|
|||
|
|||
|
 |
|
|
NL CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES: MARLINS v CUBSOctober 9, 2003Kerry WoodMIAMI, FLORIDA: Workout Day Q. Kerry, once again with Mark Prior pitching last night, the issue of pitch counts and so forth has come up. Can you speak and maybe set the record straight as far as the pitchers are concerned just how Dusty, because he's the head man, and Larry, have handled this staff as far as protecting the arms but letting you pitch? KERRY WOOD: I think they've done a great job. Dusty gets a lot of stuff for letting his pitchers go. But we love that about Dusty. We like the fact that he shows trust in us to go out and throw our game. And I feel like I should be able to go out and throw between 120, 125, 130 pitches. I don't want to go 130 every start, but a couple of times isn't going to hurt. And I think I should be able to go out and throw 120-plus pitches. Q. Kerry, what do you think of when you hear people compare you to Schilling or Johnson? Is that a tremendous compliment or a burden? How do you view it? KERRY WOOD: It's obviously a tremendous compliment. In the past three or four weeks I've heard enough of it. But it's obviously an honor for us to be compared to those two guys. I think it's a little unfair for those guys for people to be comparing us to them. Obviously we haven't done what those guys have done throughout their career for this game, so we've got a long ways to go. Q. Last night there was a lot of speculation of Dusty pulling Prior early to be able to bring him back maybe a day earlier or fresher. How do you feel about that going into tomorrow's game, if it's a game where they get you 8 of 10 runs? KERRY WOOD: You can look at it both ways. You can have pulled him with 90 pitches yesterday and it could work to your advantage or disadvantage. If I go out and I've gotten knocked out in the third, and ended up only throwing 75 pitches, I don't feel I'm as fresh the next time out. You can look at it both ways. Q. It seems to some people there's a given that Prior and Wood are going to win their starts. But when you look at the Marlin lineup, what difficulties do you see and what problems do they present for a pitcher like yourself? KERRY WOOD: Nothing is ever a given, especially when you're talking about the game of baseball. That's why we play the games or we just call it how we see it. They're a Big League lineup. They have great hitters, play the game the right way, they have a lot of energy, play with heart. They don't give up. Whether it's 6-0 or 1-0, they play to win. Q. Now you're on this giant stage, I'm curious, going through what you went through with the surgery and everything, do you think you appreciate it more? You were like a phenom out of high school, and then you had to go through what you had to go through to get out to get back here. Do you appreciate it more because of that? KERRY WOOD: Definitely. If anything, I don't take things for granted as much as I did in the past when I was younger. I realize that getting to the postseason, getting to the position we're in now, is not as common as I thought it was going to be, after my rookie season and got to be a part of it. I take advantage of it and just enjoy it, but at the same time, again, not taking anything for granted, because you never know when you're going to be back. Q. I don't know if you pay any attention to this, but from all the reports the ratings for the Cubs playoff games have just been unbelievable. Could you just talk about the sense the players have of how much of a following you're getting around the country and all over, obviously Chicago, but everywhere? KERRY WOOD: I think we all know what's going on here. I don't think we try to look into it too much. We're still focused on the game and winning the series. So the stuff like that, we don't really focus on the ratings of the games and stuff like that. But, no, we haven't put too much thought into that. We're concentrating on baseball. Q. Kerry, not to review the life story, but what do you think is the biggest reason for your success? Is it someone you've patterned yourself after? KERRY WOOD: Really just the success after surgery, I'd have to give to Dr. Andrews. Obviously I wouldn't be here if it wasn't for the job he did on my elbow. And after that it's the pitching coaches I've had since surgery. And Larry (Rothschild) has been a big part of that, with the mental part. Larry has been great with me. There were times this year and most of last year where certain situations would come up in a game and I would tend to lose focus. And in the second half of the season I've felt like I had a pretty good grip on that stuff and have pitched better because of that. Q. With everything that Sammy went through this year with the injury and suspension, are you impressed with the way he finished up the season? What kind of reaction do you think he's going to get from fans down here? KERRY WOOD: I expect him to get the reaction he gets every time he comes here, which is enormous, outstanding. The fans have been great for Sammy out here and for the Cubs out here. Sammy's handled everything that's been thrown his way tremendously, as good as you can expect him to handle it. The injury, he worked hard to get back as soon as he could. And with the suspension, just try to get that out of the way as easy as possible. I think he did a great job with it, and even getting hit in the head a couple of times. He's been able to bounce back and that's been more impressive than the other stuff. He's a tremendous ballplayer, and he's dedicated himself to winning out here. Q. Can you talk about keeping Pierre and Castillo off the bases, and whether that's a key in your mind not only in your effort going out tomorrow but any pitcher against this lineup? KERRY WOOD: Definitely it's a key. You have to keep the rabbits off the bases. There is no doubt that that's one of their strong suits. And when you have Pudge and Derrek hitting behind those guys to drive them in. That's the way teams set up their lineups. It's nothing new, but again these guys are good at their jobs, good on getting on base. Definitely we have to keep those guys off base. Q. Can you talk for a second, you look at the American League series and the veteran pitchers, a lot of older pitchers. You look at this series, it seems like all young guns, under the age of 30. When you look around, are you impressed by all the young pitching you see in the National League and especially in the series right now, especially to older veterans in the American League? KERRY WOOD: Definitely. There's a lot of young talent as far as pitchers go in the series. The thing that stands out the most, talent is one thing, but knowing how to pitch is another thing. In my mind Prior has all the talent in the world, but he also has the great ability that he knows how to pitch. He's got great stuff and he knows how to pitch. Same goes for the four guys they've got over there. They've got a great young staff, they know how to pitch, they've got great stuff. And it's going to be an interesting series. Q. How much do you and Mark feed off each other, especially now? KERRY WOOD: Well, you have to feed off each other. The pitching staff, especially this time of year, we were fortunate enough to be able to do it pretty much most of the year, not just me and Mark, with Carlos and Matt, as well. And when you have a guy go out and throw a gem the night before you pitch, you want to go out and do the same or better. It's great to go out and have those guys around me, and the guys on the staff. It's been great for us this year. Q. Did you bring your glove this time? KERRY WOOD: I got my glove. I brought two of them. Q. I'm just wondering if your wife is going to get as much camera time, and how do you feel about the camera time she's gotten so far? KERRY WOOD: I hope she doesn't get as much camera time. Me in particular, I don't know the amount, but she's not a real big fan of it. End of FastScripts... |
|
||||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
About ASAP Sports •
FastScripts Archive •
Recent Interviews •
Captioning •
Upcoming Events •
Contact Us
FastScripts | Events Covered | Our Clients | Other Services | ASAP in the News | Site Map | Job Opportunities | Links |
|
ASAP Sports, Inc. | T: 1.212 385 0297
|