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NL CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES: DODGERS v PHILLIES

October 15, 2008

Brett Myers

LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA: Game Five

THE MODERATOR: Questions for Brett.

Q. You're the Game 6 starter, do you think there will be a Game 6?
BRETT MYERS: I hope not. But if there is, I'll be ready to go.

Q. What has impressed you most about Cole Hamels in these playoffs so far?
BRETT MYERS: Well, he's definitely matured over the course of this year, as a person and as a player on the field. He has a lot of confidence in himself, and he definitely has the intensity to go out there and win ball games.
And he doesn't like giving up runs and he definitely gets irritated with himself when he does, and he's just a really good competitor. And everybody on this team is, but as a starting pitcher he really has shown a lot of confidence and a lot of strength to go out there and compete every day.

Q. How much did you get out of your experience closing and is there anything you miss about it?
BRETT MYERS: Actually, experience-wise, compared to what I'm doing now, nothing. I mean, it's not the same thing. I think that's probably why I struggled early this year. I thought it was the same thing and it wasn't. But definitely was fun. I love doing it. But we got somebody back there that's pretty doggone good. So I don't mind where I'm at right now.

Q. I'm wondering, how do you go about for the entire season, you know when you're going to pitch every time, four days and then pitch. And today you have no idea what your schedule is going to be. How does that change things for you?
BRETT MYERS: You've just got to be ready for the schedule that I'm the Game 6 starter. So I've got to be ready for anything. So it's kind of better for me that way. That way I don't have to focus too much on the next start so much, I just kind of go out there and just do my job.
So it's a little bit better that way. And there's not a lot of focus on everything that's going on. You can just go out there, relax, watch the game. After the game, whatever the situation is, that's when you start concentrating on what you need to do.

Q. If this does go back to Philadelphia, is it easy to say, well, we still have the advantage because we've got two games at home?
BRETT MYERS: No, I mean, they're a really good team. It doesn't matter where you play them. We're fortunate to be up 3-1 right now. But they're still a tough team. They're a scrappy team. And they've got a lot of intensity in their lineup and stuff like that.
I mean, you can see that over the past couple of days when we played them. And it's still going to be tough no matter what. They're a Major League ball club and they've gotten this far by playing well.

Q. If your team is fortunate enough to get to the World Series and you would pitch Game 2 in the American League city, you probably wouldn't hit. Good thing or bad thing?
BRETT MYERS: I don't know. Maybe bad for me. Good for them. I don't know. No. I'm just kidding. No, it's probably -- it would be easier for me to focus on just pitching instead of worrying about having to go up there and hit and stuff like that.

Q. Charlie sent you down to the bullpen the other night I think late. I was wondering what your reaction was to that and did you look forward to an opportunity to close a game?
BRETT MYERS: I don't think I would be in there to close a game. The opportunity -- I was the guy that probably had the experience down there, and it's easier to get -- it's kind of like a transition. I feel like I had split personalities going from starter and going back into the bullpen the other night. I felt like I was back closing again. It was easy to get loose when they called down for me to get warmed up.
I think they called early just so I would have more time since I've been starting all year. But I didn't need much time, believe me, especially when the adrenalin starts going.

Q. Billingsley didn't retaliate, if you will, in Game 2, some people thought maybe he should have. If you were in that situation, do you know how you may have responded, and did you have any reaction to --
BRETT MYERS: As far as I'm concerned, the situation is over. It's not a big deal anymore. It was at the time. But not anymore.
If I'm in that situation, who knows what's going to happen. But you've got to protect your teammate at some point. But nothing from my end was intentional. But if that's the way people take it, then that's the way they take it.

Q. You've been there for a while. You've seen these players come up through the system and sort of make up the team that you have, and now you guys are in a pretty good position. How much more special is it that you've got largely a home-grown team with a lot of prominent players who have been Phillies all along?
BRETT MYERS: I think it's better for our chemistry in the clubhouse. We've known each other for quite a long time. And even through the minor leagues and stuff like that, they made the guys able to access us as big leaguers to talk to us and stuff like that.
We've all pretty much known each other for quite a while. It's a little easier to get along. There's not too many spats in the clubhouse, and it's over in a couple of minutes. You have to have some thick skin around these guys, but it's all in good fun.

Q. A lot has been made of your plate appearances but once you were on the base you were able to run them with a degree of urgency. And a lot has been made of your conditioning over the years. What kind of condition are you in right now and do you think that --
BRETT MYERS: I'm in good enough to pitch and run the bases.

Q. That's the thing. Are you in some of the best shape of your life?
BRETT MYERS: No.

Q. Because it doesn't seem to -- doesn't have an effect on you.
BRETT MYERS: No, I mean, I'm a baseball player. When you get out there, the adrenalin goes through your blood and stuff like that, you're going to run as hard as you can no matter what. I've never -- despite my size, I've never really been out of shape. I've always been able to run. So I don't think weight has anything to do with anything. But thanks for the question. (Laughter).

Q. Brett, a lot of times when a manager doesn't have a pitching background, there is a stress there. Now, Charlie (Manuel) has been called a lifer by Torre a couple of times in this series. Do you feel like Charlie gets pitchers and pitching and the way you guys think?
BRETT MYERS: Charlie is just a good guy to be around. He doesn't really discuss pitching to us. But more or less fundamentals of pitching, maybe, like kind of like situational pitching, stuff like that. Not mechanical or how to get guys out or if you're flying open or anything like that.
He's just more of a situational type guy. And it's easy to talk to him about situations about how he feels about stuff because he's been around the game for a long time.

Q. I was wondering if there's any talk of you going back early in preparation for possible Game 6?
BRETT MYERS: I'm not going anywhere. Are you crazy? I'm not going to miss this.

Q. Did anyone approach you?
BRETT MYERS: No, I've never been the type of guy that wants to go back early. If anything, I'm going to sit here and support my teammates. I'm there patting them on the back, no matter good or bad. I'm staying, regardless.

Q. Curious how your ankle feels. And the second thing is, obviously lots made of Victorino, but the other guys, Howard and Rollins, haven't done a whole lot, because eventually they are going to break out?
BRETT MYERS: Yeah, Dodgers have been doing a great job of keeping those guys isolated and not giving up the big hits to them. But at some point, as good as they are and as good of players they are, they're going to break out at some point, whether it be one game, whether it be two games, whether it be three or four in a row.
And that's just the type of players they are. And they want to be in the spotlight just like the rest of us, and they're playing as hard as they can. And they're team players, too, so they're there to pat us all on the back when somebody picks them up.
That's what we've been doing all year, picking up a guy that might not have done his job at the at-bat before, somebody comes in and picks him up, or a pitcher that doesn't go out and pitch very well, the guy comes in behind and pitches well, picks him up. That's part of what a team does and I think that's what we do well.

Q. Your ankle?
BRETT MYERS: My ankle is fine. Just tape it up. I've been icing it. I should be ready to go.
THE MODERATOR: Thank you, Brett.

End of FastScripts

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