Q. Murph, what type of energy might be different between you and Couns going into this? We know it's all professional, it's about your team winning, but what -- emotionally what do you have to protect against knowing how close you guys are, from getting caught up in his game versus yours?
PAT MURPHY: Yeah, I don't really think it's about us at all. I mean, I've got a huge staff around me and a great bunch of ballplayers that I've been through six months with or eight months with if you count spring, and I think he probably feels the same way. This isn't about us.
We'll compete, and hopefully our teams will compete. I don't think it'll change us. It's nothing about what he's doing or whatever. We've kind of revealed ourselves over the years what we're capable of. I don't think it's about us at all.
Q. But as great competitors, you're both enormous competitors. Don't you really want to beat his butt?
PAT MURPHY: I understand. It wouldn't matter who was over there; that kind of goes without saying.
This happens all the time in sports, right? Player to player is different than manager to manager.
But yeah, if they want to make it a holy field-Tyson thing, I'd probably have a better shot.
You assumed I was Tyson; is that what you're saying?
Q. Just checking if there's any update on the Brandon Woodruff front at this point.
PAT MURPHY: Yeah, there is. Woodruff will not -- well, here's the thing. The good news is this: It has nothing to do with his shoulder. That's the greatest part of it. It has nothing to do with his shoulder health.
His shoulder is 100 percent healthy. It's on its way. He's proven that when he's pitched. Now he has a lat injury, and that lat injury, much like a hamstring, has to be treated as such.
So he's not going to pitch in this series but we're hopeful that somewhere -- like a hamstring, you just never know. Like a hamstring you're hoping that who knows what might be down the road. We're very disappointed to announce that. I think everyone anticipated that. But we wanted to be sure. We wanted to get all the opinions, so we're going to move forward from there.
But we're just super happy that he's looking into everything he possibly can to try to get healthy as soon as he can, but he has a long career ahead of him. But just the news that the shoulder is 100 percent intact is the most important part.
Q. Murph, you had talked going into this week about finding that competitiveness, keeping that competitiveness. Are you happy with the balance between rest and intensity over the last couple days, and how did you get that?
PAT MURPHY: I don't think it's a matter of being happy or not happy with it. I think we made it uncomfortable and we made it competitive, but you can't replicate what's going to happen there tomorrow.
And then now it's water under the bridge. It doesn't matter now. It's done. Hopefully we did that, and hopefully the players will be as ready as you can be after a five-day layoff in baseball.
We do this at the All-Star break. Not as long, but we do. You just don't make excuses.
Q. How does familiarity play a role in a postseason series with how well these two clubs know each other?
PAT MURPHY: Yeah, I think it's across the league right now, right? Detroit and Cleveland, Boston, New York, and now we've got New York and Toronto, right?
I mean, it's there. You're going to have to play the best teams to get to where you want to go, and being familiar with the other team, be careful. Be careful what you think you know.
It's who's playing well and who's on it, who's adjusting to what they think they're going to do. You could get yourself down a rabbit hole. It's about going out and executing, making pitches, being ready for every pitch.
I think it'll play a role. Of course.
Q. A big part of your offensive approach and your success this year has been grinding out at-bats, battling pitches, putting pressure on defenses, forcing teams to make tough plays. This is a Cubs team that has been arguably the best defensive team in the NL; that's how they've graded out. Curious, do you think that raises an extra challenge specifically with this team maybe compared to some other teams you might play, and how do you approach this series knowing that this is a group of guys on the other side that can make plays?
PAT MURPHY: Yeah, I mean, the familiarity comes into play, right. They know how we try to do it and they're going to try to combat that, and we know how they try to do it and we're going to try to combat that.
Yeah, I'd rather play a team that wasn't as familiar with us, but really, all the teams we're talking about playing have some idea what they do that.
I think everybody is going to play hard, and I think everybody is going to try to grind out at-bats. Everybody is going to point to, you don't have as much shrug. The Cubs have three guys over 30 homers, this, that and the other thing. But it comes down to the game being played tomorrow.
We play good defense, too. They play really good defense. It comes down to playing those pitches, being in the moment. It's like a heavyweight matchup. Everybody has styles, and you combat that style the way you do, but you've got to figure out a way to win the game.
You do it minute by minute, second by second in the ring, and I think that's what it'll come down to.
Q. Back to Woodruff, what is the level of optimism that he could actually be able to come back down the road, and would it be as soon as the NLCS or would it be later than that?
PAT MURPHY: I think the goal would be -- I think that would be a little bit early because he's not throwing. But the fact that he's got his eyes on it and we're researching what can be done might be a possibility after that. I think that's the best way I can answer it.
Q. You guys played the Cubs last in August. Since then, how often have you talked to Couns? Can you share the frequency of the conversations? Is it different in season versus out of season with you guys, how often you talk?
