NL DIVISION SERIES: GIANTS v BRAVES

October 4, 2002

Greg Maddux

GREG MADDUX: I feel good. I feel fine. Legs feel good. Arm feels good. Finger is okay. Looking forward to pitching.

GREG MADDUX: I like it. I think it's a good look, standing on the mound here, with the way the backstop looks with the umpire and the catcher, it's a good look. The mound doesn't seem far away. Some parks, it seems closer than others and this park seems to be one of the closer ones. The mound is good. The grass is good. The dimensions are good. The weather is usually good here. It's usually -- it's usually not hot. It's a lot easier to pitch when it's like 40 degrees, as opposed to 90.

GREG MADDUX: Well, I think the biggest thing that I've seen this year was he seems to be more confident. I think that comes with location. I think his location is a lot better now than it used to be, and when you can locate your fastball, your offspeed pitches seem to look better, as well. Plus, he's pitched. I don't know how many innings he has, but he's probably got -- he's got his 400-plus innings in, and that's usually when guys start to worry more about pitching than other things that go along with the game.

GREG MADDUX: Really good fastball. That was the first thing. I thought he threw a really good fastball and had a pretty good curve or slider, whatever he calls it, and a pretty good breaking ball. Like most guys when they first come up, they want to learn, and it takes time. They all want to learn everything so quickly that, you know, it takes time to do that. I think he's had some time now. I mean, I've seen him throw some great games for the Giants this year.

GREG MADDUX: Not at all. Not at all. I don't talk to young pitchers unless they ask. He was a teammate and you pull for him, as long as he's wearing the same shirt as you, and I did that. But as far as being his mentor; no, not at all. He had enough things to worry about than me trying to tell him what to do. That's what the pitching coach is for.

GREG MADDUX: Yeah, he's the best player in baseball, and has been. It didn't happen like this year. It's been that way for a long time, ever since his Pirate days. Barry is the kind of guy -- he's too good. If he hit .280 like everybody else, he would probably get pitched to more, but he doesn't.

GREG MADDUX: It's harder because you're facing the best teams. You're facing the best hitters. You're also facing the best pitchers. I mean, I don't think it's any secret that it's harder to be the first-place team than it is to be the last-place team. I feel like I've made mistakes in the post-season, but as I look at my post-season career overall, I'm pretty happy with it. I got beat up pretty bad when I was with the Cubs the first time through, but since then, I think I've had as many good games as bad games.

GREG MADDUX: No, I don't know. It's not true. You mean, so many people around sometimes, things get said and believed -- (laughing). I just try to locate a fastball and change speeds regardless of who is hitting, try to make a good pitch, get them out and move on.