NL CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES: METS v BRAVES

October 15, 1999

John Smoltz

JOHN SMOLTZ: None whatsoever. Not at this point. That was fun and over with, and now I've got to get ready for tomorrow.

JOHN SMOLTZ: Well, the obvious thing is you have to get three outs, but you get out of your comfort zone. I'm not used to coming straight from the bullpen straight to the mound. And once you get out there and get the feel of the game as a starter, you have all game to work up your feel and work up the way you pitch. As a reliever you don't have that opportunity. You just need to make really quality pitches. And I said it before and I'll say it again: I've really learned and appreciate a lot of what they do and how well they've done it all year.

JOHN SMOLTZ: Well, it definitely is the role I relish and the role I want to be in. I think that through all the years of pitching this many games -- it's interesting, because from postseason to postseason, they can seem so far away, even though we've been there 8 out of the last 9 years. You have an in-between season, and then you have what you hope to be a long postseason, and you don't know how long it's going to be. Each start is important. You have to do it every time out. You can't rest on your laurels. And much like me coming in the game and saving that game, it was nice and fun, but I have to get ready to start Game 4. I pull from every experience I've been in. I think I've pretty much in the postseason been in every game number, game situation: Game 7, game-clincher, back-up-against-the-wall. And I know what to do.

JOHN SMOLTZ: It's different than any place else. If they could, they'd do whatever they could to help their team win. If they felt like running out on the field and fielding a ball, I think they would. That's what's awesome about this place; it will be rocking. As a visiting player, you just hope to do the best you can to not be embarrassed, because they'll embarrass you, whether it be verbally or with the pressure of the game on the line. Much like we were able to at the times in our place where the level was high, maintain that. As a visiting player coming in here, you know they want their team to win really, really bad. And you will not hear any of your own fans, whether they're in the stadium or not.

JOHN SMOLTZ: It's kind of understood that that's not what you do. It's a long series. I always say: "To each their own." But as a group, really, we haven't done much of that because I don't think you ever win. Yeah, you can go out there and keep dominating like he's doing, but our club is not about giving them something else to talk about. Our club is about going out there and winning a championship. So it's probably a little different than past times.

JOHN SMOLTZ: No. We're all treated as adults and that's, again, to each their own. That's the situation at one time we were young, too.

(Laughter).

JOHN SMOLTZ: Well, there's a big difference. Obviously, it's a bigger smile on my face if it's 3-0. 2-1, 3-0 are the same objective; I want to win. In a series like this, any win gains momentum. So if they win tonight, they're back in the series. I don't care what anybody says, they're back in the series. If they don't, obviously it's a lot more difficult. But anytime as a pitcher you have a chance and you know your team can go to the next level, there's no better feeling. I've had a chance to do it quite a bit, and I really enjoy it. And tonight is one of them teeter-totter games. Right now, we're on top of the pendulum, but tonight just determines whether or not it goes back to level ground or not.

JOHN SMOLTZ: I don't think so. How he got portrayed, what he said -- I don't even read the papers. I don't think you ever have to say a word to come in and know you're going to be hated and they don't want you to win. So it's really a moot point. If the Mets jump on top, it's going to be difficult. Momentum will swing, and that's what their crowd brings to the park.

JOHN SMOLTZ: I love pitching at this time of the year. I'm not afraid to fail. I've gone through a lot of changes in my career. I've gone through a lot of tough times, but through all that, I've been able to pitch without the feeling that I might not be successful. I always pitch at this time of year knowing that I'm going to win. And I try the same approach in the regular season, but the difference is when I pitch a postseason game, my effort level as far as how I feel after the game is ten times greater than a regular season game. The reason I say that is my approach in the regular season, if it were like postseason, I would not make it through the season. When the postseason comes, I pitch like it's my last game. Every time I get a chance to pitch, it's my last game. I don't view it as pressure of my last game to pitch. I just basically approach it as: You know what, I don't know if I'm going to get another start; so I'll make this one my best.

JOHN SMOLTZ: Well, unless you've been through a lot of them, and it could be my 25th or 26th game in the postseason; so obviously I have a little advantage there. I said before, when a runner gets on first in the postseason, it's a rally. When a runner gets on first in the regular season, it's no big deal. Everything is magnified. Imagine if each start, 35 starts, I had to talk about my start the next day. In talking about so many different situations or scenarios, you can get yourself caught up in the atmosphere of what's magnified a little bit over. Having not been through it, that's where the advantage only comes for us. Other than that when you execute, it doesn't mean a lot.

JOHN SMOLTZ: Simply put, it's the best situation that you can be in as a player. For me personally, I've been playing for him now for the last ten years. He doesn't disrupt any flows. He keeps the team positive. He's not about disruption, about talking to his player through the media if he's got a problem. It's an easygoing relationship. And he's the most loyal guy I've been around, that as a manager, that really has gotten criticized for that. I really think that the success this organization has obtained is because he's been so constant in his belief in his team. He believes and makes you believe that we've got what it takes to win it all. And I've never seen a situation -- I played for one other manager. I've never seen a situation where a manager was so confident in the belief of the system. And when we leave Spring Training, that's what's on our minds. This is the proof this year, of all the setbacks we've had.

