aggressive. Even some of their guys who aren't necessarily the fastest guys tend to be pretty efficient stealing bases.
JEFF HOFFMAN: Yeah, I think it's paying a little bit more attention to the details of it, making sure we're mixing our looks, mixing our times, that kind of thing. We know the tendencies. We have all the information. It's just about going out and doing it, and if we do that, then we're going to be great and we're going to have a lot of success.
Q. What do you notice about the players' post-games in the clubhouse? It feels like this has always been sort of a matter of fact group, and they don't get too down or too up. When you guys lost six of seven there the last week and a half of the season, it seemed pretty steady. What are you seeing now, and is there anything you're looking for too in a situation like this that you would want to talk people out of or away from?
JEFF HOFFMAN: Yeah, I think -- well, the first thing I would say is you have to respect your opponent. Like I said, they're here for a reason. They played their way to this point just like we have. So you have to go out and treat them like they're one of the best four teams left in the league because they're doing that to you as well.
I think there's no kind of -- there's no room to take anybody lightly this time of year. I think when it comes to us kind of losing a couple games in a row and how the mood is in the clubhouse, our guys are very consistent when it comes to that. We show up at the same time every day. The guys are ready to do their programs, their plans, their routines. Those things don't really sway one way or another. We're going to be prepared for the next game, and I think our offense and our bullpen are going to feel what has kind of happened already to this point and make adjustments, the adjustments that are necessary, and we're going to be good.
Q. On a totally different note, were you surprised that Seattle was able to play so well in Toronto, given what they had gone through with the 15-innings and the tough travel and cross-country flights and all of that?
JEFF HOFFMAN: Not surprised. I think when teams are kind of up against it like that, where they have had some things that they can't control kind of happen and it affects their arrival time and all that, it affects their sleep, you do see teams rise to the occasion when things starting to against them, especially good teams, and these are all good teams. So not surprising. I just think we needed to do a better job of capitalizing.
Q. So many guys in that clubhouse have talked about the bond between you guys and the way that it's maybe even been a bit unique within their careers. What are some of the things that you've sensed that has maybe differentiated this group from other teams you've been on and has contributed to that bond?
JEFF HOFFMAN: Well, I think the way that our roster is constructed, we have our quote-unquote big money guys are the leaders of the team, and they are kind of the foundational pieces of why we are a tight-knit group. Our clubhouse is very intertwined, like not cliquey at all. I've been in clubhouses that are cliquey and that's not a great recipe to win baseball games.
Yeah, we do everything together. You know, off nights, even, when everybody's trying to stay away from baseball, we're all going out and getting dinner together. The teams like this one are the ones where you don't really want the season to end because these are the guys that you've literally spent all your time with for the duration of the season.
Yeah, a lot of guys on this team that I'll keep in touch with for the rest of my life, no matter what goes on from this point on. I attribute that all to the way Ross and Mark and everybody kind of built this team. They built it with high-character guys and also guys that love to win and want to win and kind of have those chips on their shoulders and want to get over that hump.
Q. When does that bond between you guys factor into how things play out on the field or in what ways does it factor into how things play out on the field?
JEFF HOFFMAN: I think it factors in when your backs are up against the wall, and there's only one way out, and that's to start throwing punches. I think that's exactly the type of group that we have in the clubhouse. Yeah, I'm looking forward to the way that we respond.
Q. Just off of that, Schneids told us yesterday he thinks that whenever the season comes to an end a bunch of guys are just going to rent an Airbnb and hang out for a couple of weeks. I'm not asking you to confirm whether that will happen or not, but is that the kind of, when you say, We don't want this season to end, is that the kind of thing you're talking about?
JEFF HOFFMAN: Yeah, I just think we all enjoy being around each other so much, not only from a baseball standpoint but from a human standpoint as well. We have a lot of really good people, when it comes down to it. I think that's why we see ourselves as more than just like teammates, we're legitimately friends, and that kind of translates outside of baseball as well. That's a great thing, when you care about a group of people on a deeper level than just work, it makes it easier to come to work and fight for the guy that's next to you, and that's why I'm excited about the rest of the series.
FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports