NL CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES: BRAVES VS DODGERS

October 16, 2021

Ozzie Albies

Truist Park

Atlanta Braves

Pregame 1 Press Conference

Q. What does this mean to you to be playing the Dodgers again? Do you look at this as a chance for vindication or what's your view?

OZZIE ALBIES: Yeah, it's a big chance. We got to go out there and win it this time. Can't lose it again.

Q. Does the approach change when a nontraditional starter starts for the Dodgers?

OZZIE ALBIES: No. No, because, I mean, it's part of the game. It's similar if they go to the pen early. So we just got to, whoever we're going to face, attack them. That's the best we can do.

Q. When you guys look back at last year being up 2-0 and 3-1, do you look at that as we had them, we have a chance, we know we can hang with them, we just didn't finish it last year and now we need to?

OZZIE ALBIES: Yes, absolutely. Once we were up 3-1, we just had to win one more game, but it didn't come out in our favor, but that means we have great team to attack them, so we're not going to be scared and back off. We're just going to go and attack this team.

Q. How impressed have you been with what Ian Anderson's been able to do in the postseason last year and that start this year?

OZZIE ALBIES: Yeah, really impressive job what he has done for us last year and this year. And Ian Anderson, he's one of our great pitchers and that's what he does best and he's going to be good for us for sure.

Q. You guys did what you did last year in a 60-game season. I'm sure some people said, well, it's only a 60-game season. It's kind of a fluke, whatever. What do you think you proved to yourselves and the others by getting back here in a full season?

OZZIE ALBIES: I mean, this year, this team, we have won in a 162-game season too. It doesn't matter how many games it is. If you're winning it's because you're doing something special. So I think whatever is working we just got to keep that going. It doesn't matter if it's a short period of time or a long period of will time, we just got to do it.

Q. I want to ask you about Max Fried. What is it that makes him so tough and what's the most impressive thing to you about him as a teammate?

OZZIE ALBIES: The thing that makes him tough is because Max Fried is a guy that, he likes to compete against the best and we all see it every night. He goes and do what Max Fried does best. Like I said before, he's one of the best pitchers on the team. That's why he gives you six-plus innings every time he goes out there.

Q. Given the injuries you had earlier in the year, especially losing Ronald Acuña Jr., what did it mean to you as a team at the trade deadline when Alex instead of giving up went out and was aggressive and added so many pieces? And secondly, even given that, how tough is it to be without Ronald right now?

OZZIE ALBIES: It's tough to be without one of the best players we got on our team, but when Alex stepped in and he went and got people to do the job too, I mean, that was, because he knew he had a hope we were going to come back. He hope we had a chance, a big chance to come back and we did it for him.

So he did a phenomenal job getting those guys for us and kept the team rolling to be here today.

Q. Last year when you guys lost to the Dodgers in the NLCS did you watch any games of the World Series thinking that should have been us or did you watch nothing?

OZZIE ALBIES: No, I didn't watch any game at the time. I just went and watched highlight when it was done, a little bit of the last game. That's all, because I mean, it should have been us there, not the opposing team.

Q. Speaking of Ronald, we saw his Instagram live video when you clinched. Any words of encouragement, pregame pep talks, from him? What's he saying to you?

OZZIE ALBIES: He said, That's what I want. I want them to go home, because I want you guys to win it this year. I'm not there, but I want, I'm going to be here for you guys to win, I'm going to cheer you guys on.

Q. Anything since then to you any text messages, any calls?

OZZIE ALBIES: Yeah, we see him here every day, so he was in the clubhouse with us talking, Yes, I wanted that, I wanted that. He was all pumped about it.

Q. I know you were asked about the way the Dodgers are going with Knebel here, what do you remember about him, what is the advantage to maybe having seen some of these guys along the way? I mean, so many of these Dodgers pitchers you guys have seen at this point.

OZZIE ALBIES: Yeah, he is a two-pitch guy, he's fastball, slider. But, I mean, he's going to attack the zone. I saw him before and we just got to be ready, aggressive early when he comes to the zone so we can attack him.

Q. I'm curious, when you said were you watching the highlights last year and it should have been us, was there any particular moment that stood out to you about the game or about that series that you had to replay in your mind?

OZZIE ALBIES: No, you talking about the Series?

Q. Against the Dodgers last year, when you were watching the World Series and you sort of flashed back to, boy, that should have been us, was there any particular moment?

OZZIE ALBIES: No, not especially moment, but I mean that's when it comes to playing the game the right way and, I mean, we had the opportunity to be there, we just didn't do the job to be there.