NL DIVISION SERIES: MARLINS v GIANTS

October 1, 2003

Benito Santiago

BENITO SANTIAGO: Oh, I take a lot of pride, especially, you know, I'm ready to go and play every day, day after day, night after night. When you have a good bunch of guys in the team and you have a great team, give you a lot of inspiration to go out there and do your best at a daily basis. Hey, that's plus, you know. Last year, you know, I became the MVP in the playoff, and that was such a big thing for me because that's why you play the baseball, and that's the goal that you really want to go for. But it's a lot of fun, you know. Being with this team right now, I mean, is great. We jump on top. We doing great.

BENITO SANTIAGO: Well, the thing is Edgardo have to talk to me. He's a great hitter. And I think what I told him is to be patient, get some good pitch to hit. It's not easy to hit behind Bonds. The fact that they going to walk this guy all the time, and walking this guy with nobody on in eighth inning is no fun at all. That put a lot of pressure on you. But Edgardo can go through it. Edgardo, he show me in the past he's a clutch hitter, he's one of the best hitters what we got in the club. So I just calm him down a little bit so he could put all one step ahead.

BENITO SANTIAGO: Yeah, it is. You got to be focus. You know, you knowing something already when you go to the bat. The night before, you know what's going to happen with Barry Bonds. You know, I just wish it don't happen like that. You know, I want him to hit some home runs and put us ahead in the game. But, you know, we had to be honest. You know, this is what been happens in the last few years, and it's not going to stop. So we have to make this happens.

BENITO SANTIAGO: Well, I say it again. I take a lot of pride. But, you know, it's a lot of concentration, a lot of ability, a lot of experience that can develop with these young pitchers, you know, especially Schmidt. This guy, we look up there like we dominating all the time. He the type of pitchers I like, overpower pitchers. When you have those tools, and you have my experience, and we put that together, we can make a good group. We know how to win games, and this is the way it is right now. But besides him, we got a good arm in the club. We have some good pitchers, they can go along with the offense, and we going to be okay.

BENITO SANTIAGO: Well, that's a pretty good question, because I got that question myself when I went to spring training. But, you know, going over there, the first couple weeks, you know, these guys get along very well, really fast, real quick. And, you know, we knew we got some new guys, but at the same time these quality people, they're professionals, and they know what they're supposed to do out there, and they make a little bit easier. But the communication been a good part of it. We had a good communication. When I spend the first month in spring training, I knew a lot of good thing was going to happen for this club that's happening right now.

BENITO SANTIAGO: Well, Rueter is the type of pitcher that he's going to go after you regardless what happen to him. He's going to give hits, he's not going to give hits. Regarding the way he pitch up there and use of the corners, and move the guy around, that's his game. And he's got to have it. I mean, the guy, he got hurt, you know, he got a bad shoulder a month ago, and that's when the numbers, they start declining a little bit. But he got a good three hour in, and then it sounds good. He came to the playoff with a good outing out there. We just going to be moving around, you know, the typical Rueter that you guys know. He's go out there, and this guy, I always say, you can go home with the best 0-for-5, comfortable in your life. You go up there and you think you're going to hit three home runs. Don't think like that, because you can go 0-for-6.