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NL CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES: GIANTS v PHILLIESOctober 21, 2010Brad LidgeSAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA: Game Five THE MODERATOR: Questions for Brad Lidge. Q. I know hindsight is 20/20, but last night when you see a situation like Oswalt coming in to pitch, and you are obviously a closer for this team, do you find it strange to be in a situation like that? BRAD LIDGE: No. We addressed that last night. It's pretty much a standard closer recipe at home. I'm throwing the ninth inning on the road. We wait till we get the lead so I can come in for a save situation. That's kind of the way we've always handled it. Charlie is not one to panic and change things. He keeps things going the way they've gone right for us, and that's what we did last night. And it just didn't work out last night, but it wasn't a bad idea. I mean, it was great to see Roy go in that game. Q. You addressed this a little bit last night in the clubhouse. Can you talk about after coming back here today and being down and just realizing all the things that have to go right, how difficult of a challenge do you guys see lying ahead of you right now? BRAD LIDGE: It is definitely going to be a challenge. I mean, there's no question about it. We knew they had a good team coming in. And they've played really well. They've been hot. They've been getting clutch hits. We've got to figure out a way to stop that. But at the same time, if you're ever going to be comfortable or if you're ever going to feel okay about having three games to win against a good team, it's with the three guys that are marching out there. These are our horses. We hit better last night. We got a few things going for us into the game today. Everybody has to do their job. If we can do that, we'll be all right. Q. Your last appearance was Game 1. Could you talk a little bit as a veteran reliever and closer, what kind of things you have to do to keep yourself sharp with all of those days without pitching? BRAD LIDGE: You've got to make sure you're throwing a lot of bullpens, getting your work in when you can. There's no way to simulate game action. I mean, there's just no way to do it. But at the same time, you kind of know, at least at this point in my career I know, what keeps me sharp and what keeps my arm ready to go in. Obviously rust is not an excuse at this point in the year. Especially now it's a do or die. You get in there, you get the job done or you don't. And hopefully I'll have an opportunity tonight. Q. You've known Roy since high school. I'm sure you can read him a little bit. What does he look like in there? Do you think he'll be a little extra fired up after that Game 1, and what do you expect tonight? BRAD LIDGE: Well, seeing him in there, he's definitely got a very focused look on his face. He always does during game day. I think knowing him a little bit, I think you can expect a pretty great game from him tonight. I mean, we expect that every time he goes out. But at the same time, he knows what's on the line. These guys have done a decent job against us. But he's going to do everything he can. We'll put it that way. And we feel pretty good about that. Obviously I'm sure Lincecum on the other side is feeling the same way. But it's going to be a fun game tonight. If there's one guy in baseball I think that you want, when you have to win, it's got to be Roy Halladay. So we've got the right guy going out there tonight. Q. Brad, when you consider a guy like Mike Sweeney had such a long, good career, he's just now in the postseason, do you ever have time to think about how fortunate you've been to have all these different chances with a couple different teams? BRAD LIDGE: Yeah, I do feel very blessed to be continuing in a situation where we're getting deep into the playoffs, deep into the postseason. I've had a chance to play in some great games, and it's been very fortunate. That's exactly right, it makes you realize how fortunate and blessed you've been when you see other guys that have played as long as Sweeney and haven't got to the postseason. Other guys too, Brian Schneider and Roy Halladay, they've all been playing for ten years or more and haven't had a chance. It makes you realize how lucky you are to be with really good teams during your career. You feel like hopefully you've had something to do with that. Q. You've mentioned you've played in a lot of great games. People kind of have short-term memories and are parochial, but if you listen to people around here for the last 18 hours, they're saying last night's game was one of the greatest games they've ever seen. Obviously you guys came out on the wrong end of it. But can you appreciate that sentiment? Where would that game rank if you could separate yourself from winning and losing it where would that game rank in your career? BRAD LIDGE: That was a pretty good game. I think -- I don't know if I could say it was the best one I've ever been a part of, but it's definitely up there. I think just in terms of the lead changes that happened and one team fighting back and then the other team fighting back, that was an impressive