NL CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES: METS v BRAVES

October 15, 1999

Rick Reed

RICK REED: I think that's really all it is. Like you said, I do feel stronger. I don't have a lot of innings. I know over the past two years, I've had over 200 innings, and last year I kind of tired out. I think that's all it is.

RICK REED: I don't consider it a big game. I'm going to approach it as an ordinary game. I can't go in with that kind of attitude and put more pressure on myself than there already is. So I think I'm going to try to approach it as an ordinary game and see what happens.

RICK REED: I think it will have an impact. I know when there's a lot of people in the stands, that makes you feel good, when they're all backing you. So I think they're going to be on our side the most part of the night.

RICK REED: Well, obviously, I want to pitch any time that I can get the opportunity. But it just turned out that I was scheduled for Game 4; so I'm going to go out and do the best I can, go as hard as I can, for as long as I can. We'll see after that. Maybe I can get into another game, I don't know.

RICK REED: I don't know if it's confidence. We've been in situations, I know a lot this year, with our backs against the wall. And we've come out fighting. And I just heard where Brian Jordan said we always come out smelling like roses. Hopefully this is another time we come out smelling like a rose.

RICK REED: I do basically the same thing. I look at scouting reports, videotape, and I try to get a game plan together each time against whoever it is. I'm going to do the same thing. I've pitched against them twice this year. I'm still going to look at those videotapes and those scouting reports and try to get an idea and get a game plan together and see what happens after that.

RICK REED: Well, that's pretty much part of boxing, but I don't think it has anything to do with baseball. That's a hard question to answer. I know I'm not one to do that because it always seems to come and bite me. It comes back and haunts me. I don't know, it might come back and haunt him, who knows.

RICK REED: Knock on wood, hopefully it happens again. I don't know, maybe it's just one of those things. I had some horrible games against Arizona, and I ended up pitching a pretty good game the other night against them. It's just one of those things. Hopefully, nothing bad happens. It's just how we play the game. It's a different game every night and anything can happen. It just so happens that I've done pretty well against the Braves. In the past it hasn't been that way, but it seems this year I've done pretty well.

RICK REED: Doesn't bother me one bit.

RICK REED: Well, there's not a lot of room for error approaching anyone. The way I look at it, they have a tough line-up. Every team in this League has a tough line-up for me. I always say that anybody with a bat in their hand is dangerous. So whether it's Smoltz or the Braves, the Diamondbacks, whoever, it's a dangerous team. We consider ourself a dangerous team, too. I really don't focus much on all that.

RICK REED: I was hoping you had the answers to that. I don't know. I'm sure if we could put a finger on it, we would already have done it. I don't know, maybe times will change now that we're back in New York, I don't know. But they've played us well here, too. We're going to have to go out and play hard and limit the mistakes. When they give you an opportunity to have a big inning, you've got to take advantage, or they close it in a hurry.

RICK REED: Like I said, I don't want to put any added pressure. And you're right; I do get nervous. And I don't want to get too overly nervous.

RICK REED: Giving up a lot of runs, for one. I don't know, I just don't want to get caught up in it being the "big game". Like I said, I'm going to approach it as an ordinary game, a regular season game, and see what happens after that. I can't say it any better than that.