	products recent interviews FastScripts archive about ASAP Sports

Our Clients:

Browse by Sport

Find us on

Subscribe to RSS

Click to go to
Asaptext.com

View our
e-Brochure

NL CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES: CARDINALS v BREWERS

October 9, 2011

Edwin Jackson

MILWAUKEE, WISCONSIN: Game One

Q. This season being able to work with Coop in Chicago and then Dunc in St. Louis, what have those two pitching coaches brought to your game and helped you with this season, anything delivery-wise or approach-wise that you think has contributed to the successful stretch you've had?
EDWIN JACKSON: Those are definitely two of the best pitching coaches in the game. Everybody speaks real highly of both of them. They both just got me to pitching contact, stand consistent around the plate, and at the end of the day trust what you have. And you don't have to do more than what you need to do to get outs. That's pretty much been the main thing. Cut down walks and make hitters put the ball in play and take your chances. Let the defense work behind you.

Q. We haven't seen you here long, but it seems like your demeanor is pretty much always the same. You seem like a guy that doesn't get high or low. Is that something that has always been the case or is that something you learned coming into the bigs?
EDWIN JACKSON: That's pretty much just been me, pretty even keel, you know. I can't tell if I have my best day or my worst day, and just stay the same. It just always helps for me to never get too high or never get too low. Pretty much stay the same person every day.

Q. You've had a little trouble in your first inning and then settled in. Is there any reason for that or do you look and see if you can warm up differently?
EDWIN JACKSON: I come into the game ready. I gave up six runs on 5, 6 pitches. That might be a first in my career. I felt like I was throwing strikes. You throw the first of the game double. There's nothing you can really do about that first pitch of the game. Utley hit a triple on a pitch that I didn't think was a bad pitch. I know sometimes it's been erratic around the strike zone and then lock in throwing strikes. They came out throwing strikes that game. They just put the ball in play early.
You see with most pitchers if you don't get them early you don't have a chance to get them. It's not necessarily just myself. I think that's the case for pitchers around the League, even watching games going around, if you don't get good pitches early, then you don't really have a chance to get them.
It's just one of those things that hitters come in ready to swing early. Most of the time the early innings is where most of the damage happens.

Q. Your mindset several months ago, different ballclub. Then you come to the team. Then you're in the playoffs and obviously work out the best case scenario for you. Take us where you were, thinking if this opportunity would even be possible.
EDWIN JACKSON: In this game you really don't know what's going to happen. I've been traded 6, 7 times. It's hard. You just prepare for what you have going on then. I had no clue that I'd be playing in October. Right now in Chicago when we were playing, it was still kind of close when I got traded.
Then you come to a team that's even closer, I think it was two games out of the first when I got over here. It was an even greater chance to get to the playoffs. Then we get down 10 1/2 and we fought back. It's definitely been an interesting season.
But it has been a fun one and we're enjoying the ride right now. I wouldn't have it any other way.
The trade coming over to a playoff contention team is something you never would ask not to be traded to a playoff contention team.

Q. When you look at yourself and the relievers and everybody who came over, and how you guys did that run, how much do you think you guys made an impact on this run?
EDWIN JACKSON: I think it was just a couple of pieces that they needed to fill in to what they already had. And it just made one complete piece. We came over and definitely the guys made it easy on us. They welcomed us in, open arms. And they definitely made it easy to come in and get adjusted to the system that they have. That's always a big help when the team welcomes you in and makes you feel comfortable.
And the group of guys that we brought in, pretty much veterans for the most part, so there was nobody that had to have a baby-sitter with them. Everybody's been experienced. And I want to say between Arthur and Octavio, there's almost 30 years between the both of them. There's definitely a lot of experience they brought in.

