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AL DIVISION SERIES: TIGERS v YANKEES

October 7, 2006

Jeremy Bonderman

DETROIT, MICHIGAN: Game Four

Q. Jeremy, Jim just said that he thought the way Kenny pitched last night, as aggressive as he was, set a tone for you and convinced you to attack the strike zone as much as you did. Did you feel that way?
JEREMY BONDERMAN: Kenny and me talked before his start, and we just kind of -- I told him, I said, You go out and do your thing and I'll do mine. We'll take care of this. Kenny did, so I had to live up to my word.
This is a great thing that happened to us. I just fed off the crowd and what Kenny did last night, and just tried to get better as the game went on and I was able to do that I think.

Q. Can you just go through the range of emotions, your last start here, to tonight?
JEREMY BONDERMAN: I gave up a six-run lead to clinch our division, and I wasn't going to let that happen tonight. The guys got me a lead, and I wasn't going to let up and I wasn't going to give it back.
You know, this is a great Yankee team. They are from top to bottom, manager all the way down, I knew I had to bring my A Game, and I was able to do that.

Q. Did you want to finish the game, or did you want to stay in all nine?
JEREMY BONDERMAN: I told him before I went out, if I gave up a hit, I was getting a little tired. I told him if I gave up something, come get me. And I gave up a hit and they let me face Sheffield. Made an unbelievable play to get that out and they brought in the relief. The standing ovation I got from the crowd was unbelievable.

Q. Perfect game even remotely out of your mind?
JEREMY BONDERMAN: I didn't care about that. I just wanted to win. Perfect game is, you know, would be nice some day. But right now all I'm worried about is winning one game at a time and keeping our team in the game, to win the game.

Q. You touched a little bit on last Sunday and what happened. Based on that, a couple of tough losses, the one you had in Minnesota back in July. Is this like a learning process for you in terms of this game? You put away some of those demons that might have come up because of those games?
JEREMY BONDERMAN: You know, I got in trouble. I had a great game in Minnesota. I had a one-hitter. Things started going south and I didn't stop it. You know, it was very frustrating for me.
So I learn every time I go out to the mound. Giving up a six-run lead when you're at home trying to clinch your division is very disappointing. It hurt for a while. But I threw a bullpen in New York and I talked to our pitching coach, Chuck, and he said, "You've got to understand, you've pitched great all year. One outing isn't going to ruin your season. You have a chance to come back home and send this back to New York or clinch it."
I just tried to focus and forget and put all of those things out of my mind at the time and go out and win a ballgame.

Q. How did this club regroup so quickly and so well from what happened last week to the point where you're dominating the Yankees?
JEREMY BONDERMAN: This is a great team. We hit a scuff in the road and a good team will bounce back. We have a great team.
I think it's just, you know, from our skipper coming in and telling us, you know, Take it one game at a time. If you lose one, you've still got to play tomorrow, and I think we took that to heart and came out and executed that.

End of FastScripts...

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