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NL DIVISION SERIES: REDS v PHILLIES

October 7, 2010

Jayson Werth

PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA: Workout Day

THE MODERATOR: Questions for Jayson Werth.

Q. I understand last night is just one win in the grand scheme of things. But yourself being someone that has probably more appreciation for the history of the game with your grandfather, father and uncle, can you talk about what that achievement means to you and being part of that?
JAYSON WERTH: I will say that winning Game 1 was pivotal and definitely something we wanted to achieve. To achieve it like that, I thought, was pretty special.
Something that in the off-season I'll probably sit back and think about and take a look at the larger picture. But for right now we won Game 1, and we're moving on to Game 2.

Q. Because of the way you guys won that game, do you kind of like having the day off in a sense to kind of let it soak in and kind of be able to let it soak in for a day? Would you rather essentially just play today and kind of move on and get ahead with the series?
JAYSON WERTH: We always want to continue to play every day. I think the rhythm of playing every day is important. But once you get to the postseason, that's usually not the case. But after last night to have this day to sit around and think about it and talk about it and share some moments with your teammates is pretty cool.

Q. You probably caught the only hard-hit ball last night. Can you just talk about that play a little bit? Was it difficult at all, it seemed like it was hit kind of right at you?
JAYSON WERTH: I would say the slide was more for show than anything else (laughing). It was a pitcher, I was playing him short anyways. The guy swings the bat pretty good for a pitcher. So I wasn't playing him too short, but I was able to go over there and catch him.

Q. Can you compare the two nights, the night in May when you pitched the perfect game and last night?
JAYSON WERTH: Yeah, those are two totally different games. The one earlier in the year was in Florida and there were 5,000 people there, and last night was crazy. I mean, our fans were unbelievable, and for them to see something like that was pretty cool for them. I think we have the best fans in baseball. And I think they were treated last night.

Q. It was a great night last night, but at some point you guys are probably going to need more than five hits in a game to keep going in this series. Was that just a momentary lull? Were you guys watching Roy as well?
JAYSON WERTH: It was one of those things. We got off hot, we got ahead, and it was all Roy after that. I think it was just probably more of the flow of the game than anything else.

Q. Your teams had a number of emotional postseason wins and you had to come back and play another game and win another game. Is there an art to doing that? And is there a quality that this group has that enables you to do it?
JAYSON WERTH: I would say so. What exactly that is, I'm not sure. It's more of that "it" factor, I guess you'd say. The guys that we have in our clubhouse played together for a while. A few of those guys have played together longer than I've played with them. So it is a close-knit bond among the group. I think there is something to be said about that.
But the guys, specifically the guys that we have are probably like no other guys in the game in regards to their personality and just their overall talent level. We've got some pretty good players on our team.

Q. Can you just talk a little bit about Carlos Ruiz and just how he's developed over the last few years as a big part of your lineup? What changes have you seen in him and how important is he to you guys?
JAYSON WERTH: I'm sure he's evolved as a baseball player over the past few years. I think his numbers would probably indicate that. But Carlos has always been a pretty solid individual. Hasn't changed a whole lot in that regard over the years. You know, you've got a guy that handles his staff.
I'm a former catcher, caught in the minor leagues a little bit. Caught 100-some-odd games a couple years in a row. So I have a little insight into the mind of a catcher, I guess you'd say. For him to do what he does, it's pretty remarkable. I mean, he handles his staff as good as anybody this year. He's been as clutch as anybody.
In regards to catching though, you see him jumping around at the end of the game. His smile on his face was bigger than anybody's, I'd say. And I think there's a lot to be said for somebody to be on the same page as a pitcher like Doc. To be on the same page like that twice in one year and to go through it, you know, that's as remarkable a feat as Doc normally has, I would say.

Q. As great as Roy was last night, you have another pretty good pitcher going tomorrow in Roy Oswalt, and then on Sunday as well. As a hitter, does it give you like a different sense of confidence knowing that whoever you have going out on the mound there is a good chance that it will at least keep you guys in the game? Is that something different from past playoff seasons that you've been in?
JAYSON WERTH: In regards to our pitchers, the team has done a great job the last couple years in going and getting a guy that's really been able to help us; last year with Cliff and this year with Oswalt.
You bring a guy like that in to any staff, I think that would be a big boost. But you go out and get Halladay in the off-season and then you add that guy, that's a little bit different. Now we've got three guys instead of two. And Cole, of course, has been unbelievable the last three years. He's been a horse and been the guy right at the top of our staff.
You know, I've read some things about where our three are in history and where they kind of fit in. I'm interested to see where those people think they are at the end of this.

