NL CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES: MARLINS v CUBS

October 14, 2003

Paul Bako

Mark Grudzielanek

MARK GRUDZIELANEK: You definitely think about it like that. You think that the club has opportunity no matter what, and especially that you still had a few months left of the season. It's something where you want to get in as quick as possible, and again you want to make sure you're right. I thought we did that very well. I thought we took the time we needed and came back in a healthy situation, where I came back and helped the club.

PAUL BAKO: Actually I haven't seen him yet. You know how the guy is. The guy is very, very professional for being such a young age. He's going to be great, I'm sure. This is something he's been looking forward to since he got drafted. It's been a short time for him. But so far down the stretch he's been a big game pitcher, and we look forward to big things from him tonight, too.

PAUL BAKO: Right now it's still three or four hours away, still feels like another game right now. We know what's at stake, don't get me wrong. But until the game starts we're going to approach it like another game. And then the adrenaline is going to come from nowhere, once the game time approaches. Right now everything is just kind of normal. I think everybody is going to be obviously a little more focused, a little more intense out there tonight.

MARK GRUDZIELANEK: I agree, no question. The guys, I think they're just kind of laid back right now, kind of relaxing, having a good time. Like he said, there's a few hours before the game starts. We're just trying to stay loose and have fun, and consider it like another game and go out there. We know the significance of this game. We need to take care of it. But we still have a few hours to relax and get ready for it.

PAUL BAKO: Yesterday I just spent time with my family and friends. A full day away from the ballpark was nice. With regard to Mark, the key to him is locating his fastball. If he's locating his fastball, he should be pretty successful. If he's not, he also does have a breaking ball to fall back on. We have to wing it in the first inning or two and go from there, see what's working well for him tonight.

MARK GRUDZIELANEK: I think yesterday was a great, great off day for myself. It was a nice relaxed day away from the ballpark, and I think everybody enjoyed it.

MARK GRUDZIELANEK: I actually like it.

Coming from Florida, and the humidity, and how

hot it is, the first inning you're already thrashed. We're used to this weather. We can handle it and it's not going to mess with us.

PAUL BAKO: Same. Mark has not had a rainy day the last few starts, whether it be a playoff or down the stretch. I think he's going to enjoy it. I think he was looking forward to pitching in cool weather, and tonight he has it. Hopefully we'll enjoy it.

PAUL BAKO: Tremendously. I know the players still get it done on the field, but I honestly don't think we'd be where we are today with somebody else running the show. And I one hundred percent believe that. The same players and different manager, I don't think we'd be here today at all.

MARK GRUDZIELANEK: Absolutely. I just think the motivation he has for us and the belief that he has in each player is tremendous. He definitely speaks out and I think everybody understands him and what we need to do. And he keeps us focused.

MARK GRUDZIELANEK: It's just the moves they did make during the year, during the off-season with the players, especially with Dusty coming over and Remlinger and a few other changes. And it was just something I thought was an upswing. I thought they were making the changes necessary to make a push for a season, a divisional title, and it was something that I believed in. And they helped me believe in that. So it was an opportunity for me to start fresh and get a new start. It was probably the best thing for me.

PAUL BAKO: We definitely all sense how excited Chicago is. Granted, we like our chances, but we still realize we have some work to do. We're not assuming anything yet. Like we said earlier, we're taking it as a regular game right now, but we realize what's at stake, and how much we're looking forward to winning it tonight.

MARK GRUDZIELANEK: There's no question, the city is totally behind us. It's something very special and you don't experience that too often. I hope we sit back and experience it and the fans enjoy this one and be happy with everybody else out there and be safe.

MARK GRUDZIELANEK: I'm not one to go out and say, yeah. I believe I'm capable of having seasons like that, I've had them in the past. And it's something where just give me an opportunity and let me go out and produce and play and have fun. With this group of guys and with Dusty, it wasn't hard. It was a situation where I felt really comfortable with the guys around me, and especially with our pitching staff. It was a joy to play for this club this whole year. When that comes into effect you have all those things going for you, there's some other guys out there that had tremendous years, and we put together a great year together. That's the bottom line.

PAUL BAKO: Just day-in and day-out how positive he is, and just his outlook. There are hardly any of us in the room, in the clubhouse, that were here no more than this year or two years previous. So he's like, well, the Cubs losing every year or what people think the Cubs losing every year, has nothing to do with us, we weren't here. Most of us weren't here, and obviously he wasn't and half the guys in the room weren't. He said why don't we start something new. And we fed off that from Spring Training. We were just 20 or 30 guys from different ball clubs and different parts of the country gathered it together to win and win under him. It was just totally different, no more Cubs, and old Cubs stuff, it was new Cubs, and that's how we believed the whole year, and it worked out well so far.

MARK GRUDZIELANEK: Dusty has played the game for numerous years, and now he had an opportunity to manage and went to the World Series the year before. The guy is a winner. He expects that with his team, no matter where he's at. He instills that in the players. Every day goes on and on and there's Dusty right there, laughing, giggling, and he pulls you aside and talks to you man to man. And it's just some of the things he does and the belief he has in his players. He's definitely a big reason why we're here right now.

MARK GRUDZIELANEK: Well, again, he definitely brought some pitchers, and then the middle of the season with Lofton and Simon. Those are tremendous things that I know he did his work on, and found out what kind of players they were, and none of those guys disrupted the club, and we just kept going. We really started to fire on all cylinders when they got here, and kind of put up over the hump with the offense ability that they possessed to enhance our lineup. And it was a great move by Jim. He's done one move after another this whole year. He's done a great job and put us in position where we are right now.

PAUL BAKO: In the latter, I didn't get a sense of any of that, actually until you brought it up. I think I may be fortunate on that aspect. Just walking to the park yesterday, somewhere around here in the neighborhood, just with my kids, seeing handmade signs that kids made of construction paper that said "Go Cubs," and pennants hanging in windows, it was awesome. It seemed like it was every other house. It was like ten on each block. And it was like, wow, that's really neat seeing how many people are pulling for us.

MARK GRUDZIELANEK: Well, like I said before, I think it's awesome. The people and the support they have in the city is tremendous. And to go this long without being in a situation for Chicago is -- I just can't believe that. It's something very special out there, and hopefully we can keep it going and make it worthwhile for them.