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MLB WORLD SERIES: METS VS ROYALS

November 1, 2015

Michael Cuddyer

Flushing, New York - Mets pregame five

Q. Terry mentioned the mood in the clubhouse was pretty upbeat. Are people blasting the Bee Gees' "Stayin' Alive" or other things for inspiration?
MICHAEL CUDDYER: The clubhouse is fine. We know what we've got to do. We've got to go out and win. We're focused, loose. Nobody is tight in there. So we're ready.

Q. Terry Collins is a guy who's sort of tried his whole career to get to this point. And he'S talked about this being a chance he doesn't know how many more he'll get. I'm wondering how conscious you and the rest of your teammates are about that? And how much goes into your thinking when you take a long-range view of this entire run?
MICHAEL CUDDYER: Obviously everybody is aware of that. There's not many guys in that clubhouse that have been there. You are never guaranteed to get back. I think everybody is aware of that. At the same time you've got to worry about winning the game. You can't let everything on the outside affect the way you play the game. I think when the offseason rolls around, whatever happens, that's the time for reflection, to see about the run, to see about chances, how many chances you will have to get back and whatnot.

Right now our focus is on winning tonight. If we can do that, then it's about winning tomorrow.

Q. I know you didn't face Wade Davis in Game 1, but in general when you're facing a closer who has so many weapons and they're all so good, how different is that from what you usually see? And what is it about him that's made him so effective in this role?
MICHAEL CUDDYER: I think he obviously has the amount of pitches of a starter. He was a starter his whole career prior to last year or even the year before that a little bit. So he's able to throw four pitches for strikes, which you don't see too many closers being able to throw four pitches for strikes. He always threw hard when he was a starter, but obviously when he knows he only has to go out there and throw one inning, his velocity is up a little bit, 95 to 97 rather than 92 to 95. So he's able to throw the fastball harder, and I think he has all the other four pitches. I think the cutter that he's got slash slider has always been the equalizer for him as a closer or set-up guy, whatever role he's in in that particular moment.

Q. I was wondering with Daniel Murphy, he goes from hero to scapegoat in one play. What do you guys say to him, do for him or whatever?
MICHAEL CUDDYER: Murph is a stand-up guy. We talked about it at length last night. Last night's over, we're not going to worry about that anymore. Now it's about tonight. And we're focused on trying to win tonight, trying to beat Volquez and the Royals. And that's pretty much what we're thinking.

Q. Everybody likes being at home. The way you've seen things develop this year, what's distinctive about Citi Field? What makes it different than anyplace else?
MICHAEL CUDDYER: Well, the crowd is definitely rambunctious. It's loud everywhere. Obviously you're in the postseason, you've got 40-plus thousand people in every stadium. Here it's a different kind of energy. And I've played on teams that have come into New York. Obviously on the Yankees, the American League side of it. And I know what that's like being a visiting team with a New York crowd, and it's intimidating. And especially if you're get in pressure-packed situations, it's tough to keep your cool when they're yelling down your back.

It's nice to have them on our side, and I think they're going to play a big role in our game tonight and our chances of winning.

Q. Do you think the legacy of this team will be determined by what happens in the rest of the series or has it been determined just by getting here?
MICHAEL CUDDYER: Yeah, you know, again, I think when this series is over and we have a chance to reflect and everybody has a chance to reflect, that's when the legacy will be made. People are going to have their own opinions of this team and we can't control that. So we really can't control the legacy or people's thoughts of our team. We just have to go out there and hopefully win the next three. And then our legacy will be written, and it will be a great one. But we can't worry about that tonight.

Q. What do you think you guys expect from Harvey? What's he like in the hours leading up to a start?
MICHAEL CUDDYER: Well, he's not much different on his game days than he is any other day. He's not the kind of guy that walks around with a scowl on his face on game days, where you can't approach him or talk to him or anything like that.

He's pretty loose. He's excited. I know he's ready. And typically he's a guy that steps up on these occasions. I know his career hasn't been that long and he hasn't had too many of these situations, but the ones that he's had, he's stepped up. And I know he's fired up to get out there. And I know these three guys that we have lined up, if we're able to get to all three of them, we wouldn't want any other three pitchers on the mound for us.

Q. You played with some great, great players in Minnesota - Morneau, Joe Mauer. You've played with Todd Helton in Colorado, played against Jeter. How does Wright stack up as a captain and leader?
MICHAEL CUDDYER: He's right there with all of those that you just mentioned. Not only is a tremendous player, tremendous person, and if he would have bounced from team to team to team, he would still be a tremendous player and a tremendous person. But the fact that he's done it for one team his whole career and in a market such as New York is impressive. And I've got all the admiration in the world for him.

Hopefully he comes up big for us and we can come up big for him, and win tonight. And hopefully we can write history and win at least next three games.

Q. Noah spoke before Game 3 about having a few tricks up his sleeve, and Ned Yost said the same thing before Game 4. Can you talk about the magic of both teams, not as a ballplayer but as a magician?
MICHAEL CUDDYER: (Laughing) I don't think too much magic goes out on the field, too many illusions. Both teams you kind of see what you get and you get what you see. Tricks up their sleeve, I think those are great figures of speech, but it's baseball. And you go out there and you throw the ball, you catch the ball and you hit the ball. And I think the World Series is pretty self-explanatory. We've both played 200 games. We know what each other team has. You throw the gloves out on the field and see who wins.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

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