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MLB WORLD SERIES: RANGERS v CARDINALSOctober 25, 2011Colby LewisST. LOUIS, MISSOURI: Workout Day Q. The Rangers have been around since 1972, a bunch of you guys have been together the last couple years in the World Series. You try to make this game as normal as possible, but how different is it for you being one game away from actually winning the World Series? COLBY LEWIS: It's exciting, that's for sure. We have two games to do it. We've got to play .500 ball. But we definitely want to get it done as soon as possible, that's for sure. We've got to just hold those emotions back, those feelings back, and keep the job that we're going to do tomorrow and the next day, and just what we've been doing all year long, just go out there and compete and get outs. Q. How much did pitching in a clinching Game 6 last year against the Yankees help you go into a clinching situation here? I know that was the ALCS and this is the World Series. And as you played baseball as a kid, did you think about a moment like this, being on the mound, giving your team a chance to get a World Series win? COLBY LEWIS: Well, you definitely think when you're in a kid you want to be in this position, be on this stage to go to the World Series. I think just being in the situation that we were last year throughout the playoffs, you know, gives you more of an edge, more relaxation, that's for sure, because knowing what's expected or you know how to react to certain things. But I think the biggest thing is that -- for me, is just going to go out. Like I've always said, just want to go out there and compete and give my team a quality start, and if I do that, then we'll be right where we need to be. Q. Going back four years ago when you made the decision to go over to Japan, did you ever envision this, coming back and being in the position you are in, starting a World Series-clinching game? COLBY LEWIS: No, absolutely not. I mean, of course not. You don't think about stuff like that. But I think the biggest thing is that for me just enjoying every moment of it, enjoying still having the opportunity to get the ball every five days, to go out and pitch, to perform, to make your family proud. I think that's a big key for me is just knowing that my family is happy for me but I'm doing something that my kids and stuff are going to appreciate. Q. You grew up with this organization, then took a detour. When you came back, this team had much better pitching than it had in the past. Is the philosophy any different? What's different from when you were here before now? COLBY LEWIS: My age. Basically I was young coming up. I threw hard and kind of just relied on that and not really relied too much on the mental side of baseball, and I think now that I've gotten older, you think about different situations, you don't really try to throw a ball by a lot of guys, and you focus -- for me anyway, you focus on different things and different ways to get them out, and when I was younger I didn't do that. I think that's the biggest thing that's kind of changed for me. And then, yeah, basically that's it. Q. And from the organization standpoint, that's what I was wondering about, whether there's a different philosophy when you were here first and now. COLBY LEWIS: I don't know so much of a different philosophy. I think John Hart was around then and he's still around now, but Jon Daniels is definitely taking over and changed some things. But like I said, I was so young, I kind of really didn't pay a lot of attention to that. And I kind of kept my head down and didn't cause too many waves. Q. When you're doing your kind of journey bouncing from place to place, especially in Japan, did doubt ever creep into your head of whether or not you'd get back to the Big Leagues, back to the stage, back to being a reliable starter in a Big League rotation? COLBY LEWIS: No, you know, when I made the decision to go to Japan, I told myself, I told my family, I told everybody that it's another part of my life, that I'm still getting the opportunity to go play baseball, period, and make good money doing it and be able to support my family. And I think that's one of the reasons why I feel like I had success when I did go to Japan. I just went with an open mind and open heart, saying, look, this is another opportunity, period. I had fun doing it. It was a part of my life that I really enjoyed. I'm glad I got another opportunity to come back. But I never looked at it like that I wanted to come back. I never said, well, if I put up two good years here then I need to get back to the Big Leagues. I just wrote it off and said that was a part of my life, and now this is the new part. Q. Wash and your teammates all talk about that focus and that ability to just kind of keep to a game plan as maybe your biggest asset, your philosophy going into a game. How do you get there and stay there? So many guys have a tendency to just kind of get out of what they would normally do in situations. COLBY LEWIS: Basically just -- I mean, it's all about trusting your stuff, trusting the type of pitcher you are. I mean, you can't say like, hey, I'm going to throw the ball 95 miles an hour when I don't, you know? Even though the extra added adrenaline and everything else, it feels like you can throw the ball harder, but you don't. I think it's just trying to harness those emotions, those -- the adrenaline, the extra noise, the crowd and everything, and just kind of stick to it, stick to what you've been doing all year long and stay with the same approach. Q. Sort of playing off that last answer there, when you know that you don't throw all that hard, has that been something that you've had to acquire over the years at the Big League level, know how to pitch? And is that in some ways more fun than if you could just blow it by everybody? COLBY LEWIS: You know, now, I mean, I don't throw all that hard. But I feel like the key to pitching is changing speeds. I mean, I think that's why I like a guy like Verlander does very well. He can throw the ball at 92, 93, and then pump up and throw a ball 100. I think the things that make a successful pitcher is to be able to keep the hitters off balance, work the corners and do that kind of stuff. Jamie Moyer did it for years, Greg Maddux, a number of people that have done it and not thrown a million miles an hour. I think along with age you learn different techniques, different stuff to get guys out, and I think that's just kind of where I am at. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
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