display, actually, on both sides by the hitters last night. And it's hard to rank. You might have to go through each game and think about it. But I know that was a pretty good game last night. One of the better ones I've been a part of in the playoffs. Q. You talked about all the experiences you have had in the playoffs you've been fortunate to have. But after losing the World Series in '05 and then last year, is it -- do you have to almost -- does it give you better viewpoint in terms of not taking those chances for granted and when you are here, to make sure that you don't leave with that bad taste? BRAD LIDGE: Yeah. I mean, that's really it. I think obviously been in three World Series, got to win one of them. Lost the other two. And you always -- when you've come this far and you've worked so hard to get this far, you just -- I mean, only one team's going to win it all but you can't believe it when it's not you. We don't want to think that far. We want to make sure we're that last team standing this year. This is such a great team with such incredible pitching that we need to make sure we do it. That's what it comes down to right now. We're not thinking about the other side of this thing. We're just thinking about making sure we get it done. And even more than that we're thinking about making sure we get it done tonight. And that's kind of the way we're viewing it. But I'm definitely very aware of how fleeting these chances can be and how lucky you have to get just to get to here. We've had a great season, but we've got a little more ways to go. Q. When you look at this Giants team, they don't really have anybody who stands out offensively, like during the regular season and everything. Does it make it like more frustrating to see them getting these clutch two-out hits time after time again, like they have been during the series? BRAD LIDGE: Yeah, you know, somebody was asking me the other day about how are these guys scoring more runs off you than the Reds did. The Reds had such a better offense during the regular season. They've got their star players, whatever. But the reality is the Giants are having way better at-bats right now. And when it comes down to it right now, the Giants are hot and the Reds were not when we played them. And that dictates more than anything in the postseason what an offense is going to do. It seems like everybody in their lineup is making the pitchers work. Every at-bat is tough. They just -- they're doing a lot of little things right right now, and that's how they're scoring runs. With two outs, they're not trying to go for the home runs, they're just trying to get guys over and hit the ball where we're not playing. And they're doing a great job of it right now. But hopefully we can stop that tonight and stop that momentum and take it back to Philly and pitch like we can. Q. You were just saying they're doing a lot of little things right, they're hot at the right time. Do they remind you of you guys in 2008? BRAD LIDGE: They're a little different. I think they rely a little more on their pitching. We were more offense in 2008. We had bigger-name players, and I would say that's even true today. We still have the bigger-name guys offensively. But I think in 2008 we were doing all the little things right. Shoot, last year we were doing a lot of little things right. That's how we got all the way to the World Series. This year we've been doing the little things right for the most part. We just gotta make sure that they don't finish this series in the wrong way for us. But, I mean, they're a little different team than we were in '08. But in terms of how hot they are right now, they're kind of that same way. So obviously we have to cool them off, and that starts tonight. Q. You talked about obviously the roles that you're used to having and that sort of dictating how things played out in the ninth. Now that it is an elimination game, it's sort of a win-at-all-costs sort of thing, does that change the way the bullpen approaches the game like tonight? Or if the series continues on, what -- what -- the roles maybe aren't quite as defined as they would be otherwise? BRAD LIDGE: Yeah, that can be the case. I know I'll be ready tonight for any situation. As I would in any given playoff night. But tonight really in particular it seems like in the next hopefully three nights, or next four nights, I guess, with the day off, that I need to throw hopefully any way I can. I don't know what Charlie's going to do. I know I'll be ready for any situation, but he might feel like if Roy can throw deep into the game tonight, maybe he throws eight innings and obviously if we have the lead I'll be coming in. But if it's a tie game for some reason, then maybe it's the same way as last night. I don't know what he's going to do. I don't really ever talk to him a whole lot about it other than I just know I need to make sure that I'm ready to throw. So the roles can change a little bit when your back's all the way to the wall like it is with us. But I think as a veteran bullpen down there, we're kind of ready for any possibility. THE MODERATOR: Thank you, Brad. End of FastScripts |
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