AL DIVISION SERIES: INDIANS v MARINERS

October 10, 2001

Travis Fryman

TRAVIS FRYMAN: I think he's still having a very difficult time. My opinion is Charlie's enthusiasm and energy is down a little bit. My opinion is that he's still hurt, he's still sick. But it would hurt Charlie more not to be here, so that's why he's here. But Charlie is a very enthusiastic person, that enthusiasm is very contagious. We miss him. He's not his normal self. But Charlie loves baseball more than anything else, and his desire is to be with us. A part of me wishes he was in a hospital getting himself better, but a part of me understands why he wants to be with us, also.

TRAVIS FRYMAN: I think it's a good reminder. I think when we get out there playing, I think all sports tend to be consuming when you're involved in them, and you're completely focused on what you're doing when you're out there. But because that is the case, I do think it's nice to stop in the 7th and pause and bring you back to the rest of the world and what is going on, and the things that are important. Those of us that are in sports, I do think take ourselves and our sport a little too seriously. And to pause during the game like that I think is a good thing. It's a good thing for the sport and a good thing for us as individuals, also. So like I said, I don't think that many of us think about it a lot during the course of a game at this stage, until that moment when we stop, and that sort of brings us back to what is important.

TRAVIS FRYMAN: I think so. Somebody asked me a question yesterday that the Indians don't seem to be a high profile team like other teams. I sort of laugh at that. We're very much a high profile team, we just didn't have a high profile season. To write us off I think is a mistake. We obviously have a very talented team and tremendous postseason experience. The question mark has been the pitching, it's been a little shaky. But we play great defense, we know how to play the game, and we pulled off some pretty miraculous wins this year, and we have a record of playing well when we have to. That's a very dangerous combination of things right there. To write us off would be a mistake, yes.

TRAVIS FRYMAN: No. 1, I think we struggled with left-handed pitching this year, at least in my own observation. And Jamie Moyer is a very intelligent pitcher, it's not like he has overpowering stuff, he doesn't throw particularly hard, but changes speed well, and uses both sides of the plate well. He pitches inside very effectively for a guy that doesn't throw hard. And a lot like Jimmy Key used to pitch, sort of in that caliber right now. I would compare him with Jimmy more than anybody else that I've seen in my career. And he's a great competitor. And we're an aggressive hitting team. When we face a guy that lives a little bit off the plate and likes you to chase his pitch, I think those guys tend to have more success off teams that are very aggressive with the bat. But our approach in the postseason is a little more -- I think we're a little more in tuned to our approach to a pitcher maybe than you might be in a regular season sometimes. So I would expect us to make some adjustments in tomorrow's game.

TRAVIS FRYMAN: Very big, very big for us. In all honesty, C.C. has really been probably our best pitcher this year. And Bartolo had moments where he showed brilliance on the mound and he had his share of struggles also. But you can't win a postseason really with just two guys. We were really looking for a third guy to step up. And we were hoping Chuck would be that guy. I think we all had some concerns with his neck problems, and the problems that he'd had there, but he's come back and had two great outings, and one decent outing, and has pitched very well. I think he's where he would like to be in postseason, I think he feels very good. And I actually expect him to throw a great game for us tomorrow.

TRAVIS FRYMAN: I think that we're all very aware of Chuck's situation, and Ellis Burks', too, the whole reason those guys came to Cleveland was to have a chance to get back in the postseason, have a chance to win. Each of us is very aware of that. Is it an extra motivating factor? It might be a little bit. I think just we enjoy Chuck as a teammate, we'd like to see him do well in the postseason, and I think we'd like to get a win for him. I don't know that you can play any harder than you do in the postseason, but we are aware of Chuck's situation, we would like nothing more than to get a win for him.

TRAVIS FRYMAN: If I could talk a little bit about my season, that would be the best I could do it. The least I could say, the better off I would be. It was a bad year, very difficult season, filled with injury. I had some of the lowest moments of my career this year. But the big reason to continue to play and get through the season was for a chance to contribute and play in the postseason again. And I felt that somewhere, somehow I did have something to offer down the road. And so yesterday was a good start. But I'd like to do a few more things this postseason, too.

TRAVIS FRYMAN: The lowest point was probably a game in Cincinnati this season, made an error -- Dave was pitching, I misplayed another ball, I think that same inning, and they ended up winning the ballgame. I was 0 for 4 or 5 with a couple of strikeouts. That's as bad as I've felt at the end of a baseball game. It was probably the low point for me this year.