Q. As a hitter, does it kind of give you a certain sense of confidence that you don't have to score like ten runs or seven runs?
JAYSON WERTH: I mean, not really. Our offense is pretty offensive minded every night, no matter what. I think we feel we're going to go out and score a bunch of runs every night, even though we haven't done that a whole lot this year. We still have that type of attitude.

Q. How good was Wood's stuff last night? Assuming you'll see him again, what adjustments do you think you'll need to make to him?
JAYSON WERTH: Whose stuff?

Q. Wood's.
JAYSON WERTH: Same stuff we saw from him early in the year. I think the more times you see a guy, the more comfortable you feel against him. But when you play a team out of your division and you only see the guy maybe one time during the season, you see him again in the playoffs, I think that reminds me of Padilla last year. We saw him in Game 1 in L.A. He shoved against us, he was nasty. Then we saw him back here and we were able to get to him.
We have that type of lineup and those type of players that the more you see them, the more apt you are to hit them.

Q. Generally speaking, what is your book on Arroyo? How do you approach him?
JAYSON WERTH: I've never faced him.

Q. Generally speaking?
JAYSON WERTH: Generally speaking. He's a right-hand guy, obviously. Sinker, slider, moves the ball around. Flips a lot of soft stuff in the zone. Pitches, competes. He's been a competitor and a guy that's been a good pitcher over the years. We'll formulate a game plan and be ready for him for sure.
You know, we're just looking at it as any other guy.

Q. Have you sensed today, has Roy come in and kind of acted like something special happened last night, or he kind of came in today and goes back to work like nothing happened last night? What was his approach or mindset when he walked into the clubhouse today?
JAYSON WERTH: I wasn't here nearly as early as he was, but I would just say business as usual. Just another, which is pretty standard. I wouldn't expect anything else.

Q. What over the last few years in the postseason run that you guys have been on, what is your most indelible moment? Did last night compare to Matt Stairs' home run? Did it compare to Jimmy's double in the NLCS last year or the ultimate, Lidge, striking out Hinske? Where did this rank in your personal scrapbook?
JAYSON WERTH: Probably have to wait till after the season to know exactly. But right up there. I would say Jimmy's double last year against the Dodgers was one of the coolest things I've ever seen with the way we came back and how we were down. Even maybe more so than Stairs' homer, but Stairs' homer was right there too. But as time goes on, we're able to kind of take in how special last night was. I'm sure it will continue to go up in the ranks.

Q. Do you ever find yourself in awe at all of everything Roy does from the first day at spring training at 5:30 a.m. to yesterday?
JAYSON WERTH: I go back with Roy a little bit. I was traded over to Toronto in '01, I went to spring training with the Blue Jays, and I was a catcher there. So I was able to catch him a little bit. When you're a catcher, you're involved with the pitchers a little bit more, so I may have known him a little bit more than most guys coming into this.
You know, really nothing really surprises me. He's the type of guy that works harder than everybody, his stuff's better than everybody. He competes harder than everybody. He's just that guy. He's that one guy that you may or may not have a chance to meet in your life.
You know, definitely thankful and grateful to be a part of him, and to be a part of this team with him on it and all that. But nothing really blows me away. Just because you expect so much out of him.

Q. Have you seen Roy improve as a hitter this year? And is it something that he's ever talked to you about? Because it seems like from day one of spring training until now he's really gotten better. And that hit was kind of lost in what he did last night.
JAYSON WERTH: Kind of reminded me of one of those at-bats that Meyers had last year or the year before, whenever that was. He got a big hit from a pitcher that was pretty unexpected.
In regards to me working with Roy on his hitting, we don't, of course. (Laughing). We don't usually talk to pitchers about hitting a whole lot. I think he's done a good job, and obviously, he's a hard worker, as everybody knows. I think he's worked as hard at his hitting as everything else. But big hit last night, for sure.

End of FastScripts

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