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AL CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES: TIGERS v RANGERSOctober 8, 2011Max ScherzerARLINGTON, TEXAS: Game One THE MODERATOR: We'll take the first question for Max Scherzer. Q. Max, when did you know you could make the game to start coming out of that relief appearance? MAX SCHERZER: It was really yesterday I wanted to make sure when I played catch that my arm felt good. You knew you were pitching in the game before, you want to see where your arm is kind of tight. And for me, when I played catch yesterday, my arm felt pretty good. Given that it was going to be two days off, I knew my arm was going to recover quick enough to be able to be on a full start for Game 2. Q. How much did you have to convince Jim to let you start in Game 2? Because I'm sure he was concerned after having only a couple of days rest. MAX SCHERZER: That was his biggest concern. He wanted to make sure I was thinking 100% about my arm and the health of my arm and making sure that -- you're not going to try to be a hero at this point in the ballgame. I completely respect that. My goal is not to sit out here and try to be 50% and try to take the ball. I know I can be 100% on Sunday. And I just wanted to convey that to him. We had a discussion, and once -- allowed him to think I would be 100% he said okay. Q. Did you approach him, or did he approach you? MAX SCHERZER: It was kind of both. You know, it's just one of those things I wanted to make sure he knew that I was going to be 100%. Obviously, he was looking out for me in the best situation making sure -- he wanted to make sure I was 100%. The only way I could tell him if I was going to be 100% was for me to play catch yesterday. So obviously I needed to go out there and play catch before I could give him a say on how my arm felt. Q. Max, your change-up is obviously become a really big weapon for you. I was curious how that pitch has evolved for you, and when the turning point came for you with it. MAX SCHERZER: For my change-up, I would say when I was in Triple-A. Miguel Montero when I was with the Diamondbacks was down in rehab assignment. He had me using it a lot, using it a lot against right-handers. Ever since that year in '08, I developed a lot of confidence to be able to throw it to both left-handers and right-handers. Ever since I've been in the Big Leagues, I've actually had better command of my change-up over my slider. For me, it's been a real big pitch throughout my whole Big-League career. Q. Not to get too technical, I'm curious when you say you played catch, it wasn't a bullpen. What kind of catch did you play? MAX SCHERZER: Just got out to 90 feet and -- when I wanted to kind of put a little more oomph on the ball, I could. My arm wasn't sore at all. Given that I had thrown 30 pitches the previous night, I thought that was a pretty good sign. Once I knew I could play catch at 100% and not have any type of soreness, when you start looking at two more days, I know my arm pretty good at this point in the year, and I could make that determination I could be 100% by Sunday. Q. How much do you think you've grown as a pitcher just in the last eight days? The second game with the Yankees in the Game 5 to where you are at right now, how much do you think you've grown as a pitcher? MAX SCHERZER: Not much. I went out there and executed pitches. It's been a challenge really kind of this whole year of constantly making adjustments throughout mechanically with each pitch and how I want to execute it throughout the whole year. It's always felt like I was trying to make an adjustment after every start. And I felt like really the last kind of five starts the way of my stuff and the way of my mechanics, I felt in a good position. The results may have been there or not have been there, but I felt good. When the postseason came around, this was the best I felt all year with my stuff. To be able to go out there and help the team out in a must-win game, this is as good as it gets. Q. Improved confidence? MAX SCHERZER: No, it did nothing for my confidence. I believed I could have success no matter what the situation. How big the stage is. I don't let the external factors come into my mental game during the game. I go out there and approach it the same every single time. That's for me to execute pitches. Q. Max, with the success that Verlander has had this season, do you see that it has a trickledown effect on the rest of the rotation? MAX SCHERZER: Yes and no. He makes their whole team better because what he can do for the bullpen. You know the day when he goes he's going to go seven or eight innings. He's just going to -- the bullpen basically gets the night off. And obviously that helps out for the day after he pitches and the day before he pitches, because we can use extra guys if the day before he pitches. His impact on this team has been so astounding. THE MODERATOR: Thanks for coming in, Max. Appreciate it. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
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