JOHN SMOLTZ: I'll make some evaluations after the year. Usually after the postseason, I'm pretty much worn out. And I'm finding the longer my career goes, the longer I'm going to take even in between picking up a ball between Spring Training. I'm on bonus time now. I've said this before, too. I probably am going to stay this way. As long as my elbow feels this way, I'm going to stay this way and master it as best I can. I still change my arm angles. I'm not stuck at this angle, but I can see some time down the road thinking about what I'm going to do, and I think at this point, I'm going to stay the way I am.

JOHN SMOLTZ: Well, without being corny, I basically feel like I've been hit by a truck. The next day is a very difficult day. I love to play golf, and I play golf pretty much on the road. After a playoff game, it's very difficult for you to invite me out to a round of golf. That's just the effort that I go to. And the preparation is no different. It's just the excitement of the game, the effort, the willingness to go as far as you can go, and I'm pretty worn out the next day. In a regular season game, I love to tee it up the next day and get the kinks out and exercise.

JOHN SMOLTZ: Two.

JOHN SMOLTZ: The situation in the game is what intimidates you; it's magnified by the crowd. If it's 5-0 and they're going at an all-time pitch (crowd noise) and you're winning, you won't be as intimidated as if it's 5-4, all-time pitch (crowd noise), pressure situation. They want to pull for their team. Much like the Yankee series in the sense that Boston could have easily won those two games. I'm sure the crowd does have an effect at times with, whether it be you pitching on the mound or the visiting hitter hitting. Otherwise, the most intimidating situation for a player is playing in front of an empty stadium because you're used to something, crowd noise, either for you or against you.

JOHN SMOLTZ: I'll be honest, this is nothing against the Mets. I think our take, it really doesn't matter who it is. There's so much pressure on us anyways to win it all. It's an obstacle we have to get by. We have to win. We've enjoyed this year more than in the past because of the things that have happened. I wouldn't call it -- I don't think anybody is minus a killer instinct. As much as you go through a series, you go through the ups and downs, and it's the first team to win four games. And we're trying to accomplish that. And you don't get caught up with if you lose this game or what you did in the last seven years.

JOHN SMOLTZ: No, I don't believe so. Just getting down towards the end of the year, we're all in the same boat. We're all a little tired and nicked up. You basically approach those games -- like I said earlier, I'm going to approach tomorrow's game as if I'm not going to pitch again, then see what happens after that, if there's an opportunity to pitch later on in this series, if need be. But I don't believe that inning at all will have an effect at all on my start, because I only threw 9 pitches. I didn't warm up that long, and the adrenaline was flowing pretty good.

JOHN SMOLTZ: Well, my take has changed in that respect because "What have you done for me lately"? All I know is I can answer it as a player who has been through this the last eight years, and I know there's 99 percent other people would love to be in my shoes, given the opportunity every year to win. You can't do anything about the previous seven years. Our organization has provided us a chance to win every year. It's easy to win when you're not supposed to. It's very difficult to win when you're supposed to. Every year, predicted. Our manager will probably never win the Manager of the Year when you're predicted to win every year. And he's finally getting noticed for the great job he's done because of the circumstances this year. I would say after the '96 year, those next two years were very difficult for us, the pressure was phenomenonal because of how we lost in '96. And then it became a sore thumb for some reason that we'd only won one. I don't care what we're called. They can put any tag that you want on us in the 90's. Whatever happens this year, regardless, it's been an incredible run, and one that seemingly doesn't look like it's ready to end yet. I don't think as players we can be so much focused about what we've got to prove, because we're enjoying this year and we're still playing, and that's -- again, when teams lose early, it's easy to forget about them; go get them next year. But the farther you go and then you lose, the lasting memory, it's kind of -- it just brings up more topics.

JOHN SMOLTZ: Well, obviously, Tom is, aside from his credentials, what he does in regular season, he may not get as much credit for the postseason play because things haven't worked out in his favor. He's pitched extremely well. Maybe had one or two bad games in the postseason that have stuck out. He's tough as nails when this time comes. It's like trying to beat down that pillar, you might dent it, but you're not going to knock it down. You might beat Glavine, but you're not going to -- he's not going to beat himself. He's going to stay stubborn and keep his team in the game as long as possible; stick to his plan. And if the other team executes, then they've got a chance. I enjoy watching him pitch because of that. His idea is: Bases loaded in a 2-0 game, he'd rather walk a guy doing what he does, keeping the game close, than giving in and maybe blowing the game open. And that's what's been his success. Over the years of watching him, I've never seen someone close a game out as good as he does. He stays in there. Everyone talks about four or five years ago he had -- if you're going to get them, get them in the first inning. That tag will never leave him. And he hasn't been that type of pitcher, but that tag will never leave him. I've watched him, and what makes him so good is he closes the deal. He smells victory, he knows from the 7th, 8th and 9th how to finish a game. And that's why he's won two Cy Youngs and has had four 20-game winning seasons.