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NL CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES: GIANTS v PHILLIES

October 17, 2010

Shane Victorino

PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA: Game Two

THE MODERATOR: Questions for Shane Victorino.

Q. Why the success against Sanchez in the at-bats you've had?
SHANE VICTORINO: Good question. Try not let me think about it now, see? I don't know. He throws hard. If you get him within the zone, you know, he's one of those guys I think that you can put a good swing on it.
I use that word "effectively wild." Sometimes he gets you out of the zone, like most pitchers do. Lincecum, we're able to get him in the zone last night early on. I think if we do the same with Sanchez, we might have some success.
But if you go back to how he pitched against us last year he pitched really well.

Q. You guys haven't been down too much in the playoffs since this run started. How much can the experience with what you guys have been through over the last three, four years, here in the playoffs, how much can that help you down in the series now?
SHANE VICTORINO: I think it's going to help us a lot. You know, they came out ready to play last night. You can't take anything away from them. In that regard, I think that we just have to regather our focus. It is one game. It's a seven-game series. We have a long way to go. We go out there get a W, it's 1-1 going back to their ballpark.
We have to focus on tonight's game and not worry about last night's game or what's ahead of us. So we focus on tonight's game and that's what it's about.

Q. In the series you talked about you would put whatever happened in that series behind you and reset. Now that you hit that reset button, you played the game, how do you feel the mindset of the game is offensively speaking, knowing you guys are looking to put up the numbers you're accustomed to and it's not gone your way all season?
SHANE VICTORINO: This game is hard enough as it is. The more you think about it, the more pressure you add to yourself. We've just got to go out there and find a way. I think I said it going into the series, it's not about how you win, it's the way you win. If it's good pitching, good hitting.
Obviously we want to hit. And I said in a couple of interviews, if you started the season you would tell me that you would talk about the pitching at the end of the season, not our offense, I would put my paycheck versus your paycheck on that because there's no way you would have said that, that our pitching would outdo -- in regards to what the press feels or what statistically our offense is what we were built on throughout the last two or three years when we made this run.
So when I make that statement, I think if we can get our offense going, that's what it's about. That's what this team's built on. And obviously now our pitching has definitely taken a pedestal to outdo our offense, but if we can get our offense going, I think we'll be a pretty good team.

Q. Regardless of who is coming off the lead-off position, whether it's you or Jimmy, when you get it going how does it help out the rest of the offense from your standpoint?
SHANE VICTORINO: I think it helps a lot, that's why you have a lead-off hitter. That's why it's considered a lead-off hitter. When a guy gets on base that's what he's there to do, to get on base. Unfortunately last night I wasn't able to get on base. But again, we just can't look back on that game.
Personally I don't care where I hit. I said it all along, doesn't matter if I'm hitting 1 or 7. Charlie writes the lineup and he finds a way to, has that certain mindset and tries to get things going. From what I see I'm leading off today again so I'm going to go out there and do the best I can.

Q. Brown was saying that Jayson Werth has had a bit impact on him, talking to him, what he does, the routine, things that are important. Have you personally witnessed any of that, not the benefits that Dom is getting from it but have you seen them spending extra time together?
SHANE VICTORINO: No, I haven't. I'm trying to worry about what I have to do. No, I think Domonic's the kind of guy, he loves to learn. He loves to watch. He's very good in that regard. So in that regard, yes. I haven't seen him and Jayson personally spending time together. But in the overall picture, Domonic is one of those guys he's taken a lot of this in. Before his at-bat last night he wanted to know and he was studying what Lincecum did throughout the game, and before he went up there he told himself, he mentioned to me how he's been pitching guys. I think it's good that a young kid like that is preparing himself for situations. And it's a big situation for him.

Q. Shane, Charlie was just in here comparing the situation that you're in now in this series to after you got swept by Houston, and also I guess earlier when you were seven down to the Braves. How similar do you think these situations are? Do you draw on that, or is the fact there's so much urgency in these games in the playoffs makes this different?
SHANE VICTORINO: I think in regards to a little bit different, the urgency factor is there. But it's still early. I mean, you can't be urgent. You can be urgent and I always say you put added pressure on yourself. This game is definitely as hard as it is.
Do we want to be down 1-0? No, but as I heard Ron Washington say, it was one game. They came out yesterday and tied the series up 1-1, going back to New York. So again you've got to focus on this game.
This team, as they say, it's the Philly way. We like to play with our backs against the wall. Fortunately the situations has been different in the playoffs, we haven't had to do it.
But hopefully we feel like I wouldn't say our backs are against the wall but we are one step back. We've got to go out there and get a W tonight or else we put ourselves in a bigger hole.
I think the "urgency" word, depends on how you want to use it. Is there urgency? Yeah, because there's a short series and you don't have 100 games left to go. I think you can't add the extra pressure saying, we've gotta go and gotta go do it now, but we know it's there.

Q. Are you surprised at all to see the way Pat Burrell has bounced back this year after how he played in Tampa Bay? And do you have any thoughts why?
SHANE VICTORINO: No. I mean, Pat hates to DH. I'll tell you that much. I know that for a fact. I think that was one of the things in '08, I remember in the World Series, when we played against Tampa, and Charlie thought about DHing him. He said, "No, Charlie, I'm going to play defense," that's what it's about.
The resurgence of Pat, I think I read an article or quotes from him yesterday saying that he would simulate when he was in Tampa, simulate pitches like he was playing defense in the batting cage. That to me says to me that Pat doesn't like to DH. I remember in '08 when we went to the World Series he was one of those guys he did not want to DH. He wanted to play defense. Maybe just one of those guys that can't do it.
To DH, that's a tough situation, where all you have to think about is hitting. Sometimes hitting becomes a big mental game. And I think for him to be able to go out there and play defense it helps.

Q. Why would that guy sign then as a DH?
SHANE VICTORINO: I'm not saying that I'm his agent, but he didn't have many options. Pat wanted to play. Obviously if he had a chance to play in the National League, I'm sure he would have.
But I think that was his best offer at that time. And he took it. So, again, the resurgence of Pat is because I think personally that he's the kind of guy that loves to play defense, yeah. Everybody said he's not the greatest defensive player, but he'll make the plays when he needs to.
I trust him in left, anyway. Even if I have to work a little bit harder. (Laughter). I miss him out there sometimes, though.
THE MODERATOR: Thank you.

End of FastScripts

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