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NL DIVISION SERIES: BREWERS v PHILLIES

October 3, 2008

Geoff Jenkins

MILWAUKEE, WISCONSIN: Workout Day

Q. This is the second time you've come back to Miller Park since leaving the Brewers. Does it have a different feel this time compared to earlier this season?
GEOFF JENKINS: Well, yeah, I think it's a little different feel, being in the postseason. But obviously a unique scenario for a guy that played in a place for a decade, to change teams and not only get to the postseason for the first time in my career, but to be playing against the team that I was playing with.
You know, definitely a little bit of irony there, but it's a lot of fun, a lot of fun playing against the guys, and obviously we won the first two games, and we hope we can close it out here.

Q. Can you talk a little bit about how you've been feeling since you came back from the injury. And also, obviously you'd probably like to be playing more, but I know Jayson has been doing a real good job.
GEOFF JENKINS: Yeah, he's been doing a great job. Obviously I had that hip flexor injury earlier in the month, but I feel great now, 100 percent. But it's one of those things where everybody's path is different.
Obviously I got injured at a weird time, but for me I went to Philadelphia as a free agent to be on a winner, and here we are at this point in time with a chance to close this thing out.
Sure, everybody would like to be playing a bigger role, a more important role, whatever, but you know, you just have to keep in mind that you are part of the team, there's going to be big at-bats, whether it's going in, pinch-hitting, going in on defense, whatever it might be, to help the team out. Everybody is important. Everybody is going to have to do something good to help us win.

Q. This being your first time in postseason play means a lot. Does it give you a little extra special feeling having it come against the Brewers, your old ballclub?
GEOFF JENKINS: I don't know if it's an extra special feeling. I think it's -- no matter who you're playing, there's going to be a lot of emotions out there, a lot of excitement. And obviously playing in front of a crowd that I played in front of for so long, I guess it does make it a little extra special. But being that it's the postseason I was just excited, and no matter who it was against, it was going to be great.
So I'm just kind of taking it in and enjoying every moment.
Q. Having played here as much as you have, how do you think the change of venue is going to affect both teams?
GEOFF JENKINS: I think it's going to be pretty loud out there. I think you're going to have a lot of Miller Lite flowing (laughter). But I think it's going to be boisterous. It's going to be loud, just like it was as our park.
This city hasn't been in the postseason since '82, and I think that they're excited to get a taste of that, and I think you're going to see that come out tomorrow. We'll see what happens. I think that our team is ready and excited to play, and kind of enjoys the limelight and the spotlight. So I think we'll be ready to go.

Q. I know you touched on the irony of the situation, but how often over the years did you used to stand out there in the outfield and try to envision what tomorrow would be like, that first postseason game in this park?
GEOFF JENKINS: A lot of times. Well, early on in my career here, during spring training, you were out of the playoffs already. You just knew (laughter). We just didn't have the personnel to get the job done.
But I think toward the end, you saw guys like Prince and Corey and J.J. and Rickie and all these guys coming, and obviously Braunie, that they were going to have the nucleus to be a better team, succeed, have a chance for the postseason and kind of have that formula of being able to have the good young nucleus, and then going to get a guy like CC or stuff like that.
Obviously it came down to the last day for them, but I was just as excited for them as I was for us. I worked hard with them, played with them, care a lot about them, and I was excited for them.

Q. I'm sure you never would have envisioned you'd be on the other side though?
GEOFF JENKINS: No, you can't. You can't really write the script any better than that. It's pretty crazy that would be the scenario. Like I said, if I was coming up with all these young guys, it would be a lot different. But I have no regrets. I had a great time playing here, made a lot of great relationships through the media, players, coaches, staff, and I won't forget those.
Q. Along the same lines of the noise, how focused is this team to be able to overcome that type of thing tomorrow? Knowing how loud it can be in here, do you see that playing any factor at all in the team's focus?
GEOFF JENKINS: You know, I think we've played in some atmospheres where it's loud, and I think it will definitely have that extra loudness factor. It's not like football, NFL, where you can't hear inside the helmet. You're still going to be able to get signs up at third and move guys in the outfield from the dugout.
So it's definitely a factor as far as an excitement factor, but it's not going to be like -- we're not going to be flustered by a loud crowd. Like I said, we've got plenty of veteran guys on the team that enjoy this kind of -- you know Jimmy, he lives for this stuff, Howie, Utley, they love this. So it's not going to be any different for them.

Q. What did you think just kind of observing from afar where these guys got rid of Ned?
GEOFF JENKINS: Yeah, I mean, obviously a tough situation. You know, I know that it was as tough for Mark and for Doug, the decision there to do that. You know, it's your worst nightmare, having to pull that move with that few games left.
You know, tough decisions are part of the job, and I think that whatever it may be, they felt the necessary need to do that to try to get them over the hump. Whether or not it would have worked -- I mean, it did work, but whether or not it would have worked with him there, who knows.
But you make a decision, you don't look back, and you just kind of have to move forward.

Q. Can you put into words the sense of trust that you guys feel in handing the ball to Jaime Moyer in game that means as much as tomorrow's?
GEOFF JENKINS: I mean, Jaime, he's tremendous. He's 100, and he just keeps doing it (laughter). I mean, the guy is -- obviously I've played against Jaime for a number of years and kind of seen him, but now that I've actually played with him and seen a chance to see his work ethic, how he carries himself, how professional, how he's helping out the other guys on the team, the other pitchers, he's just as valuable when he's not pitching as when he is pitching.
So I think those are the things that you really don't see, how much he helps the guys the days that he's not pitching. So that makes him more valuable than a guy that just goes out there every fifth day and throws the ball and just doesn't really care about the other guys.
He's a tremendous guy. Obviously lucky to have him. He's pitched so many big games for us this year. We had two, three, four losses in a row, Jaime came in and shut the door and kind of got us back on track. So we're definitely excited to have him out there tomorrow.
Q. At this stage of your career does this give you a better appreciation even more so than had it happened earlier in your career?
GEOFF JENKINS: Yeah, I mean, I see a couple like the September call-ups for us this year, and their first go-around, they're popping champagne on the field. It's an unbelievable feeling for them. So you look at that, and you think, gosh, it took me that long to get to that point.
Like you said, you have no regrets. I think you go out, you play hard, you play the game the right way, and you just kind of trust the fact that some day it's going to be my turn to get there and get a little taste.
It took a while, almost 11 years, but obviously getting to this point, it's great. I feel like we have a team that can go all the way, not just win the series but to win the whole thing.

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