NL CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES: PADRES v BRAVES

October 8, 1998

Kevin Brown

KEVIN BROWN: I would say that the -- obviously. I don't think I had quite the stuff I had that night. But from the standpoint of just trying to make adjustments as the game went along and trying to use what was working at that moment, pretty good. You face a team like those guys have over there; they can hurt you from top to bottom. So you've got to try to minimize your mistakes against them.

KEVIN BROWN: Probably the fact that -- a variety of stuff. Not trying to stay with any one thing consistently. I think I threw everything but the kitchen sink out there tonight. So just winging it, just making stuff up as you go, really.

KEVIN BROWN: I can't tell you, because I don't know how I would have thrown if I threw yesterday. But obviously, the decision turned out to be spectacular the way it turned out tonight. The team fought and scraped and found a way to win last night. And the way things turned out tonight, what else could you ask for?

KEVIN BROWN: You don't. It's just a matter of when things go well, you really try not to question them too much. You just try to keep focused and do what you're doing and don't look back. You keep your focus and do what you've been doing.

KEVIN BROWN: Not really. It's something that when I'm on the mound, I'm trying to stay so focused as far as taking little steps. And I'm trying not to get ahead of myself. Trying not to think about the next thing, trying not to think about the next hitter. It's hard to back off. I don't want to back off and look at the big picture. I want to stay focused on the little things. You have a chance to look at the big picture when it's all said and done. So again, it goes back hand in hand with again trying to have success with a team like this. You try to do the little things right and minimize your mistakes.

KEVIN BROWN: Depends on how I feel tomorrow after I scrape the blood off my knees. If everything feels good tomorrow, if they want me to do it, I'll do whatever they need. Whatever is the best approach for the team, I'm going to do whatever they want me to do.

KEVIN BROWN: Well, I picked myself up and said: What an idiot I was for misreading that ball. I thought it got past him further than that. Obviously, it was a misjudgment on my part, and I'm just glad that it didn't cost us the game. If I stay on second there, we've got a chance to extend that inning, and it was a base-running error on my part. And thank goodness I had a chance to redeem myself. And we got a little bit of a lead and a little cushion in the 9th inning.

KEVIN BROWN: Obviously, I don't think I've ever been one to pace myself. I pretty much let it all hang out. And when I run out of gas, I get off the field and let somebody else try it. I don't know, that's the nature -- obviously that's the mindset I have on the mound, it's kind of obvious with the way I was running the bases. Discretion would have been the better part of valor there, but I was trying to be aggressive.

KEVIN BROWN: I definitely felt a lot better when I walked out to the mound than I did as soon as I hit the dugout. I think I was sucking wind pretty bad right there. It was a combination of the adrenaline, and the situation, you're so pumped up. Thank goodness the inning was extended long enough for me to catch my breath and go out and have a chance to finish out the night.

KEVIN BROWN: Well, not necessarily. In the past, I'd say yes, but there have been all the games this year, because I've kind of changed my approaches, depending what's working. There have been a lot of games where I had more fly balls than I would have in the past years. But as long as you're getting them out, I don't care. I don't care if they're fly balls, ground balls, strikeouts.

KEVIN BROWN: What more could we want at this point? It's huge. It's a heck of a lot better than being down two games, and it's better than being a split, 1-1 right now. I think it's a real moral victory for us to come in here and play against this caliber of team, and face the pitching we were going to face. I think it really just speaks to the heart and soul of this team to come out and not be intimidated and not be discouraged and to keep scrapping and fighting.

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