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NL DIVISION SERIES: CARDINALS VS BRAVESOctober 2, 2019Paul GoldschmidtDexter FowlerAtlanta, Georgia - Workout Day Q. Personally and for the franchise, what's it like, Dexter, to be back in the postseason? You had a lot of fun the last time you were in it. DEXTER FOWLER: I did, and hopefully we have the same amount of fun. Obviously it's been a while, but I'm glad to be back. It's refreshing. We've got a good group here, and I think we're ready to do big things. PAUL GOLDSCHMIDT: I agree. My best baseball memories are playing the postseason the two years I got to do it in Arizona. You talk with guys, that's the things that they remember the best about in their career. "Fun" is probably the best word. It's fun to go out there and compete. And excited to get going tomorrow. Q. Why do you think the team was able to surge especially post-All-Star break? You were around .500 halfway through, and obviously down the stretch got things rolling? DEXTER FOWLER: I think we underachieved, obviously, from our expectations before the All-Star break. I think we had a lot more left in the tank. And that break came at a right time, and we came out and believing in ourselves and started playing Cardinal baseball. PAUL GOLDSCHMIDT: I get that question a lot. Inside the clubhouse we never talked about what our record was or anything like that. We just talked about playing good baseball. And I think for the first few months we didn't do a good job of that. And finally we were able to play up to our talent level and get a lot of wins in that second half and hopefully we'll keep it going. Q. You've both been in the postseason, had success. Is the postseason that much different than the regular season? Is it more about just mentally kind of looking at it as another game? Or do you want to kind of hype it up? How do you guys approach it? DEXTER FOWLER: I think it's just different. It throws -- guys are in a routine. It's a different type of routine now because you've got days off and everybody's fresh. So I take it as a new season, but I think mentally the game is still the same. It's what you put in it. If you take it the same and make plays that need to be made, I think you'll end up out on top. PAUL GOLDSCHMIDT: I think still just trying to do the little things, that's going to be the difference. But understanding you're playing one series. You're understanding the bullpens might be used different; starting pitchers might be used different, pinch runners, all that stuff. So, it's a little bit different but the basics are the same -- go out there, make some plays, find a way to score some runs. You know there's going to be tight games and it may come down to one pitch. It's a five- or seven-game series rather than 162 games. But just trying to stick with the basics and the success, the things we've done right to get us here. Q. Mike Shildt leading this team the last year and a half, his first taste as a postseason baseball as a manager. Why do you think he'll be the right guy to lead him? And what do you think about him will make him a good manager in these playoffs? DEXTER FOWLER: The guy's done something right. He's won at every level he's managed at. So I think, like you said, it's baseball. The guy knows how to win, and he's been a winner, and we're behind him 100 percent. He stays relaxed in there, and he pushes the right buttons at the right time. Q. When you got traded, what was your first thought -- had to be like, okay, that's an organization that kind of knows what they're doing. Maybe they haven't been to the playoffs, but there's always a good chance they will be, right? PAUL GOLDSCHMIDT: Yeah, of course. This organization has a history of winning. It's an expectation. So that was definitely exciting. That's what you want to do. You want to be in the playoffs playing against these guys. The last few years you saw the young talent. You saw how well they played in the second half and you knew it was a challenge to beat them. So coming over was exciting to be part of that and try to fit in and help get us, not only back to the postseason but hopefully accomplish some bigger goals. Q. Dexter, you've accomplished a lot in your career, but this is the first time you get to play in the playoffs in Atlanta. Can you describe the emotions there? DEXTER FOWLER: It's going to be crazy. Definitely watched a lot of Braves games when I was younger. They've been in the playoffs and winning World Series. It was awesome to watch. I was definitely a fan. It's going to be surreal coming out and playing in front of the hometown and my friends and family. Q. Did you have a favorite Brave? DEXTER FOWLER: Not just one. Not just one. I remember, you know, they had the Crime Dog. Obviously Chipper, Andruw, everybody. I was a fan of all the guys. Especially I got to play against some of them which was crazy. Q. I assume some family might make an appearance at the games. DEXTER FOWLER: Yeah, we're trying to keep the tickets down (laughter). Obviously family and friends will come. But not too many tickets, which is awesome. Q. With the Braves being such a big home-run team, obviously maintaining minimal runs from a defensive perspective is going to be important. From both the outfield and infield, what do you have to do to make sure you're controlling the defensive game and keeping them off the board? PAUL GOLDSCHMIDT: We just have to do what we've done all year. They're a great team. They're going to score some runs. We just have to make the plays when it comes to us. It's no different than any other game. There's nothing you can really do; they hit you the ball, you try to field it. It's something we've focused on from the beginning of spring training and all season. Don't do anything different this series or any other series. DEXTER FOWLER: Try not to give them extra outs because that's when they put big runs on the board. Like he said, execute and go at it like that. From an outfield perspective, if it's a double, keep him at a double and keep him right there. Q. Dexter, I don't know if you've talked about it, but growing up here in Atlanta what's it mean to be playing a postseason series here and did you grow up a Braves guy? DEXTER FOWLER: Yes, I was a Braves and Mariners guy, because Griffey was my favorite player. I used to watch the games on TBS all the time. And I always imagined playing in the postseason in Atlanta, and it's a dream come true. Hopefully we go out and take care of business. Q. Just team overall, I think it's fair to say the offense has been a bit streaky his year. For the team, how do you feel you can get consistent offseason? What's the key to put some consistent runs against some really good pitching, obviously? PAUL GOLDSCHMIDT: We just have to have quality at-bats. And you just have to make the guys work. There can't be easy outs in there. Might have to be a different guy each game. We've seen you have a quality at-bat. It might be a walk. It could even be an out or just a long at-bat or a hard hit ball, and maybe the next guy comes through. We've just got to be consistent, 1 through 9, have good at-bats. And hopefully put some runs up. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports   |
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