NL DIVISION SERIES: CUBS v BRAVES

October 5, 2003

Kerry Wood

KERRY WOOD: Really just to stay focused and not let anything going on affect what I had to do on the mound. That was big for me tonight.

KERRY WOOD: That is correct. I did not put my glove in my bag when we left. Last minute, I had to find a glove so I figured I had to find one with a lot of strikes in it.

KERRY WOOD: There is no doubt about it. They didn't win 101 games for no reason. They're a great ball club, experienced club in the postseason. You can't make mistakes to those guys. I made a few mistakes and got away with a few mistakes with them.

KERRY WOOD: I felt more comfortable today for some reason. I'm not sure exactly why. I was a little more nervous for the first game. So, today was really different for some reason. It was kind of freaking me out a little bit. I wasn't really nervous, just really prepared to go out and pitch my game. Even when I got out there, it never really sunk in.

KERRY WOOD: Any time you can score runs first that helps your starting pitcher a lot. Hampton did it to us the last time he pitched, giving up some runs early but then shutting us down. You don't take anything for granted. You know you've still got to go out and pitch a good game.

KERRY WOOD: The same way we've done all year long. We don't listen to it. We stay positive. Having Dusty helps. Hopefully we're not going to hear too much more of that in the future.

KERRY WOOD: We can celebrate a little bit tonight but tomorrow it's back to work and another goal we have to work towards. We have to get ready for the Marlins and get through that series first.

KERRY WOOD: When you start getting close to the end of the season, I think that obviously helps and we all want to pitch a game that's mattered. We approach it that way. There seems to be a little more intensity and adrenaline in big games like that. He's been awesome just to watch him pitch at his age to go out and do what he's done down the stretch for us and the postseason for us. It's been fun to watch.

KERRY WOOD: I think so. You don't want to harp too much on that I don't think. You still have to go out and pitch your game and do what you're capable of doing. You don't want to throw the same pitch sequence at guys you threw four days ago. You mix it up a little bit. I try to keep them off balance a little bit.

KERRY WOOD: Really, I just tried to make sure I didn't let anything get out of control after that. Defense played great for me tonight and that was another great defensive play. We had a double-play there it didn't go our way. The run scored, but you still have to go back to work and let that go.

KERRY WOOD: No, he didn't ask me, he told me that's enough. I told him I was still strong enough.