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AL DIVISION SERIES: ATHLETICS v TWINS

October 5, 2006

Brad Radke

OAKLAND, CALIFORNIA: Workout Day

Q. What's this last month, two months, been like, emotions, with your back hurting and now starting?
BRAD RADKE: Definitely a roller coaster, emotional roller coaster for me. Didn't know if I was going to ever make it back this year or not, so I just pretty much took it day by day, and things got better after a couple weeks.
Gave it a shot, and got into a game last week, did a good enough job to get the nod in Game 3[].

Q. Do you have a pitch count?
BRAD RADKE: You have to ask Gardy about that. Personally, no. I would like to go out there and -- especially starters like to go out in the game and finish the game, you know, that's what we are here for is to go out. You start and finish the game.
But, you know, the game has changed over the years, but I like to go out there as long as I can.

Q. At any point did you consider not even trying to come back?
BRAD RADKE: Absolutely not. You know, I am out there fighting. I wanted to help this team win. And, you know, it wasn't fun to come out of that game in Chicago after two innings.
And no, like I said, I just took it day by day. And part of me said you are going to make it back, the other part of me said, well, shoot, I don't know if this is going to happen or not.
But, you know, I had hope, and things worked out for the best.

Q. What's the status of your arm and shoulder? Do you have any pain, and is it back to full strength?
BRAD RADKE: No. You know what, I tell you what, I feel almost as strong now as I did at the beginning of the year. I guess, you know, the fracture there must have healed up nicely.
And, no, I went through this pretty much from the end of May until, you know, the end of August, so I have been throwing bull pens, I threw a pen on Monday, didn't have any problems. I haven't done that. You know, I was throwing bullpens for the first time before I made that game last week, for the first time since May, or since probably June, I should say.
But I feel pretty good.

Q. Did the A's history of not being able to -- they have a history of not being able to finish off opponents, did the fact that the A's are able to wrap it up, does that have any impact?
BRAD RADKE: I don't think so. This team isn't looking at the past, you know, we are looking at the future, and that's tomorrow's game. The past is the past. Tomorrow is another day. We are still alive in this thing. We are down 0-2, but, you know, funny things happen in this game. Were the A's expected to beat us twice in the dome? No. It happened. So you just never know.

Q. After that game on Thursday did you go through a normal routine to get to this point today?
BRAD RADKE: Yeah. I had, what, eight days. I pitched last Thursday. Tomorrow is Friday, so that's about eight days. But no, I was pretty sore, you know, as expected for about three days after the start. And it was typical muscle soreness. I was pretty happy about it.
Actually, I felt a little better than I thought I would, but yeah, I just worked hard and threw a pen on Monday. Everything was great, and I played some catch yesterday and played some catch today. So I will be ready to go for tomorrow.

Q. Brad, let me ask you this because people do change their minds: Is there a scenario out there in which you would consider coming back next year?
BRAD RADKE: Just had to throw it out there, didn't you? You know, I don't know. This is really something I really don't want to talk about now. I will talk about this a little more when the season is over, but I don't think there is any doubt that I won't be back. But still never know. It's not 100 percent right now. It's pretty darn close, but like I said, I will let you know when the season is over.

Q. Why did you decide to consider retiring?
BRAD RADKE: A lot of things, you know. It's -- that had a lot to do with it, physically, and some personal things that were -- me and my family are going through. It's just not one thing, it's a few things. And like I said, I am sure I will discuss it a little more in detail about that down the road.

Q. What do you remember about '02 and game 5 here? You pitched pretty well.
BRAD RADKE: It was awesome, definitely a first playoff experience for me in '02, and it was something I will never forget, and I think that -- I have always enjoyed pitching here at this park. It's got a tall mound and a good backdrop.
And that series was a lot of fun. Were we expected to beat the A's again? No. Were we ever expected to win? No. We are always the underdog. And I think that's the way we like it. And we are just going to go out tomorrow and do the best we can and, hopefully, do some things right.

End of FastScripts...

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