MLB WORLD SERIES: INDIANS v MARLINS

October 18, 1997

Kevin Brown

KEVIN BROWN: I don't see any horns on any one of them. We work real well together. I think we're on the same page most of the time. Charles knows what he's doing, and he does a good job of paying attention to the hitters and the adjustments they make and the repertoire is real good.

KEVIN BROWN: I think it's a combination of things. I think I threw the ball well in '95 when I played with Baltimore, but I didn't have the success that year, a lot of that has to do again with not only myself but with the team that's surrounding you. We've played good defense here the last two years and I think that's helped me a lot. I've gotten better, and made adjustments, but you can't quantify that.

KEVIN BROWN: Well, I think there was some brief talks. But I think that kind of came to an end when they signed Jack. It was a very brief instance when they were talking with my agent.

KEVIN BROWN: I don't know. I don't have that thermometer stuck on me. I'm fine. I'm not worried about -- that's not an issue as far as I'm concerned. And I'm back to just normal game preparation.

KEVIN BROWN: I'm not sure I'd put myself in that category. I don't know, it's hard to quantify from my standpoint. But as far as from the team's standpoint, yes, CJ was one of the most important players in our success the second half. He really turned it up a notch. What he had done with his glove he continued to do the second half but he also started to really carry a lot of the load with his bat and it helped us in the second half really get going and beat some good teams.

KEVIN BROWN: There's some similarities, some differences. Both of them are very good as far as throwing out runners, both of them have strengths and weaknesses. Beyond that, I don't think that's the kind of thing that you really -- it's best not to say anything negative about anybody. I don't want to point out anybody's negatives. I don't want them talking about mine.

KEVIN BROWN: It's obvious, both their arms as far as the ability to throw out runners, their ability to shut down a running game is pretty obvious. If you start trying to critique their whole game, both guys have things they do and don't do as well as the other. I don't think it's fair to do that.

KEVIN BROWN: I don't think it's any big deal. This time of year, again, you're surviving a lot off of adrenaline. Things are totally different. You're not worried if you've had 2 or 10 days of rest. You're out there focused on the job at hand. So it's not a factor, as far as I'm concerned.

KEVIN BROWN: Well, if there's something they wanted me to do, I would definitely consider doing it, but they've got to be comfortable with it, too. I don't know what the situation is in the bullpen. And I wouldn't be presumptious enough to say that they're going to do that. It's up to them, if that would be something they felt would help the team, I would definitely not be adverse to holding off on my side day and working out with them, if they would like.

KEVIN BROWN: Well, I mean they're a great line-up. We faced great teams all year long. Basically you've got to do a good job the whole night. You can't let up at any point in time in their line-up. They've got guys from 1 to 9 that can hurt you. You've got to stay very consistent and very methodical as far as your approach. You've got to work one hitter at a time. It's pretty obvious the quality they have to get to this point. They've got guys that can hurt you, and they've got also a lot -- they've got some guys that have experience over you, too. So it's a matter of staying focused one hitter at a time.

KEVIN BROWN: I don't know. Whatever it is you guys have focused on, evidently it hasn't hurt us, you stay focused on whatever you want to. As far as the standpoint of being overlooked, I think it has been overlooked. I think the way guys reacted in the playoffs I think have been -- that can be seen. Again, I think really things got started for us from that standpoint, the series against Atlanta after the All Star break, I think that's where we really felt things coming together, we started to play with a lot of emotion and a lot of intensity.

KEVIN BROWN: I think they're only starting two. But anyhow, it really doesn't change. I can't affect the other games. I can only do something about one game. And you don't go out and have a good game by trying to put too much pressure on yourself and trying to do extra. You've got to keep it simple, from a pitching standpoint and do what I've done up to this point in time, I hope it's enough.

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