MLB WORLD SERIES: INDIANS v MARLINS

October 18, 1997

Chad Ogea

CHAD OGEA: Yes, I did. Against the Gators.

CHAD OGEA: Sure, Orel was ready to go in the first game. Definitely you're going to go with him in the first game, because he's been there before, he's pitched in the World Series a couple of times, so definitely you want to go with him. I wasn't surprised I was named the No. 2 starter. Wherever they want to stick me in there I'll pitch.

CHAD OGEA: No, there's no pregame jitters, just go out there and have fun. I did that in ALCS, I didn't pitch in the ALCS before, I think I threw one inning in '95, but that was two years ago, so there's no jitters, just go out there and have fun and trust yourself.

CHAD OGEA: Yes. I only wear it in between starts for the reason that it doesn't get banged around or get sore.

CHAD OGEA: No, I think the biggest thing is the fear of failure is out the window. There's no fear of failure with me because I just pray a lot about it and ask God to help me with that.

CHAD OGEA: You don't think about that when you're on the mound. You might think about it before and after the game, but it's the situation where baseball is that way. You may go out there and get ten runs one night. And hopefully I do. But you just try to keep them down and give your team a chance to win, and hopefully we score some runs.

CHAD OGEA: He's a big target, and he's caught all of us all year long, and he knows each one of us, I think that's the reason he can call good games for us, and we trust Sandy throughout the game because of that. He pretty much knows each guy on the staff backwards and forward.

CHAD OGEA: No, I wasn't disappointed. I said he cheated and everybody else does, it was a joke. But there's guys out there that cheat, but I'm not one of them, and I don't think Orel is. I threw with Orel a year and a half, a throwing partner during stretch and before BP, and he actually has a sinker that moves that much. And because he's hit me in the shin quite a few times (laughter.) He naturally throws the ball that way.

CHAD OGEA: It's nice. You know you can throw strikes and make them hit the ball. You know you don't have to make the perfect pitch. It makes it a lot easier when you know you have good defense behind you.

CHAD OGEA: It's satisfying to get this far and be able to come back off an injury. As I said before, in the ALCS, is that I learned a lot of things during the DL, during the two months I was on the DL, so it's sweet to be here after a frustrating year, and it's done a lot for me personally as a pitcher and it's made me realize what I need to do to become better.

CHAD OGEA: I think the biggest thing was that I was able to step away from the game two months, as far as being on the field and being there every day, and being able to see how hitters hit, how pitchers pitch. And try to pattern -- not pattern myself after guys, but pick up little things as far as watching guys on TV, watching tapes and learning about the game a little more.

CHAD OGEA: I think -- I've seen these guys one time, I saw them in Spring Training, and I saw the same line-up they're going to have out on the field pretty much. My memory is pretty good as far as seeing hitters. But I think the biggest thing is to go from pitch to pitch. Not to get ahead of myself and saying this guy is on deck, and this guy does this and this guy does that. I think the biggest thing is to watch their reactions. You can't sit there and think all night on the mound. If you think long you're going to think wrong.

CHAD OGEA: Yeah, what's funny is the last ALCS game I pitched at home in Jacob's Field, the first three innings I pitched on adrenaline. When I gave up the two runs, I said I don't have to be perfect, just go out there and do what you do best. I think that's where you find guys not doing well in the playoffs or in the World Series is they try too hard. The biggest thing is to have fun and let your natural abilities come out.

End of FastScripts….