MLB WORLD SERIES: ASTROS VS BRAVES

October 25, 2021

Lance McCullers

Minute Maid Park

Houston Astros

Workout Day Press Conference

LANCE MCCULLERS JR.: With the type of strain I have in my forearm, it's typically six to eight weeks before you pick up a ball. We remain hopeful. We tried to push it as far as we could, but just couldn't make it back to throwing.

It's disappointing. I'm just going to keep doing what I can do and have all the faith in our team and the guys that we have out there and try to win a World Series.

Q. Lance, you said six to eight weeks before you pick up a ball. Do you expect to be full ready to go for Spring Training next year?

LANCE MCCULLERS JR.: Yeah, for sure. We're hoping that in a couple weeks, when I would pick up my normal off-season workout routine and things of that nature, that I won't have many restrictions, and then we can just kind of flow into pitching in January.

So ElAttrache has seen the MRI, things of that nature. He told us he doesn't believe anything is wrong with the UCL, anything like that. It's just a pretty solid forearm strain that I had there in Chicago.

We knew that it was probably 1 percent, less than 1 percent chance that I would have a role in this series, but there was no point to write me off before we had to.

Q. Lance, I know you'd of course rather be out there, but you talked a lot before the last series about being able to still help and contribute. Is that something that you still plan to do and you really take pride in being able to still help?

LANCE MCCULLERS JR.: Of course. I've never really been a guy to count my losses. I try to count my wins. I have a pretty good perspective, I think. I'm always a glass half full guy or even a glass quarter full type of guy.

You know, just continue to support the team, do scouting reports for the guys when they need and when they want me. Continue to talk to Maldy, Strommy, things like that to formulate game plans when I think I can help.

So it's disappointing for sure, especially with the season that I had and the first round that I had, but I feel like I made big impacts for our team the whole season and down the stretch and then in the first round. Hopefully, I can make impacts in other areas for this round.

Q. You just touched on it a second, but how devastating is it for you to have to deal with this? Have you been able to come to grips with it yet, or is it going to take a while?

LANCE MCCULLERS JR.: Like I said, I'm pretty positive person, so it definitely is disappointing and disheartening. The worst thing is I just feel I can't be there for the team in the way they need me the most, which is on the field. I'm sure the fans are disappointed. I surely am.

It is what it is. I can't do anything about it. I felt like -- like I said, I felt like I played a big part in our team's success throughout the season, definitely in that first round.

Just disappointing that -- when you have a team like this, when you've been to the postseason so many times and the World Series is always your goal, Spring Training and the season is almost just like something you have to do because this is where you want to be. This is where you hope to be.

For me to not be able to pitch when I feel like these are the moments that I dream of, the moments that I'm kind of built for is probably the worst part.

Q. Lance, you and Charlie Morton combined on a couple of memorable Game 7s back in '17. What did you learn from Charlie as a young pitcher that you've carried on?

LANCE MCCULLERS JR.: I think what I learned from Charlie was -- the most is just kind of how to deal with what I'm dealing right now, is just kind of how to deal with the ups and downs of the game and to always be a good teammate and try to impact the people around you when you can.

I think Charlie has a very special type of -- he's a very special guy, and he's impacted a lot of guys in this clubhouse and a lot of guys who are no longer in this clubhouse.

I think what I learned from him the most is just every day at the ballpark is a blessing. Always put your family first and come to the field and be a good teammate and love the guys in the clubhouse and just try to be there for guys when you can because that's something that Chuck-O was big on.

Q. Lance, did you learn anything about the makeup of Garcia and Framber with the way that they bounced back in the last two games of the ALCS?

LANCE MCCULLERS JR.: Yeah, we needed that for sure, like you said. Framber and Luis, they're big parts of our staffs, and Framber has been for the last few years, and Luis stepped up in ways that I don't know if many people saw really coming this year.

Extremely talented kid, but just maybe the role that was going to be there for him out of the gate, and then when he had his opportunity, he seized it.

So bouncing back for both of them, really not pitching, I'm sure, as well as they hoped in the DS, and then the first starts in the CS to put up arguably both of their individual best starts to the season for us when we needed such a big start, the bullpen needed a big start, and we kind of needed to let our offense have the freedom to do their thing was incredible.

We're going to need them for this round. We're going to need Urquidy as well and all the guys throwing so well out of the bullpen. I think our bullpen has been our unsung hero of this postseason. They've been fantastic.

Q. What about this team allows you to continue to believe in them despite losing you to injury?

LANCE MCCULLERS JR.: Well, we're really good. Like I was just saying, I think our bullpen is fantastic. I think we match up. We have so many options for so many different matchups throughout the game, and as you guys know, the bullpen is so important in the postseason.

We have a back end of the bullpen that is as solid as it gets with Stanek, Graveman, and Pressly, the way that Phil is throwing the ball, the way that Javy has been throwing the ball, and the way that Brooks Raley has been throwing the ball. Brooks Raley has probably been one of the best lefty-on-lefty matchup guys since he slid into that role in the second half of the season.

So you can't really say enough good things about the way Odo ate those innings for us, really set up our bullpen up and the team up for later success. And then our starters, you guys saw what Framber and Luis did, as you guys touched on, how they bounced back, pitched in huge game for us before. And we have the best offense and defense in the game.

Pitching staff, you just let those guys feel like they have the ability to be themselves and give them that opportunity to break out, they will. We just have to keep playing 1 through 9, 1 through 26, I guess.

Q. You were talking about helping or giving some of your input to some of the other pitchers. In my profession, I find sometimes you have fellow reporters who are receptive to your suggestions, some who are not. They don't want any suggestions. They want to do it on their own. Is it the same with pitchers? Do you have some -- don't name names, please. Do you have some who are very receptive and others you know, they may not want to hear what you have to say?

LANCE MCCULLERS JR.: I don't know because I only give my opinions when they're asked for. I don't want to make guys feel like, oh, like I know this. My way's best. I'm not here for that.

I sit there, and I support the guys. If guys have questions, they can come ask me. They know that's something that the older guys, quote/unquote, veteran guys, ever since really probably 2017 in this organization, have done such a good job is knowing that -- letting the young guys be themselves and knowing that we're there for them -- questions about life, about this game, about scouting reports, et cetera.

I'm not going to around to each locker dropping off scouting reports, but I've definitely been there for some guys last round that asked me specifically, and I'll continue to do that. If not, I'll just sit there and clap the loudest I can, and I'll offer water and bananas to Maldy, and that's about all I can do.