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MLB WORLD SERIES: RANGERS v CARDINALS

October 20, 2011

Mike Napoli

ST. LOUIS, MISSOURI: Game Two

Q. Was last night just a continuation of your series here last year in May?
MIKE NAPOLI: I don't know. I don't know what it is about this park, but I like hitting here. I've just been feeling pretty good at the plate.

Q. Can you talk about just being on winning teams and having that prepare you for here, especially going all the way back to your Minor League days? I saw you in the Texas League in '05 with a lot of big names.
MIKE NAPOLI: Yeah, I've been a part of a lot of winning teams. I've never been this far. This is probably one of the better teams that I've ever been on. We're a confident group and we expect to put on a good show today.

Q. With a lot of talk about Josh has been kind of nursing that sore groin to this point, it looks like he is struggling a little bit at the plate, as a team do you get cognizant of that, realizing that maybe one of your top guys maybe struggling a little? And how do you look at that?
MIKE NAPOLI: Yeah, we want Josh to be 100 percent healthy, but I'm pretty sure there are a lot of guys in that clubhouse that are struggling with injuries. Josh has probably been hurting for a little bit now. I'm pretty sure he's going to fight through it, and he'll be out there and he'll find a way. We're confident in that.

Q. We miss you out in Anaheim. What do you tell the fans back home that absolutely love you and they're enjoying your ride right now?
MIKE NAPOLI: There is nothing I can really do about that. I got traded, and I'm glad they're still watching and cheering me on, if that's the case.

Q. When you got traded to Toronto from the Angels, did you hear much from the Blue Jays or did you have any sense that there was another move that was coming?
MIKE NAPOLI: Yeah, I really -- when I got traded, I didn't talk to Alex until the day I got traded again, four days later, five days later. It was weird, in my mind I was like, why haven't I really talked to the GM over there? I just got traded. I talked to my agent, and we had a feeling that I was getting dealt again.

Q. What were some of your perceptions of the Rangers as an opponent when you were in Anaheim? And how do they differ from what you're learned about this team now from the inside?
MIKE NAPOLI: I mean, I know watching from the other side when I was with the Angels that they had a lot of fun and enjoyed the game, especially last year. So I knew coming over here was going to be fun, and I knew they had a great core of players and they were a winning ballclub, so I was excited to come over here and be a part of it.

Q. We hear a lot about what you've done offensively, and we heard about that in years past, but this year getting a lot of time behind the plate and dealing with this staff, what kind of -- have you improved behind there do you think, and how different is it for you to just have that opportunity to run with it a little bit the last few months?
MIKE NAPOLI: I'm just glad that I can show I can get it done behind the plate. I kind of got the label to where I was just an offensive player and could hit for power, I really couldn't do it behind the plate. But just coming over here, I settled in and got comfortable in my receiving and working with the pitchers. So I mean, I'm glad that I can show that I can get it done on both sides.

Q. After one game under your belt seeing this team, do you and Colby have a little bit of a better idea of how to attack them now that you saw them in person?
MIKE NAPOLI: I mean, we had a good idea from the first scouting report. We were going all over these guys yesterday. We have a good idea. I mean, we're going to pitch to our pitchers' strengths, and if we have to adjust from there, we'll adjust.
We have a good idea. We pitched well yesterday, just fell a little short.

Q. Lance Berkman was saying this could be two series in one, maybe low scoring because of the weather and possibly a little higher scoring down by your place. Do you envision that kind of scenario unfolding?
MIKE NAPOLI: I don't know, there's still good pitching on both sides. We go one game at a time. We're going to worry about today, if we're going to score a few runs tonight. We don't know what's going to happen. We're going to go and get after it like we do and hopefully score a lot of runs. We'll worry about tonight and try and get a good victory tonight.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

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