My stuff's a little better than it was last year. Last year I was focused on getting another pitch going, a split, and I worked on that more than I worked on my basic stuff, so I kind of lost my feel for it the first two games of the season.
But I like challenges. I always have. I've always been a guy who likes big games. All the way from high school or Little League or the minors, I always liked big games.
I don't think they should step in and tell us what to do in our field, because it's our home-field advantage now. I think Chicago had their advantage there cold, windy. They've been playing in it all year we haven't. So let's bring it back home and give the advantage to us now.
They all want to hear about it, ... Their day of hanging out was going to the mall. Mine was going hunting and fishing.
Last year is history this is a completely different situation. We just need one win, and we proved we could win at Busch Stadium already in this series. We just need to buckle down, play hard and get it done.
People don't see what we see. His leadership is something you can't replace. It's like a brother leaving a team.
I thought the way the team was battling and we had been seeing Maddux pretty well, if we could get something going with a hit or get somebody on, I had a good feeling we'd come back.
I thought we had good chances. I always thought we had a good chance when I was pitching and it was 4-0.
Brad, he's the type of closer that has amnesia, he won't thinking nothing about it next time he gets out there. He'll come out at the end of the next game, and I'm sure he'll be lights-out just like he always is.
Brad is the type of closer who has amnesia. He won't think about it the next time he gets out there.
They're not a bad team, ... Any time you go play them, they'll play you hard. It doesn't matter if they're in the race or out of the race.
We kidded him the whole time on the plane, ... We told him we almost got hit by the ball when it took off.
He's been doing a good job all year. They told him last week they're going to use him more and more down the stretch. He's up for it. He can throw two innings at a time. He did a good job tonight, especially the pickoff in the ninth inning.
Tonight it actually felt to me like I was throwing darts at different locations in the strike zone, ... A lot of times when you get long (in the motion), you kind of sling the ball in there instead of just throwing it.
Growing up, people used to come by and ask why he spent (so) much time with me out in the yard throwing the ball. Hopefully those guys see that on TV today.
It was good to get the sweep. Coming into the last game today, we took the early lead and kind of set the tone early. Having the runs early gives you a little breathing room.
We kidded with him the whole time on the plane today. We actually told him we almost got hit by the ball when it took off, ... The mood on the plane was actually pretty cool.
Everyone knows I don't try to walk anybody.
The important thing is you can't let an 8-0 lead go to waste. The biggest thing is us getting the win. It doesn't matter how we got it.
Just look at the track record and you'd understand why. Go back three years or go back the first year and see where I've placed against the other pitchers on the team.
I never go out there with the mindset I'm going to lose. I always go out there to win. Doesn't matter what happened yesterday. A lot of guys get caught up in what happened yesterday. You have to go do your job that day you're out there.
A lot of times, people get caught up in trying to place themselves in a number in the rotation instead of just going out and pitching. If I can pitch 35 or 36 games, that is all that matters, not whether it's first or last.
I'm sure he didn't sleep too well Monday night.
It's just a matter of feel. After the first inning the other night as far as location, it got better as I went on. That first inning, I didn't know if I loosened up enough in the bullpen or what.
Eventually, it's going to come to an end, if you play long enough. I didn't really have a breaking pitch the whole night. I had to pitch with the fastball, and I didn't really get it where I wanted to, either. So it could have been easily a lot worse.
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