AL CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES: RED SOX v YANKEES

October 11, 2003

David Wells

DAVID WELLS: It's the playoffs. Anything can happen here. I've pitched better the last couple of years here than I have probably my whole career. But, you know, this is a different mindset, different situation than the season, so I'll just go out there and do the best I can.

DAVID WELLS: No. I get fired up for these games. It's a different level of play right now, and all of the emotions are high. I get excited for big games and that's where I pitch my best. I'm not afraid to go out there and throw strikes. I'm not afraid to fail. On the positive side, to go out victorious it's a great feeling. If you can't pitch in these big games, you need to figure something else out because this is what it's all about. This is where you can shine and make something for yourself and your team and try to carry them on to the next level.

DAVID WELLS: Absolutely. You have a game prior to that wasn't too good, and you follow with a game like that, it's every bit a confidence builder. They have got a great team out there. They have got a good hitting team and I know as long as I'm on, if I'm making my pitches, I can make it difficult for those guys. Bottom line is just to go out there and just be aggressive. It's something I've always done my whole career and nothing has really changed, so my approach to this team, or any other team, it's the same. Like I said, I prepare myself the same way. I'm in a situation that we're in a big game, it's just a matter of not being too fired up because you don't want to go out and over throw and start to become wild and all that. You just want to calm yourself down and go out and play catch with Jorge.

DAVID WELLS: My record against Boston, it's not very good. It's just that. I would like to say it's a great city, I wish it was as wide open out there as it is here. It's just something that I've always had difficulties, and like I said, whenever they are ready to get rid of this place, let me push the button, get another stadium; I think they deserve it. It's great history. It's great for the fans to come out and see a ballpark like this. I admire it in certain ways than others, but like I said, I've got to block that stuff out and just go out and pitch my game.

DAVID WELLS: It's pretty cool, pitching at 40. I never thought I would be pitching at age 40, but I just seemed to get better the last five years. Except for having surgery two years ago. Who knows what would have happened then. You know, I just go out, I just love this game so much and I just try to keep it going. As long as I can do that at this age, I mean, go out there and putting W's on the board. But I ain't none of this unless I've got a team behind me that makes great plays and scores me a lot of runs and that's what the Yankees have provided me my whole career. Again, I know what I'm doing on the mound, so that takes the pressure off them a little bit.

DAVID WELLS: Want a different question -- ask a different one. (Laughter.)

DAVID WELLS: This place probably -- my first, probably the first 12, 13 years here, it was okay, it was fine. Because when I was in the bullpen, you would hear some great things. We used to take squirt guns out there and squirt them back in the day. But now it's becoming pretty vulgar and rude over the last few years that I've been coming in here. It's just getting worse. I understand fans are fans. I'm still a fan of the game, but I don't go out there and say some of the things that these people do. I've had the same situation in Cleveland, talking about my mother, and that's just disrespectful, when someone is dead and they still talk about it. That's something that you don't want to hear. And the last couple of years, they have been hitting below the belt and that's just not fun. If you're going to make fun of us, go ahead and keep it clean. Talk about us and don't bring other people into it.

DAVID WELLS: It's still alive, man. It's been wreaking havoc on them for a long time. It's something that -- I believe in karma and curses and all that, but, you know, a lot of people don't. You've heard Pedro say some crazy things about it. It's just something that every year, it's different. You never know, it could be their year; it might not. You just have to wait and see. The Babe left here, he saved the game of baseball and you have to thank him for that. But when he went to New York, he did so many good things and so many things have happened in New York; it's just been unbelievable. And anything great that happens, happens in New York and I think he's still shining on us.

DAVID WELLS: Absolutely. I think it's great for baseball. I think it's the oldest stadium in existence now. Chicago has some great fans on both sides. I think for the Cubs, it would put a lot of closure to the Chicago people; you win or lose, it's something that it would be great to play them in the World Series in Chicago because it's two great cities to play a World Series. To me it would be a lot of fun, especially playing in that ballpark.