AL CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES: YANKEES v MARINERS

October 18, 2001

Mike Mussina

MIKE MUSSINA: I agree. I think it wasn't -- it wasn't flowing as well as it has the last few games. It was work. It was tough. You know, you're in a situation where you want to put out your best performance and you feel you have to put out your best performance considering the team you are playing against, and considering the situation. It was a struggle. It was a fight the whole time. I think they even -- the two hits I got in the first inning were pretty good pitches and I was able to get out of that and the ball Ichiro hit to centerfield to get on second base with nobody out, and I was able to get out of that. It was work, but I was pleased that those were situations that I was able to get out of. There's always days you've got to do the best you can without feeling your best, and we found a way to do that today.

MIKE MUSSINA: I think if you have positive results, you feel like you're throwing the ball well; mentally you feel good about it; then, yeah there's a carryover. If you feel good about the way you're throwing, even if it is a fight, good things are going to happen for you sometimes. Like I said, there are days where you go out there and you really don't have to do much thinking because everything is working and there are days where you are thinking about everything single thing from where your body is to where your arm is to where you are trying to go in the strike zone, there are so many things running through your mind, it's really a lot of work. I think it's getting some of that positive reinforcement over what's happened the last six or eight weeks, it helped today because there were situations where I was just cutting it loose and trying to get the best results I could and it worked out.

MIKE MUSSINA: Well, it's always rewarding. It's always rewarding to give your guys a chance to win. Especially in a game of this caliber and in this situation that was, you know, being 3-2. You know, we go out there as starters looking to take the game straight to Mariano in the ninth, and when you can't do that and you try to -- you have to push the bullpen farther than they should be, it's a little disappointing in that respect, but the bullpen has been solid for us. We've been pitching deep in the game for the most part recently. You know, the way the schedule works in the playoffs with these constant off-days, if you don't kill the bullpen on any one particular day, you are still going to be in pretty good shape. I think we are still in pretty good shape.