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NL DIVISION SERIES: ROCKIES v PHILLIES

October 7, 2009

Jayson Werth

PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA: Game One

Philadelphia 5
Colorado 1

Q. Can you talk about -- you guys were having trouble getting leadoff hitters on, and I think you kind of got it going. Can you talk about that at-bat and what you were seeing from Jimenez?
JAYSON WERTH: Yeah, I don't know, he didn't have a whole lot of pitches early on in the game. He was kind of cruising through. Going into that in my mind, I was taking a strike, and got -- I don't remember how the bat went exactly, but 3-2, I got a slider away in the dirt. Whatever, not a big deal. But he's a good pitcher, man. He's got good stuff. The guy throws hard. Obviously to kind of cruise through the first few innings like that with that many pitches, he's got good stuff.

Q. Is there any facet that you take more pride in - that at-bat than the triple? That's number one.
Number two, can you ever tell what degree you're getting to a pitcher when you're jumping around on first base?
JAYSON WERTH: No, sometimes you can tell that it's bothering them, especially when they throw -- continue to throw every step off. Sometimes you can tell that they're worried about you. But I don't think I ran as much this year as I thought I was going to, but still managed to get some stolen bases.
They've still got to keep an eye on me over there, but at the same time probably not worry about me as much as Shane or Jimmy.
Your first question was?

Q. Is there anything that you're more proud of during that at-bat than that triple and hitting the ball somewhere?
JAYSON WERTH: I like to work counts and see pitches. I definitely take pride in that. I get frustrated and mad at myself when I have a bad at-bat or a quick at-bat or make a quick out or something like that. I definitely like to work the pitcher and see as many pitches as I can while I'm up there. But it's just part of the game.

Q. How difficult did the wind make it to track fly balls? It seemed like on the first one, the first pitch of the game, just carries all the way to the warning track?
JAYSON WERTH: Between the wind and the sun in right field it was probably the toughest day defensively in Philly that I've seen. Really even the ball on -- I threw the guy out at third, I ended up catching that ball in my heels, definitely not what I'm trying to do there, but at the time I was just happy I caught it. It was pretty intense as far as the sun just bearing down on you, and then the wind, not only was it blowing, it was swirling, so it wasn't always doing the same thing.
I actually talked to Brad Hawpe just in passing out there and we were just shaking our heads about how tough right field was today.

Q. A lot has obviously happened since the last time you guys played in the Rockies in the playoffs. Is there any part of you that still wants a little payback for two years ago, or are you completely past that now?
JAYSON WERTH: I think that's more for you guys. It hadn't even crossed my mind really. I think after last year winning the World Series and doing all that, I think that took care of anything that had to do with that. This year we're a different team. I think they might even be a different team, I'm not sure. But that doesn't really come into play.

Q. You answered it generally, but that first ball, how much did you realize that the wind was going that way?
JAYSON WERTH: I had to wait until the ball got out of the sun to really see where it was, so I kind of just let it come out, and I realized I was a long way away from it. So when I went to run after it, then I realized how much the wind was actually playing a part down the line into the corner. So I really had to go. That ball drifted a lot. I looked at Shane and was like, telling him the ball was going this way.

Q. Then the ninth inning ball were the towels messing with you?
JAYSON WERTH: Yeah, the towels are tough. I was more focused on like just my path there where the ball would come at me. When it kind of went out of that, I guess, the view that I had, I never saw the ball. It wouldn't have made a difference a whole lot other than it might not have looked as bad. But yeah, I never saw it.

Q. It's no secret that the Rockies' catchers do not throw out many base runners. How much did you guys talk about getting the running game amped up?
JAYSON WERTH: I think running is definitely -- I think it's no secret that that's a big part of our game. I think we led, I know, the National League in stolen base percentage again this year, and Davey Lopes being at first base, that's definitely a big part of our game. But yeah, we look to take advantage when it's there, and we like to be safe when we run. It's a big part of our game, no matter what.

Q. Can you talk about the triple? It looked like after you landed on third base and you were angry maybe with yourself, felt you could have been at home plate, right?
JAYSON WERTH: Yeah, conditions obviously were a factor on that. I hit that ball pretty well. I think if I'm running out of the box potentially it could have been an inside the park home run.
Sammy told me he was holding me up anyway. There was nobody out. If it was going to be bang-bang at home, it's a triple no matter what. I was kind of mad at myself for not hustling out of the box, but at the time I hit it, I didn't think that's where it was going to land, that's for sure.

Q. Talk about throwing out Torrealba at third and the importance? Obviously it was a key moment in that ballgame, kept them off the scoreboard there a little bit, and also are you surprised that he did try to advance from second to third?
JAYSON WERTH: After I caught the ball on my heels, I assumed he was going to be going because I caught it going back. So I made a good throw, and I just talked to J-Roll about it, and I asked him if he was going to cut it, and he said he was going to cut it if he didn't go. When he said he saw him go, he was surprised he let it go. But yeah, I thought it was kind of a momentum turner in the game a little bit, being the third out I guess of the inning, and it got the crowd pumped up and got them into it. It was all right.

Q. You've been asked this in various forms over the years. Is there a postseason personality that has a chance to succeed better than others in the postseason, if you have a certain kind of postseason personality?
JAYSON WERTH: Wow. I don't know the answer to that. I know what you're getting at, but I have no idea. I come to the park to play hard every day, regardless of postseason or regular season. But these are all big games and definitely meaningful. I think we all know what's at stake here and where we're going. We come ready to play.

Q. Do you try not to feel the pressure, or do you absorb the pressure and try to play off of the pressure?
JAYSON WERTH: You know, it's obvious that these games are bigger, the crowds are into it. There's a lot of media. A lot more goes into it. But at the same time we're still out there playing the same game that we played when we were eight, nine years old. It's still the same. So I think the key is really just to stay focused and come out ready to play and let the chips fall where they may and just play hard.

Q. Can you talk about Cliff Lee's performance and what it meant to the team today?
JAYSON WERTH: Yeah, I thought it was -- I thought he pitched great. Cliff is one of the best pitchers in the game, and he's got a great mentality, especially for our team, and in our clubhouse he fits in great. For him to pitch like that in Game 1 here in the playoffs and get us off to a good start, I think that was -- you've got to win today, and that was definitely a big game to win, and he pitched great and all that.
But I think tomorrow is probably even bigger than today after winning today. If we win tomorrow, we're definitely where we need to be. But if you split, then you go -- then you're in a situation like we were in in the World Series last year, where now you almost give them home-field advantage. So I think tomorrow's game is as big if not bigger than today's.

Q. You were just asked about six different plays or something like that. Was that enough adventure for you for a Game 1?
JAYSON WERTH: I felt like I had a lot of action today. On base, running around the base, there was a lot of plays out there. It was good. I enjoy it, though. It's what it's all about. We play all year for that game right there, and I'll be ready to go tomorrow.

Q. Weird plays, though.
JAYSON WERTH: Yeah, it was kind of a weird day, so it kind of fit in.

End of FastScripts

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