AL DIVISION SERIES: TWINS v YANKEES

October 7, 2004

Derek Jeter

DEREK JETER: I wish I could say -- but no, my job is to get on base, that's the bottom line. It doesn't make a difference whether it's a home run, single, a walk, you try to set the tone and get on early, try to make something happen, so I was fortunate to hit a home run, but that's not what I have been trying to do.

DEREK JETER: No. If that was the case, we would have lost last night. So they always same momentum is as strong as the next day's pitcher. One of the things you have to realize in the post-season is usually you get some pretty good pitchers every day, so you got to forget about it, win or lose, and come back the next day, so I don't think there is any momentum. I am sure they will be ready for this ball club.

DEREK JETER: Well, I didn't hear about it until after the game. I don't know exactly what inning he did it, but, obviously, you are disappointed because he is one of the guys that we need on our pitching staff. He had a meeting, said what he wanted to say. I think that probably helped out in terms of everyone understanding what happened. He let his emotion get the best of him. He is pretty emotional, he expects a lot from himself. Probably wasn't the wisest thing to do, but hopefully, he can pitch well tomorrow, but Kevin is pretty hard on himself at all times, and in that particular instance he was a little too hard on himself.

DEREK JETER: I don't know. It's a little different now, when they had the old turf it played a lost faster, a lot quicker. This is a little slower, but it's still difficult if you haven't played on it before because it's funny hops, it's -- the surface is kind of weird. So yeah, they have the home field advantage here because they are used to playing here, but this year, as well as in years past, we have always been a pretty good road team, so I don't think it really matters where we are playing. The bonus of playing on the road is an opportunity to get up first.

DEREK JETER: I don't know if that's really a good thing, we have fallen behind early. But we have got some guys who can hit, to say the least, and one through nine we got guys who can beat you. If it's not Alex one day, it's Sheffield. If it's not Posada, it's Bernie. If it's not Bernie, it's Matsui. So we know we put together a stream of quality at-bats and we understand that the game is 9 innings, it's never over until it's over, so anytime you have been able to accomplish something as a group, we have been doing it pretty much the whole year.

DEREK JETER: He pitched extremely well. I think the first time out he was probably a little rusty when he pitched against Boston, and then when he pitched in Toronto, it seemed like he had a little life in his ball. I know from facing him when he was in San Diego he is not a guy you enjoy because he doesn't throw the ball straight, so his problems have only been his health. When he is healthy, he is up with the top pitchers in the game, so tomorrow he will be fine and give us an opportunity to win, but he is as good as they come when he feels good.

DEREK JETER: I think it's the only approach you can take. Baseball is baseball, whether it's in April or in October. It's just the stakes are a little bit higher. I think there is more question, you are under the microscope a little bit more, but it's still the same game. So I just try to take the same philosophy. You have to enjoy yourself, still have to have fun. It's all I have known since I have been 21 years old, is playing in October, so this is the time you have to enjoy.

DEREK JETER: Not really. I have said time and time again, even though the personnel changes on the team, I understand my responsibility. You know, I don't try to do anything differently now than I did my first year, my second year. I have always said things to people, it doesn't necessarily have to be in a group meeting, but I have always -- whether it's one-on-one, you know, a few times I will speak up. I have probably spoken up more in the last few years than the couple years before, but I have always had that responsibility for a while.

DEREK JETER: The crowd we played in New York -- this is going to be louder than the crowd in New York. Here we did score early last year, sort of took their fans out of the game, but we are used to noise. It's been like that year after year, playing in the post-season in New York, but here the fans are great, they support their team, especially the last couple years, the last three years they have been winning, but the best way to keep the fans out of the game is to try to score early and get a lead.

DEREK JETER: The way I look at it is there is many ways to win games. It doesn't necessarily have to be a home run. It can be a bunt where you set somebody else up. So I think you get to this point of the year, like I have said time and time again, there aren't too many high-scoring games, it's usually low-scoring close games, so a bunt in the third or fourth inning can be the difference in a game, and I just try to pay attention to the little things. You know, every out is important. I think every play, every pitch is something that you have to pay attention to. So I try to focus on the details of the small things and that helps us win or lose games.

DEREK JETER: Brown is kind of -- he is kind of quiet, he keeps to himself a little bit. I am not saying there is anything wrong with it. But I got to know him a little bit. I know that he expects a lot from himself. He expects to go out there and pitch well every night, every day he pitches. I think he probably would view tomorrow being a big game for him. He wants to do well. But he has been in these kind of situations before. He has pitched in the playoffs, pitched in the World Series, he has come up big for his team, so in that sense I don't think it's anything new for him, but I would expect him to go do his best.