NL DIVISION SERIES: METS v DIAMONDBACKS

October 8, 1999

Brian Anderson

BRIAN ANDERSON: Well, it was certainly disappointing. I knew that in fact when Randy Johnson was going to make his announcement where he was coming, I told my parents I said, listen, if he says Arizona, I promise you the trade rumors will start up immediately and you know, because I knew that I was basically going to be the guy that was going to be forced out. It was disappointing, but at the same time I believe everything happens for a reason. And I tried to do the best I could in spring to prepare myself and coming out of spring training in the bullpen, I wasn't pitching a whole lot. When I didn't pitch very well, they wanted to get me some starts and sent me down, so even though I knew when I was coming back up it was just a real low point. Then I had to come back up early because of Todd's injury, and didn't throw well for a while; just couldn't seem to get it mechanically right. I was watching the game Pedro Martinez was pitching; some of the mechanical things that he did, just kind of a light went off in my head. I said, tonight I am going to give that a try. I did. The mechanics straightened themselves out and things took off from there. Going in the rotation and back to the bullpen for a month, a couple of starts at the end of the year, was just basically all I could control is my performance and if I make sure that I keep myself ready, keep my body in good shape, keep my mechanics the way they are, and stay positive whether it is a starter, middle relief, long relief, whatever, they are going to have me do, they are going to get my best, and I have just tried to maintain that attitude all year. It has been a whole lot easier to handle that instead of getting wrapped up in, well, I'd think I should be doing this or I think that. Just try to do the best whatever I do.

BRIAN ANDERSON: You look back at where you started where you are now and it is a whole lot different. But like I said, I just try to take the ball in any situation, whether you come in the 5th or 6th inning or come in the 2nd or you start the game, your job is to get the guy out that is in the batter's box, period; doesn't matter what time of game it is. This happens to be the start of a game and the emotions of it are -- it is very fortunate for me that I have been able to be a part of this before and you have an idea of what to expect; what the emotions are going to be like; how loud the crowd is going to be. I have never heard a New York Playoff crowd that I have played in, but I have seen them. They are loud. That is exciting. Knowing that makes just one more part of game you don't have to worry about; just concentrate on getting the hitters out.

BRIAN ANDERSON: (Laughs) Absolutely not. I will not be on a pitch count tomorrow. And very rarely have I agreed with No. 11 on me taking me out.

BRIAN ANDERSON: I think Al's proven that he is a big-game pitcher. He starts Game 7 of the World Series and pitched outstanding baseball against us. They went on to win that game in extra innings. Then the backs up against the wall, against the Reds he comes out with 130 plus-pitch-complete-game-win, saving their bullpen. That was a big -- that was big for them because guys had been just going all out that last week and a half to try to get into the Playoffs and everybody pitched a lot. The bullpen is getting used. I don't know about overuse, I don't follow them that closely. I guarantee that the people in the bullpen, they all appreciated that complete game effort. When you do that, that kind of pitching in those kind of games, that is a dangerous pitcher. That is a guy who doesn't let things bother him; who is not intimidated by a do-or-die situation. Those are the toughest guys to compete against.

BRIAN ANDERSON: He is huge because I haven't gotten him out too many times even when I was in winter ball in Venezuela in 1995. But he was -- he just is -- great hitter for the No. 2 spot. He puts the bat on the ball. If he gets a count in his favor he can hit the ball a long way. He is a real threat and someone that you are going to have to pitch very carefully to. As long as -- there is a lot of other guys in that lineup too that are the same way, but I think where he is positioned in the lineup he can do a lot of different things from that No. 2 hole so you have to be really weary of him.

BRIAN ANDERSON: Well, he was, you know, he kind of clears his front side out as far as after his leg kick, when that front leg comes down, he really gets his hips into the pitch. I think that I was closing myself off too much. Kind of drifting instead of staying tall up over the rubber and exploding to the plate, I was kind of drifting out, somewhere between first base and homeplate, kind of drifting that way and then trying to come back around. I really wasn't throwing across my body too much; just was kind of drifting that way. Obviously that little, you know, little difference between doing it right and doing it that way is going to affect the way you are releasing your pitches. I didn't real feel good playing catch in the outfield before a game throwing the ball back and forth during BP, it didn't feel right. I saw him do that, how he cleared that front leg out. I thought, man, I am going to really try to stay up tall on that rubber and get that front leg out there and I did that and it just really straightened everything out; got everything back on track. Not quite with his stuff, but good enough for me.

BRIAN ANDERSON: No. That was only first time. I am not a big video guy. I don't like to go watch video and study my pitches and my mechanics. Usually I think that you can feel something is wrong. Usually you can fix it on your own. That is the way it is out on the mound, you can have a guy running out on the mound and say you are doing this but you have got to self-coach yourself. It was a situation where most of the time I can tell what I was doing; what I needed to fix. This time, I couldn't, and from a right-hander really never picked anything up like that, no.

BRIAN ANDERSON: I think a lot of it is just trust in what you do. The fact that we have been playing this game for a long time and you can't get caught up in the emotions of it meaning, you know, thinking about the cameras, the people, how loud it is going to be, we are on the road; you are in the Big Apple, all these peripheral things having nothing to do with the game itself, the actual nitty gritty, Xs and Os, you can't get up thinking about that. You have to have all your energies focused on the game. You have to stay relaxed. I am a guy that you are not going to see me sitting in my locker two or three hours before a game listening to music, getting focused. I think that burns me out. If I do something like that I will be so knotted up by game time I won't be able to function. I like to goof around like every other day, relax and have fun and then when 1:09 hits or 8:17 or whatever the starting time is, that is when you kick it in. That is just the way that I handle it. Just try to go about it the same as I always do. I think the only time you get nervous or you find yourself a bit nervous is when you are unprepared. I think if you prepare yourself, prepare yourself on how to pitch their lineup, prepare yourself to be ready to go, to get your stamina up; take care of yourself, then I don't think there is anything to be nervous about.

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