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NL DIVISION SERIES: CARDINALS v PADRES

October 3, 2006

Jeff Weaver

SAN DIEGO, CALIFORNIA: Game One

Q. Jeff, we've talked about this earlier in the year but considering how the first half of this year went, just what does it kind of mean to you to be taking a mound in playoff game to have this kind of confidence they want you going maybe even as a guy that's going to go twice in this series, what does it mean to you considering where you were earlier in this year?
JEFF WEAVER: Well, I mean it's, you know, continued motivation, especially when you start off as rough as I did.
You know, you are working your tail off to right the ship, and then get things going in the right direction. And, you know, I think a lot had to do with just the change itself, getting to St. Louis, starting, being able to start fresh and put those things behind me that occurred in the first half, and just continue to work and had a great time working with Duncan. And, you know, La Russa and those guys always had the confidence in me since I've been here.
So all those things enabled me to get back to knowing and doing what I'm capable of and, you know, like I said, this is what it's all about.
So getting the opportunity to get out there in the post-season and make your mark. So once again you start fresh and, you know, hopefully put your best foot forward and win some ball games.

Q. The home roads stand out a little bit. Apparently went into this decision a little bit. Is that just a coincidence in your mind or is there something to that?
JEFF WEAVER: I think it's just coincidence. I mean, you know, it's just the way that the season plays out sometimes. I mean, you know, just like Suppan pitched great at home. So it's just one of those things. Hopefully you play those percentages and they work out for you.
And I don't really have an answer why I pitch better on the road than at home. But it's just the way it works out sometimes.

Q. When you were with the Dodgers you saw this team, you saw the Padres quite a bit and you know this park. I'm wondering what your thoughts are on pitching this park but when you're looking at the lineup now, how that differs from the one you saw when you were in the division?
JEFF WEAVER: Well, you know, there's being able to pitch quite a few games here in the past is definitely a plus. I mean you know your surroundings and you're comfortable. It's a big park. It plays big for the most part. And it enables you to be aggressive out there and attack the hitters, put the pressure on them to put the ball in play and make something happen.
You know, I think that they got a little bit more guys that are contact guys, guys that put the ball in play with a lot of consistency. So obviously, you know, getting ahead and making quality pitches early in the count is going to be huge. And keeping a couple of those guys off base, especially Dave Roberts, at the top of the order, is going to be a key point.
They're a strapping team. They're not going to make it easy. We'll have to go out there and battle and grind but that's what all these games are here in the post-season. Each pitch and each out you gotta be at the top of your game and hopefully it goes the right way.

Q. Jeff, can you elaborate on some of the particulars that Dave Duncan worked on with you when you came over?
JEFF WEAVER: The particulars, it was just more sitting down and just, you know, talking about, you know, what I do to succeed and not getting away from that, getting back to it.
You know, he wanted to hear from my mouth what I thought were my qualities and pitching and what I need to do to succeed and you know I think that was a huge factor was he wasn't trying to do anything to change me. He just wanted to hear from me to have an idea or just for him to know that I knew what I needed to do to succeed.
And I think it was just more the mental part of pitching more than the physical or the mechanics. I mean little things here and there, getting my arm angle back on top so I wasn't as rotational as I had been probably early in the season.
My directions towards home were a little off, and he helped me with those, but more mental attributes than anything I would say.

Q. Jeff, you finished the season with a bunch of quality starts. Does that, I mean it would seem that would help the confidence coming in. I'm just wondering what was particularly working for you over the last, say, three weeks?
JEFF WEAVER: It's hard to say because over the course of my career, I've had -- for some reason I've always kind of started out slow and worked into things and always typically finished strong, so with that it's kind of, you know, similar in the past years, but I think overall it's not going out there and thinking about everything, thinking about what my mechanics should be, what I should be throwing here or whatever might be going through my mind at the time. I was just able to get into a nice rhythm, not really worried about too much. I was a lot more free and easy out there, not battling myself to get pitches and do things.
It's kind of fun when you don't have to think about too much out there and just let things happen. You're a lot better off, and that's I think where I got to.

Q. I know you're not from here but how does it feel to be here and are you going to have friends here and a cheering section here?
JEFF WEAVER: I'm kind of fortunate where the games are during the week so I won't have as many people traveling down, but you know, my parents and my brother and fiancee and couple friends will be making the trip down, so it's always fun to able to go out there and have those people in the stands, the people that support you throughout. It's a familiar environment, comfortable environment, so I'm just hoping all those things involved, doing well.

Q. You talked about the mental approach that Dave spoke about, frame of reference for. When you first joined the Cardinals, there were some starts where maybe the results didn't line up with how you performed? Was that a big part of getting through that, maybe mining some positives from those starts with the wins, when the ERA wasn't there right at the start?
JEFF WEAVER: Yeah. I mean, you know, I think when you come to a new team and you start out a little rough, you know, you're kind of, you can't help but kind of look over your shoulder wondering what your teammates are thinking or your coaches or whatever else.
But you know, like you said, it definitely helps you get through those and continue to work in the right direction to correct things when you have the support of your pitching coach and manager and you know they're not going to be pushing you around, moving you back and forth to maybe the bullpen or whatever, they're going to stick with you and you know when you have that support, you know, makes everything that much better for you to be able to work through your struggles for sure.
MODERATOR: Thank you, Jeff.

End of FastScripts...

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