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MLB WORLD SERIES: YANKEES v BRAVES


October 23, 1999


Kevin Millwood


ATLANTA, GEORGIA: Game One

Q. We heard that you might have sold your tickets to Game 2. Who do you sell them to and did you get them back?

KEVIN MILLWOOD: Hadn't quite sold them yet, but I was in the process. I got them back. But now I need to buy a few more. So if anybody's got any, let me know.

Q. When did you find out that you were going to get to start tomorrow instead of Tuesday?

KEVIN MILLWOOD: Found out definitely today when I got to the ballpark. I had heard earlier today that Glavine wasn't going to pitch, and -- or that he was ill or whatever, whatever had happened. And, excuse me, and I got to the ballpark today and went to see Bobby and talked to him about it. He said -- asked me if I would be okay to start tomorrow, and of course I am.

Q. Is there any difference between starting tomorrow or starting Tuesday -- I mean, emotional-wise or physical-wise?

KEVIN MILLWOOD: Emotionally it's the same. It might be a little easier because we're here instead of New York. Physically, the only difference is I get to hit. I don't know if that's a positive for us or not. (Laughing).

Q. I presume you'd prefer to pitch here instead of Yankee Stadium, especially being in your first World Series?

KEVIN MILLWOOD: I was kind of looking forward to pitching there. I hadn't got to pitch there before. I missed pitching there during the regular season this year, and it's always been kind of a dream of mine to be able to pitch in that stadium, and, you know, what better time to pitch there than the World Series. But, you know, it doesn't really matter to me where I pitch, but I guess if I had to pick home or away, I'd much rather pitch at home.

Q. Has this happened to you before during the season at all, where you suddenly got moved up for whatever reason? Do you remember how you fared, if it did?

KEVIN MILLWOOD: I remember one time in particular I got moved up for some reason, I don't remember why, went on three days' rest and pitched really well. So, you know, hopefully it will be the same type of thing this time.

Q. Is there any fear in the clubhouse that other guys are going to get sick now?

KEVIN MILLWOOD: I don't think so. I haven't seen Tommy today, and, you know, I don't think he's going to be coming around kissing anybody. (Laughter.) Making them sick. So I think everybody here is, you know, grown men and I think we're smart enough or capable enough to kind of stay away from the sick guys and, you know, just do what we can to stay well.

Q. Do you pitch the Yankees any differently here than you would in Yankee Stadium, especially the left-handed hitters?

KEVIN MILLWOOD: I think it frees up a little more here with the left-handed hitters. You know, obviously down the line in any ballpark is going to be the shortest part of the park. But up there, it's where the guys try to hit home runs, is to right field. I think our field being a little bigger down the lines, it frees you up to be able to do a little bit more with their lefties.

Q. With what happened with the fans and Rocker in New York and what happened in Boston in the ALCS, do you think fans are showing less sportsmanship or less civility now than in the past?

KEVIN MILLWOOD: I really don't know how it was in the past. But you always hate to see people throwing water bottles or batteries or change or whatever it is at players. People are going to say what they want to say and you can't do a whole lot about it. I think as far as a fan that pays his money to get in and sits up in the stands to watch the game, I think cheering's great; say whatever you want to say. But just, you know, shouldn't be throwing stuff at people. You know, we don't go to their job and throw batteries at them. (Laughter.) So I'm sure they say a lot of bad stuff about us, but we just -- I think we're just trying to look at it now because we're going up there to play a baseball game and that's all we try to worry about. And hopefully if something like that does happen, nobody gets hurt and, you know, the security will take care of it.

Q. Do you think that Rocker's smarter than the rest of us by getting the Mets fans to dislike him, he might endear himself to the Yankee fans?

KEVIN MILLWOOD: I haven't heard anything he said to the Yankees fans. I don't know how smart it was, what he did or whatever, but, you know, obviously the guy feeds off of it. He enjoys it. As long as he keeps pitching well, I'll let him do what he wants to do.

Q. The Yankees are known as being very patient, selective hitters. Does that affect your approach, how you go about what you're doing?

KEVIN MILLWOOD: Not really. I mean I'm the type of guy that I'm going to go right after hitters, I'm going to try to get ahead of them and try to get them out as quick as I can. And, you know, I think if they're too patient, it could work to my advantage a little bit because I like to throw strikes. And, you know, if they're up there and taking a lot of pitches, you know, it's probably going to be easier for me to throw the ball in the strike zone and not have to worry too much about it early in the count.

Q. Do you remember where you were during the '96 Series and whether you watched the game?

KEVIN MILLWOOD: Yeah, I was in Australia playing winter ball, and I watched -- I watched most of Game 7 in a casino. It was about six or seven in the morning, but I couldn't quite stay awake for the whole game.

Q. You were really a horse that came on during the dog days of summer. What's the coldest weather you ever pitched in? Do you think cold, blustery air will affect you?

KEVIN MILLWOOD: I haven't pitched in really cold weather since high school, the playoffs in high school. It got pretty cold. But I don't think it will make a whole lot of difference with me.

Q. The last outing with the Mets ended a little rough. You hadn't had an outing like that in a while. Reflect on that. Are you carrying any motivation from that game?

KEVIN MILLWOOD: I don't think I'm carrying any motivation at all from it. I thought I pitched really well up until the sixth inning. You know, it just -- I wasn't finishing my pitches off, I wasn't getting my breaking balls down. When you're facing a team like the Mets, they're going to hurt you when you do that. I think it's going to just take a little more focus throughout the whole game, you know, even if we do jump up to the lead. And, you know, I think I just lost a little focus in that game. If I can stay away from doing that, I should be fine.

Q. Do you remember the part of Australia you were in, the name of the casino, any little details like that?

KEVIN MILLWOOD: I was in Melbourne, Australia, I don't know the name of the casino.

Q. A lot of players say that the World Series either is incredible or it's just another sort of experience that they go through in baseball. How would you describe your first World Series experience, without having pitched yet?

KEVIN MILLWOOD: Right now, it's been a little bit of a headache, signing so many balls and stuff. But, you know, I'm trying to have a good time with it right now, and I'm sure tonight watching the game and not being able to be a part of it is going to be pretty nerve-wracking. But I'm excited about it. I think it's going to be probably the most exciting time of my baseball career up till now. You know, I was able to make the All-Star Team this year, and that was a lot of fun. But I think that that comes second fiddle to something like this.

Q. What's the best piece of advice you've gotten from one of the other players or pitchers about dealing with this type of atmosphere?

KEVIN MILLWOOD: I talked to a couple guys during the NLCS. They're just telling me to, you know, try to approach it like just another ball game, and not get too worked up. And that's what I've tried to do. Actually, in the last game that I pitched in Game 6, you know, I went out there thinking that, you know, I want to pitch really well, but, you know, if I don't, so be it. I tried to view it as the first game I pitched all year, and, you know, I think it worked out well for me, and like I said, I just didn't finish the job like I would have liked to.

End of FastScripts…

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