NL CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES: GIANTS v CARDINALS

October 13, 2002

Matt Morris

MATT MORRIS: You know, I'm going to go out there and keep my same game plan that I had in Game 1. I don't think I ever was able to get to the execution part of it. I was up in the zone and some of the games that I pitched well in the playoffs, they seemed to go slow for me and I was able to remember a lot about them. The other day was kind of a blur. I'm going to focus on making pitches and keeping the ball down. I know that's what I said last time, too, but I'm serious this time. (Laughing).

MATT MORRIS: Before the game he was working with Tino and Edmonds on their swings so that helped out. (Laughter.) No, he's just an inspiration for all of us. Sometimes just seeing him, we want to see how he's doing and ease his pain, and he's the one that's comforts us. It's amazing. He's like a miniature DK. It's good to see him laughing and hanging out with the guys again. It puts things in perspective a little bit. He'll high-five you no matter if it's a strikeout or hit a home run. It's fun having him.

MATT MORRIS: It's amazing some of the questions he has. They are hard for everybody to hear. He talks about his dad a lot. Sometimes you just don't expect it. You know, you try to answer them honestly. I think he understands more than we think he does. You know, you feel for him, but also, we've got 25 guys in there picking him up. So it's nice having him around.

MATT MORRIS: Well, I hope I'm excited tomorrow, too. I'm sure I will be. You know, it's just the fact of making pitches, it's concentrating on having focus on making the down-and-away pitch that's going to get the out instead of trying to overpower. So, yeah, I'm going to be excited no matter what happens tomorrow. I'm going to go out there and keep my focus and see what happens.

MATT MORRIS: I don't know. I don't think I had a lot of time to really reflect on it. The season never -- we had a minor pause there for a minute, but we just kept having to play. We were trying to separate our professional and personal lives, and I'm going to take the ball every fifth day no matter what. I basically thought what he would have said and he would have kicked me in the butt and said, "Go out there and start pitching and stop griping over things." That's pretty much what helped me.

MATT MORRIS: I hope so. I think being nervous is natural. If you're not nervous, you're not human out there in these kind of games. I'm going to be nervous tomorrow, but nervous energy is good. Like I said, it's about focusing and taking a step back and it's about how I'm going to get outs; not what I'm trying to do.

MATT MORRIS: You know what, I didn't even see his trot. I was turned around looking at the ball to see if it was going to get out. I think the home run irritated me, whether it was him or anybody else. You don't want to give up a home run. He's a guy that doesn't hit a lot of home runs. He put a good swing on a ball that was left over the heart of the plate. You know, playoff time, guys do not miss them. We'll try to get him out. He's going to be a pest on the bases and he's swinging a hot bat, so he's going to be a key for me.

MATT MORRIS: Of course. That was the sixth run. I tend to look at everybody after they hit a home run. I tend to look in that direction anyway, but I wasn't looking at him in any other way other than shock, at the whole situation; not his home run, but the hole I put the team in. I don't know how much you watched me pitch before, but I tend to do that.

MATT MORRIS: That's the problem you run into, even the first game. You don't want any of the situations to dictate how you're going to pitch. Like I said, I've got to go out there and pitch my game and do enough things that will keep my mind positive after the game. To go out there, whether it's going to be the elimination game or two up, 3-2 should not have a bearing on it, as long as I'm making my pitches.

MATT MORRIS: Well, I think we all know how patient he is and he knows the strike zone. He's not looking at a ball down and away to hit. He's looking for a ball up in the zone. He did a great job trying to get him to fish. He broke the record this year with walks. I don't know what the number is, but that's what he's been doing all year. That's the way to pitch to him. He's not going to swing at the balls that are going to get him out; so he's going to walk.

MATT MORRIS: He's pretty much the same. Obviously, the stakes are higher so everybody is more intense. He tries to stay cool, but deep down inside, all of us want to blow up sometimes and want to win ballgames. You know, that's the competitive side of things.

MATT MORRIS: Some games that I pitched this year, I was able to see one pitch that I can take back and it might change the outcome of the game. That first game, there were too many pitches that were mistakes. You know, walking Lofton right off the bat and getting in trouble in the first, the second. There were no easy innings, and I think in a situation like that, you want your offense or your defense to get off the field and pick up the bats and try and score runs. I put them in a hole right off the bat, whether they were scoring in the first couple of innings or not. Being out there with the bases loaded, struggling the first few innings did not help me.

MATT MORRIS: They are really studying some tapes, because they had a different approach for Woody and they had a different approach for Chuck and obviously they had a different approach for me. They are making all of the adjustments and trying to find out the pitcher's tendencies just like I'm reversing, trying to find out how I'm going to get them out. It's just a battle of execution now.

MATT MORRIS: He means a ton to all of us. Everybody in that clubhouse he really helped out in one way or another. He's in our hearts, and seeing Kannon seems to revive it a little bit. Like I said, it puts things in perspective, but it also has our focus on always what he wanted to have was a World Series ring. And seeing Kannon running around definitely revives that feeling.