NL DIVISION SERIES: CARDINALS v DIAMONDBACKS

October 9, 2001

Bob Brenly

BOB BRENLY: As I've said many times before, it's tough to place one above the other, but given the circumstances and everything that was riding on this ballgame, that was about as good as I've seen him, yes.

BOB BRENLY: It was funny because as our team came off the field, in the middle of the 8th inning, Bob Melvin said it's conceivable that he could come up with the bases loaded are you thinking about hitting for him. And we had BK Kim going easy in the bullpen just in case, but as we got closer and closer to his spot, he was the guy we wanted out there on the mound in the 9th. It was as simple as that. I would like to say I have got confidence in him as a hitter, that he could drive in a run, but it was more the fact Curt Schilling deserved the chance to finish that ballgame.

BOB BRENLY: No, I mean, I was aware of it, but until he actually told me it was getting sore to the point where he could not go out there and do what he had to do. He has pitched through a variety of minor aches and pains and bumps and bruises this year and done it very well. So I wasn't overly concerned about that. We were definitely keeping an eye on it.

BOB BRENLY: Perhaps, if it was a tie ballgame and we were behind in the game, we might have thought about it at that point, but Matt Williams is one of our RBI guys. We had a man in scoring position, so we sent him up there to swing away.

BOB BRENLY: We thought about it, but Curt has executed a two-strike sacrifice bunt many times this year. He's shown me he's got that ability to hang in there tough with two strikes and get that ball on the ground somehow. And he did that once again tonight.

BOB BRENLY: That always crosses your mind, but more so than we squandering opportunities, I think it was the fact that Matt Morris got tough in those situations. Certainly he pitched a heck of a ballgame tonight. Our scouting report said he will give up hits, he will walk a guy from time to time, but when he gets runners on base he gets especially tough. And that's what he did tonight. It seemed like every time we had any sort of a rally mounted, he came out with his best stuff.

BOB BRENLY: I have watched Steve Finley's career from afar and from up close over the last few years and very close this season, and for whatever reason that has been his history. He has trouble coming out of the gates, but usually by the end of the season you look up and his numbers are there. We stuck with him when things were going tough and he has repaid the faith that I had in him. I had tremendous bats in the ballgame tonight. Showed a real quick bat and came up with some big knocks for us as well as Reggie Sanders.

BOB BRENLY: I try to stay as far away as possible. Curt and Randy both, as we all know are very focused and competitive, and they can put their mind in places that I would prefer not to interfere, and that was the case tonight. It was obvious Curt was on top of his game, whatever thoughts he had in his mind, I did not want to do anything to disrupt that so we just let him go about his business