Showalter speaks after Game 3 defeat

NEW YORK - Orioles manager Buck Showalter was asked tonight about the size of the knot in his stomach following a 3-2, 12-inning loss to the Yankees in Game 3 of the American League Division Series. "I don't have no knot in my stomach," he replied. Why not? "Why not?" he replied. "Is that what I'm supposed to do? Is that what conventional thinking is? Well, they may. We don't live in that world. We're so impressed with all our guys tonight. Played a great game in a tough situation, and they'll come out and compete tomorrow. "Impressed with Jimmy (Johnson) getting the outs he did coming back and pitching another clean inning. It's very hard to do what these young men do for a living. It doesn't always work out perfectly, and it's part of the process. I'm real proud of the way they competed. "One pitch. That's the world we live in. Got to tip your hat to the other guy every once in a while." Here's the rest of the transcript: Q. Two things: Did you anticipate that he would send in (Raul) Ibañez for A‑Rod in that situation in the ninth, and who is your starting pitcher tomorrow? SHOWALTER: "Joe is starting tomorrow, Saunders, and I let him manage his club, and Joe (Girardi) has done a great job with it. It's not outside the realm of possibility. You had a couple spots you knew there was a really good hitter on the bench that's made a lot of good contributions to them, and that's why they're able to do a lot of things they do to have people like that on the bench and also contribute when people get hurt. You're trying to win baseball games, and you do some things that gives you the best chance to win." Q. Matt Wieters and Adam Jones I think are combined 3‑for‑25 in the first three games. Any thoughts on that and what you might be able to do to get them started? SHOWALTER: "Well, you know, it's a short sampling. It's just like early in the year, in April, where guys go through periods. You trust the track record. Matt has hit some balls right on the button, Adam put us in a potential position to have a big inning tonight, and the job that Matt did behind the plate again tonight, I can't tell you how challenging that is to put down the great fingers that he does. That's just part of this time of year because we don't dwell on those short stats, and rightfully so, because there is a sense of finality to the games and what have you, but we still control what we're going to be able to do. Now we've got to win two games instead of one." Q. Given how consistent Johnson and the rest of the bullpen has been, are you almost stunned when it doesn't come through? SHOWALTER: "Stunned, no. Stunned left me a while ago. I got a grip on how hard this is to do. The problem with a lot of coaches and managers, they forget about how hard the game is to play and how tough a night they've had on given times. It's very hard to do what they do. When you see it done with the consistency in the major leagues when people do it, Jimmy is a big-hearted, talented guy that, believe me, we'd be at home watching without people like Jim Johnson. He's a special guy. We're real proud of him, and you'll see him again tomorrow night, I hope." Q. I know it's tough to talk about it now, but how big was it to get two home runs from two rookies in the bottom of your lineup? SHOWALTER: "Well, I appreciate the half-full question. That's good, thank you. No, I think about Manny (Machado) and the things that he ... that's a moment for him that he'll reach back for as we go forward, hopefully after Friday. I thought Nate had some big at‑bats tonight, McLouth. I was kind of stunned a little bit when we came right back when they scored and (Machado) hit a sac bunt by a young man that our farm system has done a good job of doing more and just let him swing the bat, gets the bunt down, gets a guy tough to bunt, and Nate scorches the ball and just happens to be at somebody. They hit some balls at people, too. "No, the home runs and things like that, that's why they're here. They're capable of those things, and as we go forward, I know it's a big night for Ryan (Flaherty), when you think about it, a Rule 5 pick that has had some big hits for us, especially in the last month, and he's been a contributor." Q. Why Joe (Saunders) over Chris (Tillman) for tomorrow? SHOWALTER: "We think Joe is ... we feel good about both of them, and I hope we have the opportunity. Joe obviously coming off a real good start in a pressure situation, a game that we had to win, and he'll find himself back in that spot again. Joe is a guy that gives you a chance to win, and he'll compete, and he knows ... we feel good with him out there."