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MLB WORLD SERIES: INDIANS v MARLINS


October 18, 1997


Kevin Brown


MIAMI, FLORIDA: Game One

Q. Tell me about pitching to Charles Johnson and does he bully you, do you bully him or -- he works different with each pitcher?

KEVIN BROWN: I don't see any horns on any one of them. We work real well together. I think we're on the same page most of the time. Charles knows what he's doing, and he does a good job of paying attention to the hitters and the adjustments they make and the repertoire is real good.

Q. Kevin, you've been, especially ERA-wise, you've been successful in the National League and especially the last couple of years. Have you grown as a pitcher? Do you have any explanation as to why you've been even more successful the last couple of years as opposed to previous to that?

KEVIN BROWN: I think it's a combination of things. I think I threw the ball well in '95 when I played with Baltimore, but I didn't have the success that year, a lot of that has to do again with not only myself but with the team that's surrounding you. We've played good defense here the last two years and I think that's helped me a lot. I've gotten better, and made adjustments, but you can't quantify that.

Q. Kevin, you talk about '95, did you ever consider signing with Cleveland when you were a free agent?

KEVIN BROWN: Well, I think there was some brief talks. But I think that kind of came to an end when they signed Jack. It was a very brief instance when they were talking with my agent.

Q. Has your health steadily improved since your last start or did it bottom out?

KEVIN BROWN: I don't know. I don't have that thermometer stuck on me. I'm fine. I'm not worried about -- that's not an issue as far as I'm concerned. And I'm back to just normal game preparation.

Q. Kevin, with the exception of yourself, would Charles Johnson be the most important player on the team?

KEVIN BROWN: I'm not sure I'd put myself in that category. I don't know, it's hard to quantify from my standpoint. But as far as from the team's standpoint, yes, CJ was one of the most important players in our success the second half. He really turned it up a notch. What he had done with his glove he continued to do the second half but he also started to really carry a lot of the load with his bat and it helped us in the second half really get going and beat some good teams.

Q. Kevin, can you describe what it's like working with Charles Johnson as opposed to working with Rodriguez?

KEVIN BROWN: There's some similarities, some differences. Both of them are very good as far as throwing out runners, both of them have strengths and weaknesses. Beyond that, I don't think that's the kind of thing that you really -- it's best not to say anything negative about anybody. I don't want to point out anybody's negatives. I don't want them talking about mine.

Q. Do you see similarities in styles?

KEVIN BROWN: It's obvious, both their arms as far as the ability to throw out runners, their ability to shut down a running game is pretty obvious. If you start trying to critique their whole game, both guys have things they do and don't do as well as the other. I don't think it's fair to do that.

Q. Kevin, how do you figure getting back on your regular rest, particularly after throwing 140 pitches in the last game?

KEVIN BROWN: I don't think it's any big deal. This time of year, again, you're surviving a lot off of adrenaline. Things are totally different. You're not worried if you've had 2 or 10 days of rest. You're out there focused on the job at hand. So it's not a factor, as far as I'm concerned.

Q. Kevin, any chance on your in between day that you normally throw, instead just being in the bullpen for Game 4?

KEVIN BROWN: Well, if there's something they wanted me to do, I would definitely consider doing it, but they've got to be comfortable with it, too. I don't know what the situation is in the bullpen. And I wouldn't be presumptious enough to say that they're going to do that. It's up to them, if that would be something they felt would help the team, I would definitely not be adverse to holding off on my side day and working out with them, if they would like.

Q. Kevin, what are your thoughts on going against Cleveland's line-up?

KEVIN BROWN: Well, I mean they're a great line-up. We faced great teams all year long. Basically you've got to do a good job the whole night. You can't let up at any point in time in their line-up. They've got guys from 1 to 9 that can hurt you. You've got to stay very consistent and very methodical as far as your approach. You've got to work one hitter at a time. It's pretty obvious the quality they have to get to this point. They've got guys that can hurt you, and they've got also a lot -- they've got some guys that have experience over you, too. So it's a matter of staying focused one hitter at a time.

Q. Kevin, during the celebration in Atlanta you were talking about how this team is about heart not money. Do you think we've missed something? People have been focusing too much on money, we've missed something about the Marlins, can you explain what you meant?

KEVIN BROWN: I don't know. Whatever it is you guys have focused on, evidently it hasn't hurt us, you stay focused on whatever you want to. As far as the standpoint of being overlooked, I think it has been overlooked. I think the way guys reacted in the playoffs I think have been -- that can be seen. Again, I think really things got started for us from that standpoint, the series against Atlanta after the All Star break, I think that's where we really felt things coming together, we started to play with a lot of emotion and a lot of intensity.

Q. With the Marlins starting three pitchers in the series, do you feel like your pitchers are going to take on more pressure to perform under those conditions?

KEVIN BROWN: I think they're only starting two. But anyhow, it really doesn't change. I can't affect the other games. I can only do something about one game. And you don't go out and have a good game by trying to put too much pressure on yourself and trying to do extra. You've got to keep it simple, from a pitching standpoint and do what I've done up to this point in time, I hope it's enough.

End of FastScripts….

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