NL CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES: METS v CARDINALS

October 10, 2000

Fernando Vina

FERNANDO VINA: That is really not for us to worry about. That is history now. It is not going through the Braves; it is going through St. Louis. We're going to play here against the Mets, and we got a good team. They have got a good team. And it will be a good battle.

FERNANDO VINA: I think so. Definitely how things work out for the good and me being in Milwaukee last year, and I was injured for a good part of the year, and the way things happen real quick, and I think it was a good fit for myself, for both me and the team. And Will Clark coming in here at the deadline is just incredible. To pick up a guy like that, and him picking us up so much, him having so much experience and bringing it over here to us is something special. You thank God for all the moves and all the things that have happened.

FERNANDO VINA: We have a ton of confidence. I mean, Darryl is a gamer and a bulldog out there. And as infielder, a player that plays behind him, you are just excited to have him on the heel. You just go hard. He is a bulldog throughout. He is going right at them. That makes it easier for us to stay on the game and keep going.

FERNANDO VINA: I think most of all it was unfortunate that he got hurt, but it was a good feeling for us to hear that he was going to be okay and everything was going to be fine. That was the main thing for him and his family and for his career. Then you look back, how he was in Milwaukee for a long time, like you said with me, and him not being able to be part of this is something that hurts, because I know he has been in the same situation he was in, and he has been looking for this time of his career for a long time. So it is unfortunate. But hopefully we can win it all and do it all for Mike, because that is what it is all about. He will be in the dugout with us, and he is a part of it.

FERNANDO VINA: They got good pitching, that is bottom line. We have got good hitters and pitching. It is good all the way around. It is going to be a battle regardless. I think if we go up there with the right approach and with the right frame of mind, there are going to be some good games. That is all we can really do is go up there and play hard and take the right approach; and hopefully, the ball will bounce our way.

FERNANDO VINA: Carlos has been big. He had to pick us up when Mike went down. He's turned it up a notch. He has been to the World Series and in these type of situations before. You have a ton of confidence with him. It is unfortunate we don't have Mike, but you have got to keep going. Carlos Hernandez is a great catcher himself, and he can throw, and he has been in the war before, so that is somebody that you feel good about being out there with.

FERNANDO VINA: Not really. I just try to do what I do. I know it is big for me to get on and try to do some things, but I can't put any more pressure on myself than I have to. That is the bottom line, just go about my business the way I know how and do the things that I do day in, day out, regardless if it's a playoff game, like now, or a regular season game. I am just going to go do the things I know how, and go hard regardless of what happens.