Q. Stephen, we're obviously all going to make a big deal out of it. How do you make sure that making your major league debut in a playoff elimination game is not bigger than it is?
STEPHEN VOGT: It is big. You're making your major league debut and you're in a wild card series and elimination game. Have fun, embrace it, enjoy it. Chase is ready. You can see it on his face how good of a player he is, and we're going to roll with it, and we're excited for him and his family.
Q. What convinced you to do this?
STEPHEN VOGT: Just with where we're at. Offense has been a struggle for us and we're looking to generate some more offense. Chase has played a lot of center field, he's been a very good outfielder. He's been a very good hitter. We feel like this is the right move to do. Here we go.
Q. How did he react? What was the conversation like when you told him he was in the lineup?
STEPHEN VOGT: I don't know. I wasn't there. We send out the lineup the night before. I told him on Monday you'll be active and have a good chance to start on Wednesday. I'm sure it didn't catch him completely off guard. It would be interesting to see what did your face look like when you saw you were in the lineup. So we'll see.
Q. You have three guys in the lineup who weren't with the club two months ago. Was there any hesitation in doing that?
STEPHEN VOGT: No. We play who's here. We've had a number of things lead to different people being here at different times. We've had injuries. We've had other things that have created roster space. The way we do it here is when you're here, you play. And it's worked for us, and it's going to continue to be the way we do things.
Q. Can you talk through the process of how you try to get Chase comfortable in center field with shadows, with the angles of the wall, with working next to Kwan, things like that? How he can get comfortable? There's no margin for error in a game like this.
STEPHEN VOGT: He's been here for three days. We have the dimensions in Goodyear that are the same as here. You can work on balls off the wall there. He's been doing all kinds of things like that. He's played outfield his whole life. He's dealt with sun, dealt with shadows his whole life.
Go out and play baseball. There's risk with anybody playing in elements. It's not because you've never done it or because of this. Let's go. Let's see what happens.
Q. The unpredictability of adding him to a lineup is one thing. For the Tigers who have never seen a player like that before, does that play into helping you guys at all?
STEPHEN VOGT: You don't know. It's hard to game plan for somebody you've never seen or that hasn't played for a while. At the same time, you're facing a good right-handed pitcher with three weapons, and Chase is a good hitter. Go have some fun. Go compete.
Q. Stephen, what's been the timeline on him? Because he hasn't played at Triple-A for a while, right? Where's he been? What's he doing?
STEPHEN VOGT: He's been in Arizona rehabbing and been taking live batting practice at-bats, training off of Trajekt. He's working, ready to full go.
Q. Your message all year has been the same. Have fun. For you, your second year in the postseason, what's different for you?
STEPHEN VOGT: I think I've known what to expect this year. Last year, going through it, having never done it, you're learning on the fly. I'm still learning. It's my second year managing. You don't know what you don't know. You're going to continue to learn and ask questions and do all kinds of things.
What I've learned is you have to make decisions that maybe other people aren't going to be comfortable with and not care. And I think really, for me, I know this group of guys better than anyone on this planet. I've been around them. I know what they like to do. I know what they're capable of. I know the personalities. I know the downfalls, whatever you want to call it.
And there's no one more equipped because I've been with them every day. This group has come together. This group has put together a tremendous run to get here, and we're not done. We've got one more day to keep our season alive, and I have more confidence in our guys than I ever have before. We're going to go out and have a great game.
Q. Steven Kwan's had a tough five games at the plate. You've said it before when he goes, you guys all go. What have you seen out of him? What do you want to see maybe change or click going forward?
STEPHEN VOGT: It's Kwanny. You said what's true. He's had a rough five-game stretch. Kwanny is one game away from getting on track, and it's been a kind of up-and-down second half for Kwanny. When Kwanny gets going, we get going. It's not that it's all on him. But for me right now, he's chasing up a little bit. Got to get the ball a little lower in the zone and get it going. He's well aware of that, but it's easier said than done.
Q. Stephen, what has been the difference in Tanner Bibee's last three starts? Seems like he's been locked in.
STEPHEN VOGT: To me, the cutter has been phenomenal. He's been able to put it anywhere in the zone and shape it differently. The fastball command and he's really got a feel back for his changeup, and he's throwing his curveball well. He's got his stuff. His stuff has been tremendous over the last few starts, and he's been attacking the strike zone like Tanner does and expect him to do the same today.
Q. Tanner talked to us a lot last year about how he was trying to mentally prepare for these games and how it was challenging for him and the nerves, the anxiety that he dealt with. What have you seen from him that gives you comfort that, you know, mentally he's in the right place? Not just now, but down the stretch of the season where maybe he's embracing these opportunities.
STEPHEN VOGT: He's worked through a lot this year. Look at Tanner's year. Earns himself an extension that he very well earned and then pitching with those pressures, missing your opening day start because you had food poisoning. Getting off to a slow start, having a few bad starts to start, and ups and downs throughout the whole year. You lock it in when it means the most.
He's a competitor. Tanner's one of the most competitive people I've been around. This game will beat you down if you allow it to, and he's done a nice job of separating those two things down the stretch.
Q. Where do you think José's at with his power swing. It's been a while since he hit a home run. Does have a few doubles in this stretch. What would you like to see him maybe driving the ball more to help get you guys going?
STEPHEN VOGT: José is doing everything he can. No one is throwing him anything to hit out of the yard. That's what we're seeing down the stretch. They're being super cautious with José. Everybody is going to be. He's making things happen. José's power swing is there. He hasn't gotten the pitch to drive out of the yard in quite some time. José makes triples happen on singles, and he's the best player on the planet.
Q. You have this unshakeable faith with this ball club with each of the players. The ones that you haven't seen much from, the ones that you haven't seen really anything from. Where does that come from that you can have that stay with you throughout the season, the ups and downs, even right now?
STEPHEN VOGT: It's faith. It's faith and belief. And when you work with a group of people for an entire year and you see how hard everyone around you is working, you trust it, and you believe in it. This group of people, everyone with Cleveland, has not wavered, has not changed.
I trust our player development opinions. I trust the coaching staffs. I trust everybody. And I believe in these players. And it's really the only thing that can carry you through eight months is truly believing we have an opportunity to win a World Series.
Like I said, that belief or that trust isn't going away until our season's over. We're going to come out and give it everything we have. It's a choice you make every day. It's so easy to dwell on the negatives. It's so easy to be a naysayer. It's so easy to be a second-guesser. You've just got to go out, give it everything you have, make the best decisions, and let's go play.
FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports