The Stamford Zoots, fresh off their victories over the Salem Cowtippers
and Litchfield Lightning this weekend, returned to their hometown for 
their first World Series press conference.  Manager and GM Paul Marazita 
attended the love-in at the beautiful Stamford Sheraton.  The following 
is a transcript of selected portions of that press conference.

Marazita:  First off I would just like to thank the good people of 
Stamford for coming out this weekend for what surely will go down as two 
of the most exciting series in BDBL history.  My hat is off to them for 
their unbelievable enthusiasm and never-say-die attitude.  It is such a 
pleasure playing before such knowledgable fans.  Second, I just wanted 
to thank both the Cowtippers and Lightning for two great series.  Mike 
Glander and Phil Geisel are two of the finest baseball minds in the BDBL 
and it was a pleasure matching wits with them.  But now let me open it 
up for questions...

Rob Neyer:  Hi, Rob Neyer from ESPN.com.  Paul, I was wondering what 
made you decide to go with Kevin Brown on three days rest in the first 
series in Game 4.  Wasn't that a pretty gutsy move considering you were 
in the driver's seat?

Marazita:  Fair question, Rob.  To be honest, my thinking was pretty 
simple. When you have a team down you can't give them any hope.  Throwing
Brown in Game 4 seemed like the way to do that.  Brownie hasn't had two 
bad games in a row all season.  I never thought for a second that he 
would fold like a cheap umbrella in a tornado TWICE.  But basically, to 
answer your question, it was a matter of going for the jugular.  Thank 
goodness the Big Unit picked Brownie up.

P. Gammons:  Not to get you going here Paul, but do you have any reaction 
to Mike Glander's comments that you are a team of "bit players and spare
parts."

Marazita:  Listen Peter, Mike was obviously distraught about dropping 
the series and I am not going to get in a pissing match with him.  I 
have the utmost respect for Mike as a manager and GM, but even the 
smartest guys talk out of their ass now and then.  Our lineup against 
lefties is a bit of patchwork quilt, but I wouldn't trade them for the 
world.  The fact is, out of five games Mike started only ONE lefty, so 
really this is making a mountain out of a molehill.  But Mike is entitled
to his opinion.  Daal had a bad game.  Nothing more to it than that.  
Brown pitched like crap...TWICE!  THAT was the surprise of the series, 
not Omar Daal.

P. Gammons:  What about Glander's disparaging comments about Rolando 
Arrojo?

Marazita:  Basically same answer there too Peter.  Its true that Arrojo 
did not play that well against Mike this year.  He has trouble with 
lefties and the Cowtippers can throw a bunch of them at you.  However, 
I always thought that Arrojo pitched more poorly than he should have in 
his limited outings against Salem this year.  And again, for all of 
Mike's complaining, the fact is that his lefties did quite well against 
Arrojo in Game 3.  Veras went 0 for 2 with 2 BB's, Olerud went 1 for 2 
with 1 BB and Magadan went 3 for 3.  The fact that Stevens went 0 for 3 
in one game is hardly the type of thing to make a big deal out of.  
Rolando did what his numbers suggest he should -- he dominated the 
righties in the Salem lineup.  How Mike can have a problem with that is 
beyond me, but, once again, I think you can chalk much of it up to 
frustration.

K. Kennedy:  What did you think about Glander's decision to go with 
Dreifort in Game 2?

Marazita:  I gotta tell you I think you guys are making WAY too much out 
of that.  I think Mike's explanation made a lot of sense.  Unfortunately 
for him, it did not work out.

P. Gammons: I get the feeling that Glander considered himself a mortal 
lock in your series...does that surprise you?

Marazita:  Surprise me?  No, not at all.  Listen, the Cowtippers were a 
very good team and one that we had problems with this season.  Maybe 
Mike assumed that this would continue into the postseason.  Obviously it 
did not.  If Mike wants to chalk that up to bad karma or a curse or 
whatever, that's up to him.  The bottom line is that we are also a very 
good team -- and a very humble team.  You won't see my guys woofing and 
chest pounding.  Everybody has his job and I accept nothing but their 
best.  With veterans like Palmeiro, Davis and Vizquel it really isn't 
too difficult to get these guys to play.  They know I will put them in 
position to win games.  From there its up to them.  Its really a 
beautiful thing to watch when it works.  From solid starting pitching to 
suffocating defense to timely hitting -- they are all parts of a bigger 
puzzle.  That puzzle has come together at the right time.  The regular 
season is crap -- a necessary evil to get to money time -- the Zoots 
pick it up in money time.

K. Kennedy:  On to the Litchfield series...what were the keys in your 
mind?

Marazita:  Pretty simple actually.  Pitching, up the middle defense and
timely hitting.  Brownie bounced back big for us like I knew he would.  
The bullpen was suffocating -- including an unreal performance by John
Wetteland.  And finally, we got some HUGE hits from Luis Alicea, Raffy 
and others.  Pure Zoots baseball at its finest.

K. Kennedy:  How did Litchfield make this such a great series?

Marazita:  In a word...PITCHING.  Harnisch and Neagle were outstanding 
and Irabu was extremely solid.  When those guys have it going, Litchfield
is very tough to beat.  Fortunately, we were able to scrap just enough 
to get it done.

P. Gammons:  Last question Paul.  Any hints as to where this team is 
going next year?

Marazita:  Well Peter, it seems a bit premature to think about those 
things at this point, but needless to say we are always exploring all of 
our options with the intention of making us the best possible team we 
can be.  With Fonzy moving over to 2B and Mike Lowell still getting over 
his cancer, we may be in the market for a third baseman -- preferably 
someone who can hit righties -- and, like everyone else, we could use a 
couple of more arms.  Other than that, we are pretty well set.  Our 
first priority is getting Raffy and our other key vets locked into 
contracts.  They are the heart and soul of this team.  We'll be relying 
on some kids next year, but I am confident that our veteran leadership 
will teach them all about Zoots baseball and our "system."  That and our
big two -- Randy and Kevin Brown -- should put us in the thick of it.  
But like I said, that is premature at this point.  This season is not 
over and we have our work cut out for us in the first BDBL World Series. 
The championship goes through Stamford ...just like it should.  Thanks.