AL DIVISION SERIES: TWINS v YANKEES

October 4, 2003

David Wells

DAVID WELLS: Well, the turf speeds the game up a little bit. But coming in here, I've had good success playing in this stadium. The only thing, the only downfall is fly balls, you can't see them. As you said, it's fast. As long as the guys are positioned right and I make my pitches, you know, it's just like anybody else coming in.

DAVID WELLS: I've never really paid attention to what I've done, fly balls, ground balls. I know over the last month, I've been throwing pretty good and I've got a lot of ground balls. Hopefully it carries over here. I think you have a better advantage with fly balls here more so than ground because it's so fast.

DAVID WELLS: I'm just throwing one game at a time. It's not up to me if it's my last game or not. It's the Yankees' option. I just come out every day, as long as the season is going, and just wait and see.

DAVID WELLS: I take every start seriously. I've had good success against this team. I want to be in this situation. I'm not afraid to fail. And the thing is, you know, when you get to the post-season, you get hyped up a little bit more. This is what it's all about, getting to this point in the season and going out there. So you want to try to make the best of every start that you get. So to me, I go out with confidence and just trust in my ability.

DAVID WELLS: I was told in New York on getaway day, just briefly, Mel said that I was up Sunday. He told me I was starting game 4.

DAVID WELLS: No. Nothing surprises me. So I just, you know -- you get the call, you get the call. I'm not going to -- I just wait for my opportunity to pitch. I pitch if it's necessary. To me, I got the call, and I'm just going to go out there and make the best of it.

DAVID WELLS: That's what happened last year. They switched the times around last year in Anaheim. I don't know where this game is going, because if they can't decide on times, normally they usually do, but so much TV and with all of the other hoopla that's going on, it's a shame that they can't pick a time. I think 12:00 games are a little absurd, you shouldn't have them. They should 4:00 or 7:00 or 8:00 games. It gives the guys time to relax, get their thoughts, or rushing into games, you have an off-day workout, you turn around and you're at the ballpark again. But it's out of our hands. It's all about the TV and all that. So we've just got to do what we're told.

DAVID WELLS: No. I've been in situations like this before, and I don't make -- I don't do the signs, none of that. It's up to Joe on how he -- all we have to do is put up zeros and try to keep the team in the ballgame. As long as we're going out there, keep our pitch count down, for some of us, that's key. It can take you into a ballgame late.

DAVID WELLS: I paid attention. I pitch differently than Andy. So my strengths and my success are different than Andy's. I just go out there with my game plan. That's kind of tough to top. Andy pitched an unbelievable ballgame. To try to top that, you don't want to go out and try. You just want to go out and do the best that you can and hopefully if it happens, then that's great. But my approach, I think is a lot different than Andy's.

DAVID WELLS: No, just the flavor of the year. It's something that usually seems to happen. I'm a guy that doesn't back down and usually fights fire with fire. The New York media has been pretty tough. There's a couple guys that are -- that take it personal, have a personal vendetta against me. That's something that it doesn't faze me. I kind of get a kick out of it. Obviously it has not really affected me. I've pitched well the last two years here, and it's something that they want to do and I go out and still do my job. So I don't think there's anything they could say about my job and let the rest speak for itself.

DAVID WELLS: I feel confident that I can play another year. But, you know, what goes on here, hopefully we will and I'm confident that we will, take this to the next level, and hopefully the next one after that. And going out on the top is a nice way to go. You know, you just wait and see. I know physically, in the off-season, I can do a lot of things to try to correct the back and try to strengthen it up even more. So coming out here and doing all the standing around and all that stuff -- that's the toughest part for me is going out and standing around during batting practice, especially when it's cold. The off-season, I can do a lot to strengthen my back, and if necessary, be prepared for another year next year, the last year. There won't be any more after that if I do play.

DAVID WELLS: Oh, of course. I think with the things that have gone on this year, I mean, what's written is -- you can only take that so far. It just all depends on George and if he wants to, and if not, I'm sure there will be teams out there that would be interested. But, you know, that's a far cry from now. We just have to wait and see and do that. This is the greatest organization ever built and I feel strong about that no matter what goes on. To me, it's not my option. It's George's option, and if he decides to, that's great. And if not, there's other teams out there that I'm sure might be interested and might not. So, this could be my last year, and, you know, I wouldn't lose any sleep over that, either.