	products recent interviews FastScripts archive about ASAP Sports

Our Clients:

Browse by Sport

Find us on

Subscribe to RSS

Click to go to
Asaptext.com

View our
e-Brochure

NL CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES: DODGERS v PHILLIES

October 9, 2008

Brett Myers

PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA: Game One

THE MODERATOR: Questions for Brett.

Q. How important was it to struggle a little bit in that 1st inning of the NLDS, get out of it and really dominate the rest of the way confidence-wise for you?
BRETT MYERS: Well, you know, I was fighting a lot of emotion in that 1st inning. So to be able to go through that once and then -- I lost my train of thought. Thanks, dude. No, it's good to go through that one time already in the playoffs to know what to expect the next time in that 1st inning. There's still going to be a lot of emotion and a lot of intensity going into it.
But, you know, just to know how to control it a little bit better than I did in the 1st inning against the Brewers.

Q. How do you play to the crowd and enjoy the crowd and let it turn your adrenalin on without letting it get you too high and having it affect you negatively in a game like this?
BRETT MYERS: Sometimes it happens in the 1st inning. Sometimes it's hard to control, like it was the first inning last time. I want them to be as loud as they possibly can be. That's what us players thrive on, our fans and how they respond to big plays, big pitches, big outs in key situations and stuff like that, it definitely makes us feel better and we push a little harder when they're behind us the way they are.

Q. What's the secret to Charlie Manuel's success particularly in handling pitchers?
BRETT MYERS: I don't know, I guess that's why it's a secret (smiling).

Q. Let's say in your opinion.
BRETT MYERS: Charlie's good. He's always there to back you, no matter if you have a bad start or good start. He's always the first guy in there patting you on the back, hang with them, get them the next time thing, shows a lot of confidence in you, whether you're doing bad or good. So I think that's a key thing that he's always behind you and always patting you on the back.

Q. I know you just talked about pitching at home. Can you talk about the ballpark has a reputation for being a hitters park but you seemed to thrive pitching here in this park as opposed to on the road. Is that just a weird stat?
BRETT MYERS: I like pitching in front of our fans. It's fun when they're behind you and stuff. And it's just more comfortable when you're at home and everything like that. It's kind of like you have a routine. It's easy to stick with, and on the road it's a little different. You have to try to find the same routine that works on the road. And it usually doesn't work but sometimes it does.

Q. Do you really not get why people made such a big deal out of that at-bat?
BRETT MYERS: No, it's all fun. I'm just having fun with it. Just the last time when I came in here after that game everybody talked about my hitting; I figured I'd bring my bat this time and give you all a little chuckle, I guess.

Q. Have you heard a lot about it since then, when you run into people do they bring it up?
BRETT MYERS: No, I stay inside. I don't want to get -- I'm just kidding. No, I haven't really heard much about it. Just the fact that the team's winning is a bigger deal than that one at-bat, I think.

Q. Brett, you guys have had more success than most staffs pitching to Manny. Why do you think that is? What have you done in the past? And how does it impact what you do in this series?
BRETT MYERS: If I told you that he'll probably know how we'll get him out. I definitely don't want to go into details how we're going to pitch him. But he's a very smart hitter. And you have to kind of change your patterns each time. So he's a tough out. And you just have to sometimes get lucky and sometimes just make good pitches.

Q. In executing your game plan, how does Carlos Ruiz help you?
BRETT MYERS: I haven't really thrown much to Ruiz, I was throwing to Coste pretty much the whole time. When you go out, tell him what your game plan is and he follows it. It's a good thing to have a catcher that you're in rhythm with.
And the last game against the Brewers, I mean, it was like I didn't really have to shake much because we talked about it before the game what we wanted to do and what the game plan was and everything like that. He definitely caught on to it real quick, just like -- much like Coste did all year. We knew what we were going to do before we even went out there. It wasn't much to discuss.
But before the game last time I discussed it with Carlos, and he was right on the same track as I was.

Q. 2 through 7 is pretty much the same lineup you guys faced the past couple series, but you have Furcal at the top and DeWitt down low now. How does that change the lineup, what kind of impact does that have?
BRETT MYERS: Having Furcal at the top of the lineup is really going to be a challenge to keep him off the bases. He's much like Jimmy Rollins for us and Shane Victorino, just with the speed at the top of the lineup.
If you give up a single usually turns into a double with those guys because they like stealing second base or whatever like that. The key is to try to keep him off the bases as much as possible because he's kind of like Jimmy is for us.
If he gets on base, you get down to the two, three, four, four hitters, it's going to be tough to try to salvage that run.

Q. Regarding pitching to Manny Ramirez, does the competitor in you want to go after him, or are you okay with pitching around him if you believe it's going to ultimately lead to a win?
BRETT MYERS: It's all about situations with baseball. It doesn't really matter who's really hitting in a certain spot. If there's a situation you have to pitch around a guy to get to the pitcher or get to a guy you might match up better against, that's part of the game.
And you need to know that going out there. And our coaches definitely know exactly what they want to do and the key situation is not to let anybody get on base when he comes up. And that's one of the big deals.

Q. You've only pitched once in the last two weeks. You've had a lot of rest in between starts. How has that affected your in-between game planning and where is your body right now? Are you healthy?
BRETT MYERS: Yeah, I feel great. That's one thing I think that helped me the last start I had because of pitching so many innings in a short period of time. And then being able to have seven days off or so, it gives your arm time to recover. And it's more you're not fatigued as much as you were like pitching on every five days.
So it works out to an advantage. But then there's some disadvantages like if you don't throw for a day or two days or something like that, you feel kind of quirky out there. But it's part of the game. You get it back.

Q. I noticed in your pregame ritual you go down with Rich and kind of pantomime your delivery. Can you tell us how that came about or what you're trying to accomplish when you do that?
BRETT MYERS: Well, usually when I get to the field, sitting around the clubhouse all day kind of I get bored. It's kind of like an anticipation, the buildup for the game and everything.
Just to get out there and feel the atmosphere. Feel what it's going to be like, kind of stiff when I get to the ballpark, go out there, get loose a little bit and just try to relax a little bit and feel my mechanics, what I'm going to do out there on the mound.
THE MODERATOR: Thanks, Brett.

End of FastScripts

ASAP Sports, Inc. | T: 1.212 385 0297