MLB WORLD SERIES: CARDINALS v RED SOX

October 24, 2004

Tony Womack

TONY WOMACK: Well, could they erase that score that gave up that run, too? That happens. That's baseball. We had the plate, if he doesn't hit the ball hard we have to try to kill the guy at the plate. If not, we can turn two. Just unfortunately it got a bad hop. That's how the ball bounces, off my collarbone and everything.

TONY WOMACK: I felt like I had been hit by a truck twice over this morning. I was really stiff. I'm playing. I've got all of next week to rest. After it's all said and done, I've got all winter to heal. There's not many chances you get to play in the World Series, so I'm not going to let this slow me down. I'm going to be ready for tonight.

TONY WOMACK: No. My goal is to play. I know why I'm batting seventh is because of the spasms, but I still prepare like I'm leading off. Depending on the situation I change my mindset or change my game plan. But for the most part, no, it didn't bother me. It just makes me stay by the heater a little longer.

TONY WOMACK: Man, I've done everything. Just the biggest thing I try to do for myself is mentally, once I get between the white lines, I just forget they are there and try to play and do the best I can. That's what I do. You can only treat them for so much. They will go away when I guess it's time for them to go away. I can get all of the treatment I want but mentally I just try to stay strong so it doesn't affect me getting balls or affect me doing what I have to do mentally to help my team win.

TONY WOMACK: No. Like I said, that's how the ball bounces. When you get a bad hop, first thing you do, you can blame the grounds crew and all that, but that's baseball. Could have been the topspin off the ball or the backspin. I don't blame anybody. It happened. I was just more disappointed that they scored a run off of it than anything else. That's baseball. I don't take too many things personally. I know it goes along with the job and I just try to move forward.

TONY WOMACK: No, this is my first time since I've been playing that I've had back spasms and getting hit in the collarbone in the same season.

TONY WOMACK: They compared it to like being a stinger in football. The biggest thing that really hurt is when I got hit, I kind of lost feeling in my fingers and my arm. That didn't feel too good. Just got those nerves, that one near your collarbone that push up against the bone and I lost feeling for a while, like five or ten minutes.

TONY WOMACK: The toughest thing about playing in these conditions? When you're in the World Series, I don't think there's anything tough. That's the difference in, I guess, me and I guess other people. Being in the situation where you start out with 30 teams and you're one of two teams, you kind of forget what you can control and can't control. You can't control it being cold and you can't control it being wet. All I can control is trying to help my team win tonight. You throw in the factor that it's the World Series and everybody is watching you, you can't go in the clubhouse and watch somebody else play. It's just two teams left. Mentally I just tell myself there's no other better place to be. Like once again, I forget about the obstacles and go out and have fun and enjoy this. Who knows, this could be my last World Series. So I'm going to enjoy it and continue to play as hard as I can.