NL DIVISION SERIES: BRAVES v ASTROS

October 9, 2001

Tom Glavine

TOM GLAVINE: You know, as far as his decision to do it, you know, I think it's two things. I think the number one, he has confidence in our ability to come back on three days' rest and not have any problems doing it. Number two, in a short series, a five-game series, I think the need to go to a four-man rotation is a little less so than it is in a seven-game series. But as far as it goes for me and Greg, I don't really think that there's going to be a problem or anything like that. I think that for the most part, in a five-man rotation, you're ready to pitch on the fourth day anyway, and certainly this time of year with the playoffs and the excitement and adrenaline that goes along with it, I think that coming back a day early is really not going to be much of an adjustment or much of a big deal. I think we'll both be ready to do it and we've both done it a lot in the past and haven't had a problem with it.

TOM GLAVINE: We haven't done it this season. I've done it in seasons past. Certainly I've done it in the post-season. Like I said, I think in the post-season it's probably easier to do it simply due to the adrenaline factor and you just want to get back out there. But, you know, this year we haven't had to do it during the course of the season. But like I said, there's not -- there's really not, I don't think, as much of an adjustment or as much of a big deal that goes about doing that as people sometimes think provided, physically speaking, you're able to do it. That's the big question. If you're not physically able to do it, then you don't do it. But as long as everything's fine physically, you know, generally, like I say, you're ready to pitch on that day before your fifth day anyway.

TOM GLAVINE: I feel good. It's hard to say I feel stronger or anything like that than I have in past years. But I feel every bit as I have in past years. You know, I've thrown the ball well the second half of the year, have felt good physically the second half of the year, and have had no problems with anything. So, yeah, physically speaking, right now I feel every bit as good as I have at any other portion during the season, and I know the same is true for Greg. So that's pretty much what enables us to make the decisions and go ahead and do what Bobby wants to do, which is pitch the two of us on three days' rest in this series if we need to.

TOM GLAVINE: You know, I think that certainly enters your mind. But I don't think you think about it a whole lot. Much like if you're getting beat by a particular club, you don't take for granted that sooner or later the law of averages is going to catch up with you. If they do, fine. I think that when you have success against a certain team or in a certain ballpark or things of that nature, I think it certainly helps you in knowing that your approach, your game plan, are all successful provided you go out there and execute them. You know, any time you can have confidence about what it is you're trying to do based on past performance when you go out there, it's a great thing to have. But there's no guarantee you're going to continue to do that. Every time you face a team, it's a different challenge and it's a new challenge. There's some set of variables, whether it's you're not throwing the ball as well or they're swinging the bats better or so-and-so is hot and he wasn't before, all those things add to the equation. You have to think about that as you go out there and play. But, like I said, I guess the bottom line is when you have success against somebody or a certain team, it reaffirms your game plan. But you still have to go out there on that occasion and execute that game plan.

TOM GLAVINE: I guess our preparation probably started on Friday really. You know, we watched as much of the Cardinal and Houston series as we could, watching both teams hit, trying to pick some things up, see what's there. And then you just go back - once it's inevitably decided who you're going to face - you just go back and go over scouting reports on that club, go back and watch some tape or stuff like that. Just use whatever resources you can to kind of refresh yourself with their line-up and the things that you're trying to do or the things you've tried to do against them in the past that have either worked or didn't work. Like I say, you try and utilize all that stuff and then somewhere along the line plug in what's going on with these guys over the course of the last week or ten days - who's swinging well, who's not. Try and assess all that and put it in your game plan as much as you can. But, you know, personally, I try not to get overanalytical this time of the year. I think sometimes people do that. You get inundated with scouting reports and get away from what inevitably has to happen, and that is go out there and make good pitches.

TOM GLAVINE: No, not initially. I don't think you can go out there and pitch and let a ballpark or a line-up dictate what I want to try and do. I mean, I know what I do well. I know there are certain things that I have to do to be successful. Those things are all going to be incorporated in my game plan when I go out there. Now, if the Astros do something to show me I need to change that or do something a little bit differently, I will. But, again, I think you have to understand what you do well, what you need to do to be successful, and go out there and make that be the biggest part of your game plan. And if a team shows you they're going to beat you at that and they force you to do something different, then you go ahead and you do it. But don't go out there with the mindset that, "Hey, this is a different series or this is a different situation. I'm going to go out there and go against the book now and do something totally opposite than what I usually do," because most of the time you end up getting yourself in trouble.