AL CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES: YANKEES v MARINERS

October 21, 2001

Paul Abbott

PAUL ABBOTT: I really didn't have anything really working that I could really rely on. I just threw everything at them that I had, four pitches. Basically I didn't want to give into them and just give them something good to hit. Obviously, you saw late in the game, it didn't take much; those looked like pop-ups could get out of the ballpark so basically I didn't want to throw anything down the middle of the plate and if I walked them, I walked them. I just didn't give in at any time. I didn't feel overpowering, I didn't feel like I had a great curveball, slider, changeup; I just threw everything I could at them.

PAUL ABBOTT: The situation, I think even if it's not my -- working like it should, my changeup is still my best pitch in. That situation, I basically just said, "Look, it's 2-2, I want to throw a changeup here and if I miss I want to throw another changeup. Let me go down throwing my best pitch." I just wanted to make sure that we were on the same page at that point; it's pretty much the whole game. It might have looked like more than what it was but that's what it was.

PAUL ABBOTT: I wouldn't say it was small. It was -- at times -- it might have been small, at times it might have been big. Yeah, it was -- you know when you're not around the plate, too, it's hard for them, also, to be consistent.

PAUL ABBOTT: Well, in a game like that, when it's 0-0, you think that maybe the first team who scores is going to hang on to win a game. He just hit a home run, in that situation with our bullpen, the job that they have done all year, pretty much you leave that late in the game, you almost bank on it being a win. That was the break we got. Came through in a good situation. Then, you know, I felt pretty good at that time. But then even when Bernie hit his ball, I thought it was a pop-up, to be honest with you.

PAUL ABBOTT: Just when I was walking a high wire in Vegas one time. (Laughter.) It's not easy. You know, actually it was like eight walks in four innings, because the first inning was one, two, three. No. Maybe in A-Ball or maybe my senior year in high school, but it wasn't the most pleasurable of outings out there, being in that situation in Yankee Stadium with guys on base. But I stuck to my game plan. I just didn't want to give in at any time and I guess it worked.

PAUL ABBOTT: It was my first start in three weeks. I only had five innings in three weeks so I knew my pitch count was probably going to be limited anyways. I think I've thrown more pitches than that in five innings. 97, I didn't know how many I had thrown; I thought I threw about 140.

PAUL ABBOTT: We're down 3-1. It's not the best. We thought we had a win in our back pocket. You know, the World Champs came back and snatched it away from us. Now we're down 3-1, where it looked like we had a chance to be 2-2.

PAUL ABBOTT: Well, I said yesterday, I think even if we would have lost today, we lost one road series all year. I liked our chances, whether we won today or lost today to still get back to Seattle. You know, in a game like that, when it looked like we had them right where we wanted them with our bullpen and with the lead in that situation, it's a tough loss, but we are still going to come back tomorrow and play like we have been playing all year. We are not accustomed to losing road series. I think we are going to come back confident tomorrow and pull out a win and take it back to Seattle.