NL CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES: METS v BRAVES

October 11, 1999

Robin Ventura

ROBIN VENTURA: You know, I think they're different. I think Tom is more of a control pitcher. But he doesn't really give you a lot of the plate to work with. I think either way, whichever way he's going, because he's a control pitcher and precise with what he's doing; so he doesn't really give you a pitch right over the middle of the plate. He's able to stay on each corner, and poses obviously a lot of difficulty, picking a side or staying with it. I think John's more just a power pitcher. He's just going to air it out. And I think he throws hard enough and good enough on a slider that he's tough on any lefty, not just certain ones. And even Randy, it's just that simple.

ROBIN VENTURA: He's not just tough on lefties, he's equally tough on righties.

ROBIN VENTURA: I don't think it really matters, really. I don't think anybody cared all that much. I think everybody was still focused on Arizona and just winning those games. I think once you start looking ahead at other matchups, you lose focus on who you're playing and what's going on at that moment. And even after we won on Saturday, I don't think anybody wished anything else. You're glad with whoever you're playing.

ROBIN VENTURA: Maybe the guys that have been around that long that were here last year, maybe, I don't know. They're just an exceptional team. I think the games that we had against them, most of them were fairly good games. They were able to win them. I think nine of them or whatever. And that's something that we're just going to have to hope that we hit better, and hit better when there's men in scoring position.

ROBIN VENTURA: No, they're a very good team.

ROBIN VENTURA: We go through spurts where we play very well. We take advantage of breaks. And I think when we had our losing streaks this year, we weren't able to do that. After we had lost 8 in a row earlier in the year, we were able to take advantage of the situations that we were given. And since losing the 7th straight, we were able to do the same thing since then. So hopefully that continues. But I think that's just the way we win games all during the year. I don't think it's just right now that we've had odd situations occur.

ROBIN VENTURA: Obviously, it's different. I think anytime -- if the infielders that rely on him and him being at third base every day, you're used to the -- just his timing of giving you signs and the way you communicate, you know what he's asking for. So it's going to be a little bit different to understand what the other coaches are asking you to do, because I think Cookie becomes comfortable with us, and it doesn't take quite as long to explain what you want when you've done it that long.

ROBIN VENTURA: No, I don't think you look back and think anything, because it just didn't happen, and nobody got a chance. Nobody is guaranteed anything. For now, it's just enjoyable to get back to the playoffs and play with these guys. It's a lot of fun playing with this team, and it's just nice to be in the playoffs.

ROBIN VENTURA: Obviously, I think his presence in the line-up is different than anybody else because of his power and average and everything he brings to the line-up. So it's obviously important that we have him in the line-up. I don't think it affects me all that much. I think it impacts our line-up; makes our line-up a lot stronger, just the depth of it. And obviously, he was an important part of the line-up when they put this team together. Having him in there is equally as important.

ROBIN VENTURA: Maybe a lot of both. It doesn't guarantee that I'm going to make an out every time I go up there. That was just the way it was and I've had other spurts where I haven't hit very well against certain teams. But if I feel like I'm not going to get a hit, then I wouldn't be playing. It's just the way it is, and hopefully it will change.