Q. Mechanically speaking, how different are you now versus when you first got to St. Louis, would you say?
EDWIN JACKSON: I've changed a little bit mechanically. But I'm not really a mechanical pitcher. When I start thinking mechanics is pretty much when I get out of sync.
I'm pretty much of a rhythm guy. When I get too smart for my own good and try to do this and try to do that, I kind of get out of sync. I pretty much see the glove and throw the ball to the glove type of guy.

Q. When you look at the Milwaukee lineup, what stands out for you?
EDWIN JACKSON: I mean, there's a lot of energy. You have guys that can run. You have guys that can hit for power. It's just an aggressive young team.

Q. Talk about being so even keel, is it difficult, though, to not walk out in a playoff game and say this is a chance to put my stamp on a career?
EDWIN JACKSON: I think it's as difficult as you make it. You probably have more adrenaline from the bench watching it than the people that's playing. Once you get in the game and the feeling takes over, it almost feels normal.
It's definitely a more nervous feeling watching it than when you're playing. When you're playing you don't really have time to get nervous. You're just concentrating on what's going on, and you're worrying about what batter is up and what you want to throw and one pitch at a time.
If you're worried about anything else besides pitching then you're pretty much in trouble.

Q. What was your takeaway from the game you had here where the team just kind of needed you to shoulder some innings and the ERA took some bruising a little bit. Was that an easy start to get or do you think it was an important game for you and your game?
EDWIN JACKSON: What start? It's that simple. I mean, I'm a competitor. I mean, I can take my beatings and I can handle that. It's not my first one and it probably won't be my last. I feel good and I feel strong. And I continue to challenge hitters, regardless of what the score is.

Q. How much has your experience helped in playoffs to where you are right now?
EDWIN JACKSON: It definitely helps a lot. Coming out of the pen and starting is definitely a different feeling. The pen is an instant adrenaline rush. Whereas to starting, you pretty much know when you're going to start, so it's a buildup.
But out of the pen you can't afford to really come out and try to get in a groove. At the pen you pretty much have to come out throwing strikes. You have to come out game ready. You have to come out attacking hitters.
It could be a situation where there's men on base and you need to make pitches instantly, right then. But definitely it's a different feeling coming out of the pen and starting. The only difference is if you can warm up quick, then in that aspect it's pretty good if you don't need the extra time to get loose.

Q. When you saw enough of the other League before you got traded, then you come over here and played exceptionally well the last six weeks and beat the Phillies, based on what you've seen this year, how would you rate this team's talent and the way they're playing against what else you've seen this year, I guess among the other teams that are still in the tournament?
EDWIN JACKSON: Definitely I'd say we're playing some of the best baseball we're playing all year. Obviously I wasn't here early in the season. But since I've been here, what we've done has been incredible, to come back like we have and leave it on the field.
The heart that we've shown and the perseverance has been definitely astonishing, to sit back and watch. When you sit back and watch everything that we've done it's been amazing. It's been a pretty good run, and we're definitely enjoying it, and we're just running off the high right now that we have from the fight that we fought to get back.

Q. Any comparison to be made between the other teams still around?
EDWIN JACKSON: I don't know, we'll see. We'll see. At the end of the day the comparison is going to be made to who wins, win ballgames, that's the main thing. You can compare teams and if they don't win, it's irrelevant, you know. The main objective is to win the ballgames regardless of how the team is or how you compare to any other team. At the end of the day the winner is standing and the loser is going home.

Q. Some pitchers in the postseason attempt to convince themselves that this is another start, a day at the office. Do you take that tack?
EDWIN JACKSON: You have to. You have to go out and you do that to be relaxed. This is not necessarily a game that's not important. Obviously you know the game is important. But that's what you do. That's a person's routine, 162 games, that's the approach everyone's been taking. And it's just the method you do to go out and be relaxed and not get overwhelmed what's going on around you.
The fans can be hostile. Of course obviously, if you're playing away from home, you have that against you, and you have to do whatever you can do to blank everything out and feel as relaxed as possible.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

ASAP Sports, Inc. | T: 1.212 385 0297