PAT MURPHY: I talked to Michelle, his wife -- don't misinterpret that, please, guys. (Laughter). I talk to his wife probably as much as I talk to him. But yeah, we'll chat here and there. I don't know the frequency. Once a month maybe, something like that. I don't know. We don't usually talk about our clubs very much, like hey, I see that Shaw is really hitting for some power; how did you unlock that? We don't do that.
You can't take away the relationship, guys. You can do whatever you want. We could even fight out there, it doesn't matter. We're going to still be friends. We've been through too much together. I love his family, and he's great to my kids. It's what it is.
Q. Since you've taken over the Brewers, continued at the pace they were under Couns, I was curious how you've imparted your own personality and style on the group?
PAT MURPHY: I don't really know, to be honest with you. I'm sorry to not do that.
I think we've had two years where nobody expected us to be over .500 both years, and I don't think anybody came out of that -- my first year, what year was that, 2024, being the manager, nobody expected us to win the division, and nobody for sure this year expected us to win the division.
I think we've made a statement of how we play, and I think we've done a pretty good job of establishing that we're going to overachieve.
Again, we didn't get an increase in budget or we didn't pick up players at the deadline. We didn't do a lot of those things because we trust in the way we do things.
I think it should be noted that these teams have overachieved.
Q. Players this week have talked about how much playing at home means. What do you want from the fans tomorrow who are coming here? What do you ask from them? What do you want from them? Should you do a third-inning interview with Japanese television, what fare would you take out of your pocket to appease the Japanese audience? Could you do sushi, could you do some ramen? What do you got in mind should you do for a third-inning interview?
PAT MURPHY: Wow, that was a lot of questions you just asked me. What was the first one? That sidetracked me. They don't know what you're talking about.
Q. Playing at home, what do you want from the fans?
PAT MURPHY: Stay engaged, enjoy it, love your team the way you should this year. This has been -- these guys have stepped up in a huge way. Like I said, nobody expected -- you didn't know the players' names, and for them to emerge, some of the guys that the front office picked out of Triple-A that had unbelievable seasons, front-line seasons for us, you're thinking, like, admire this team the way I do, love this team the way I do, show up to see them thrive and keep going.
The fans have been great for us. We've had 25 sellouts. I don't know if that's normal or not. I don't really keep track but somebody told me that. That's pretty cool. So I'd say come out and encourage the guys.
The second one, third inning, Japanese media, let's do -- I don't know what they would want mid-game. You can't Cook spaghetti and meatballs for an Italian family. I can't pull out something Japanese cuisine for them. Maybe we just go peanut butter and jelly for these guys. Just a thought.
Q. Is Quinn Priester starting Game 2, or is there the possibility of some creativity there, and is Quintana lined up and ready based on this past week for Game 3?
PAT MURPHY: Both of them will be ready for Game 2, but we haven't decided what we're doing Game 2.
Q. Can you share what Quintana did this week, how much he was able to throw?
PAT MURPHY: He's 100 percent. He had three ups day before yesterday.
Q. I had a source indicate that you had a little ink added recently. Would you be in a position to share and show?
PAT MURPHY: Really? That's kind of personal, isn't it? Isn't it personal? I can show you, so I'm going to do this. You think you're smart. I know who you got it from. You think you're smart. No, you think you've got me on the spot right now, but you don't. I got 3:19:10. It's my daughter's best time in the Boston Marathon. She's run it four or five times. This is her best time. I just got that day before yesterday.
Q. Any other new ones?
PAT MURPHY: Any other new tattoos on my body?
Q. Like recent?
PAT MURPHY: Yeah.
Q. You don't have to show us --
PAT MURPHY: Yeah, I got a tattoo on my sleeve like the players wear on their uniform, the Bob Uecker --
Q. Like the patch?
PAT MURPHY: The patch.
Q. Very cool.
PAT MURPHY: Yeah. I told you guys in Spring Training I was getting a Uecker tattoo; remember that?
Q. What happens if she beats that time?
PAT MURPHY: Glad you asked that, because Pedro, her husband, said, your dad just doing that so you'll run another one and beat the time. He's motivating you. So you just cross it out and put 3:16:14 and I've got a lot of room to do that, so if she wants to keep rolling.
She's 39 years old so I don't know how many more times she's going to do it, but I think that'll motivate her. That's a pretty good time right there 3:19:10 if you do the math, 26.2, that's a pretty good mile. I'm really proud of her. And she's done it four or five times, and Boston has that, what do they call that?
Q. Heartbreak Hill.
PAT MURPHY: Heartbreak Hill. That's no fun. I'm so proud of her. I want her to do that, and then everybody is going to ask, what does that mean.
FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports