MLB WORLD SERIES: GIANTS v ANGELS

October 22, 2002

John Lackey

JOHN LACKEY: Yeah, I'll be fine. I usually throw two times in between starts on the side anyway. I actually only threw about 30 pitches, I usually throw 40 to 45 on the side. So I probably threw less actually.

JOHN LACKEY: I think it works both ways. I get a little feel of them, the way they're setting up in the box, how I might be able to go after them. They saw what I've got. They swing at some of my pitches. It works both ways. I don't think it's going to help either one of us.

JOHN LACKEY: I didn't know that was going to get out. Yeah, it's pretty cool. I was born during the World Series. It's something I've been doing on my birthday for a lot of years, watching the World Series. It's pretty cool that I'm actually in it and I'm going to get an opportunity to be playing in it.

JOHN LACKEY: Not really. I'm a huge baseball fan growing up, so I've seen them all pretty much. I haven't ever missed one.

JOHN LACKEY: Actually, I think being a pitcher is the best place to be when it's cold. We're moving around. We're pretty much the only people that are warm when it's cold. When I was in Salt Lake the first year, it's pretty dang cold there at the first of the year. I don't think it will come into play. I think I'll be fine.

JOHN LACKEY: Not really. You really -- I'll ride the bike inside a little bit more, get the blood moving a little bit, moving around, warm up that way, rather than throwing extra pitches. You don't want to do that at this point in the season.

JOHN LACKEY: As a hitter, I don't know. I hit a home run to win a game in the Junior College World Series. That was pretty cool. But, I mean, I don't think my hitting prowess is going to come into play. I'm more concerned about bunting and getting guys over and letting the guys that get paid to hit do their job.

JOHN LACKEY: In college, I was probably more of a hitter. I threw pretty hard in college. That's pretty much, they just saw potential as far as a pitcher. I wasn't polished at all. I didn't really know what I was doing at that point. I enjoyed hitting more at that point. But you can't compare junior college pitching to what I'm going to be facing here in the World Series. It's going to be totally different.

JOHN LACKEY: I'm not going to promise performance every time out, but I don't think there's going to be any situation where I'm going to be intimidated or scared or anything. I'm going to go out there and do what's gotten me to this point. If that doesn't work out for me, kind of hang with them. It happens every now and then. I'm going to go after people with my best stuff. If it's not good enough tomorrow, we'll try again some other time.