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MLB WORLD SERIES: PHILLIES v YANKEES

October 29, 2009

Johnny Damon

NEW YORK CITY, NEW YORK: Game Two

Q. We wouldn't expect any panic in the clubhouse, but what's the mood today?
JOHNNY DAMON: The mood is pretty good. I mean, we understand we got beat last night. They swung the bats better than we did, they pitched better than we did, and we understand that. And, therefore, that's why there's a series.
We feel fine. We're going to be business as usual, and you know, every game in the post-season is a must-win, and we feel like we must win this one.

Q. You know Pedro pretty well. I don't know if you got a chance to hear any of the stuff he said yesterday and your thoughts on it.
JOHNNY DAMON: Pedro is great, so I mean, Pedro has been a dominant pitcher in this league for a long time, and he does influence a crowd. Hopefully we can just beat him. I mean, that's the bottom line. Whatever guys say or who they are, I mean, our job is to try to beat teams. That's what we're hoping for tonight.

Q. With Teixeira struggling at the plate right now, when you're in the dugout, what do you see from his at-bats? And do you think he's getting frustrated at all at the lack of success?
JOHNNY DAMON: I don't think he's getting frustrated. I think with playoff baseball, you're seeing a lot of tough pitches. But his job would be made a lot easier if everyone around him is doing better. I mean, obviously everyone hopes they can do a better job. But he's come up big for us in a few games.
I think everybody struggled off of Cliff Lee last night, so it's something you have to forget. But he's still going to be that No. 3 hitter behind me, in front of Alex, and we expect him to do well. And if he doesn't, hopefully the guys around him will be successful.

Q. When Pedro pitches in Yankee Stadium, there's just extra emotion. There's more stuff going on. Is that something that is to the Yankees' advantage tonight, or is there any managing of these extra emotions that may occur tonight?
JOHNNY DAMON: Well, can I answer that after the game perhaps? I mean, we all remember when Pedro came in and pitched at Yankee Stadium. You know, that was part of the biggest rivalry ever, the Red Sox and Yankees. We knew when he came in as a Met, and now he's with the Phillies. Wherever Pedro goes, there's going to be excitement. And like I said, I can answer that better afterwards. But our job is to just try to beat him.

Q. Your locker, next door neighbors with Swisher, and he's been struggling, not playing tonight. What is your sense of what he's going through? And have you tried to advise him at all?
JOHNNY DAMON: Well, you know, like I said before, the post-season is definitely tougher to hit, and obviously Nick wants to be the guy who helps carry us to a World Championship. I think Nick has been doing a great job defensively and getting his outfield assists. When you don't contribute a certain way, at least you like the fact that he's going out and playing defense as well as he has been. But I'm sure we'll see Nick in the ballgame tonight, and he's going to be ready.
At this time of the year, it's about team. Hairston has had some success off of Pedro before, and hopefully he has it tonight. Right now we're just trying to win as a team, and hopefully what we're doing tonight will work out for us.

Q. Apart from struggling last night against Cliff Lee, how do you think the offense has performed so far in the post-season in general?
JOHNNY DAMON: Okay. We probably wouldn't be in this situation right now if Alex hadn't hit like he had. We probably would not have advanced. He was a big bat against Minnesota, against Anaheim. But I mean, he's the one putting up the production numbers. Everyone else needs to, and hopefully our struggles are behind us. But we know we'll see Cliff a few more times hopefully, and we know Pedro was tough his last time out. We know Cole Hamels was last year's World Series MVP. We have to battle. They're a very good team, and we have to be better than what we have been. But I think we've been okay.

Q. Stuff-wise this isn't the same Pedro that you played with. How does your approach change with the difference in the way he's pitching?
JOHNNY DAMON: Well, the new Pedro has been evolving for quite some time. He definitely doesn't have to rear back and fire the ball anymore. He knows how to pitch. He knows how to get certain movement on the ball. And he's not going to give in. He's always been smart on the mound, and we just have to hope for mistakes, and when we get those mistakes, we can't miss them.
Cliff Lee last night, there wasn't many mistakes at all. Hopefully we have a better chance tonight. But Pedro is smart. Pedro knows what to do. It's going to be a battle. Hopefully A.J. can go out there and pitch as well as we've seen him pitch a lot of times this year and keep the game close. If that's the case, I think we have a pretty good chance.

Q. There was a lot of talk in here yesterday with Pedro about that brawl in '03 during the LCS. You're a pretty peaceful guy. What do you remember about that and what were you doing when all that was going on?
JOHNNY DAMON: Well, to be honest with you, I was -- I just came off of my concussion, and I had to try to be as careful as I could. I was still out of it. I think it might have been five days after that concussion I had. So I was just trying to make sure if there was something going on, I would try to help prevent something because there was no way I was ready to get into headlocks with guys.
But now, who knows. (Laughter).

End of FastScripts

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