MODERATOR: Questions for Troy.
Q. Being from the area and having gone to college not too far away, how much more sweet is this to do this for the first time in this area, these fans?
TROY GLAUS: I mean, it's great. I think the feeling would be tremendous no matter where we were, but for me to be at home, my friends and family get to be here. They were a part of it. All of us as players, even playing baseball, they've all been a part of it. For them to be here watching and the fan support and everything, unbelievable.
MODERATOR: John Lackey is here, too.
Q. I'm sure you've imagined this moment, played it over in your heads. Is it better than you ever imagined it could be?
TROY GLAUS: I mean, this is why we play. This is why we put all the time and effort in. You know, this is what all the swings against the garage door when you were a kid, that's what it brings it up to, this point here. At this point, I don't even really now how I'm feeling, except ecstatic.
MODERATOR: John?
JOHN LACKEY: That was pretty much it (smiling). This is unbelievable. The crowd outside, still there, still going crazy. It's hard to describe.
Q. Troy, to not only win the World Series, but to be named Most Valuable Player, describe what that means to you.
TROY GLAUS: I mean, it's a great honor, obviously. But we play for the big trophy with the pennants on it, not for these. No one guy on this team has gotten us to this point or carried us through this point. It's been a team effort all the way through, 25 guys. Without everybody contributing, doing their job, understanding what they were supposed to do, we wouldn't be here.
Q. John, you've been in the big leagues 125 days. You pitched Game 7 as a rookie on short rest, and you won. How do you explain that to us?
JOHN LACKEY: I don't know. It hasn't been long ago I was in the Minor Leagues. I was given an opportunity. I just wanted to step up and help these guys out. Luckily, Scios gave me the ball today. I just really wanted to come out and give a good effort, give the guys a chance to win. We have a team that's going to battle for you.
Q. Were you nervous out there today?
JOHN LACKEY: Not really, no. I mean, it's an opportunity. It's another challenge. I mean, it's something you don't -- you get excited about it more than nervous about it. You want to step up, you want to beat somebody at this level.
Q. Troy, Mike mentioned the situational hitting meeting. Can you talk about that, what you still brought out of that?
TROY GLAUS: I mean, it was very simple. Our numbers were not in scoring position, and execution like that were poor last year. He just said, "We need to step it up. Whether you shorten your swing, you understand a little bit more of the situation, what the pitcher is trying to do to you." It was probably a 30-, 40-minute meeting, talking with guys between what pitchers try to do to them, what pitchers try to do to me, as opposed to these other guys, the other guys that were in the meeting. Basically he just said, "This is a team, we have a team concept, we play team baseball. Everybody has a role, and we need to just improve on that situation."
Q. Will you both talk about the fact that you guys are a throw-back type team, truly 25-man roster? Maybe your approach and the way you guys won a championship, other teams will try to duplicate, going back to the way baseball should be played, rather than waiting for the long ball?
TROY GLAUS: We have guys on our team that can hit home runs, and we have in the post-season. That's not necessarily the approach we go out with. But if they happen, great. We're not a team that sits back and waits for a three-run home run. We try to create situations, put pressure on the defense and pressure them into making mistakes and doing things like that, keying on the situational hitting.
Q. How important was it to you to get through the fifth inning? Dusty Baker said that really set up your bullpen. Were you taxed at all? Were you tired going into the fifth?
JOHN LACKEY: I mean, I left it all out there. It was a situation where we've got a great bullpen. I was putting everything I had into every pitch, really thinking about it, really trying to execute pitches. Again, our bullpen stepped up big.
Q. Troy, for those of us who didn't see it, can you describe the moment you found out you were the MVP? John, since Troy is obviously saying it was a team effort, which it was, can you talk about Troy's contribution to this series?
JOHN LACKEY: You go ahead, big dog.
TROY GLAUS: I got it. I was so excited just about being world champion. This is just icing on the cake at this point. I didn't even really know what to think. They told me to go stand on the stage, so I went and stood on the stage. That was about it (laughter).
JOHN LACKEY: As far as about Troy, the whole team, Troy has been unbelievable whole post-season. I mean, his numbers speak for themselves. As far as the other veteran guys on the team, they've made it possible for the young guys to come in here and contribute. They made it a comfortable environment. They took us in. "Go get 'em. We need you." We ended up stepping up for them, and now we're all championships.
Q. Troy, are you amazed the composure that John has shown, not just in Game 7, but throughout this post-season?
TROY GLAUS: I mean, am I surprised? No. Amazed? Not really. I mean, because I was there for his first start in Texas, you know. He gives up a very long home run to A-Rod.
JOHN LACKEY: Really long (laughter).
TROY GLAUS: I went out and talked to him, expecting to see a guy whose eyes are looking like golf balls, just to pat him on the fanny and say, "Let's go." He looked at me and said, "All right, I got it." That to me was all I needed to see.
MODERATOR: Congratulations. We'll let you go back to the celebration.
End of FastScripts...
