NL CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES: ASTROS v CARDINALS

October 17, 2004

Brad Lidge

BRAD LIDGE: Yeah, I'll tell you what, I've never seen a hitter as strong as he is. I think I threw him a pitch, last pitch he actually hit with one hand; it was kind of in the dirt, pushed it back to the warning track. Obviously, at that time, I don't want to make a mistake. He's a premiere power hitter. I'm just going to come after him with my best stuff but at the same time I don't want to fall behind. So I wanted to be aggressive and get ahead.

BRAD LIDGE: Actually, I didn't feel bad yesterday. I didn't feel like I got tired. I'd had five days off prior to then. So I did feel that I'd be able to come back today and still be effective. I had a few times this year where I threw back to back to back days. So I didn't really think it would take away from my stuff a whole lot. Like I said, I had a lot of rest before those two innings yesterday.

BRAD LIDGE: I would think I would be able to. I should be fine. Obviously, I'll come out tomorrow and throw. That will kind of dictate how I feel, kind of dictate if I'll be available. But if I had to make a guess, I'd say probably so.

BRAD LIDGE: Yeah, my thoughts were to be careful but still be aggressive. And obviously, falling behind Larry Walker, I didn't want to give him a whole lot to hit. Brad came out, Ausmus, and just kind of told me, "Your stuff is fine. Just still be aggressive. Don't change anything now with a runner on first base." I wanted to stay aggressive and I wanted to go right after him. Obviously, I didn't want to make a mistake because like I said, those are two premiere power hitters and they can switch the game up real quick.

BRAD LIDGE: I think definitely there's an energy that you can pick up and that helps you when you're pitching at home. When you're on the road, you really try and shut it down, just focus on what you're doing; focusing on the hitter, and it's kind of what we train ourselves to do. At home there's no reason not to let it give you a little more energy, a little more adrenaline. I think it helps everybody. It gives everybody a lot of energy out there.

BRAD LIDGE: Well, I definitely, you know, after those injuries wanted to prove to people that I could stay healthy and I could pitch a lot. I think that's one of the biggest things for any pitcher, is to want to prove you can work for a team. You want to be a guy that can be relied upon. I'm definitely happy, last couple of years I stayed healthy after a few tough breaks. Fortunately, it's worked out.