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AL DIVISION SERIES: RANGERS v RAYS

October 2, 2011

David Price

TAMPA, FLORIDA: Workout Day

THE MODERATOR: Okay. We'll get started with questions for David.

Q. David, I'm not going to cut any corners. You didn't have the best September. What do you feel like you needed -- you need to do different now that we are in October than you did during your starts in September?
DAVID PRICE: Win a game, you know, most importantly I feel like. That's the biggest thing. September was a winless month for me, and that is -- that's unacceptable.
So I need to come out tomorrow and throw the ball well and give us a chance to win.

Q. David, after losing Game 5 here last year to the Rangers, how exciting is it to have one year later the same exact opportunity against the same team?
DAVID PRICE: It's pretty unique. It's a good opportunity for me to have. You know, this is a very tough lineup obviously and it is a tough lineup to pitch against, and it's a lineup that I really hadn't had a whole lot of success against in the past.
So it will be good for -- something for me to be able to get off my back whenever we get this over with, and that's what I am looking to do.

Q. Dave, Joe mentioned something about you maybe game planning a little different this time, maybe not just against them, but overall. What kind of things can you do differently, or just a few secondary stuffy I guess?
DAVID PRICE: Yeah, I mean, like Matt Moore did, strike one and strike two. He was 0-1 and 0-2 a lot the other night whenever he pitched, and that calls for some defensive swings. Whenever you can get that out of guys like on a Rangers team, that's what you need.

Q. David, so much of the season people talked about the lack of offense, and now suddenly the last two, three games you are scoring a lot of runs. As pitchers, what do you think of that?
DAVID PRICE: That is awesome. You know, it's the right time for it. If they want to get hot right now, obviously that's what we need. And that's the team that's going to probably go out there and win a championship is the team that's the hottest in the month of October.
So if we can continue to swing the bats the way we're swinging right now, and if our pitchers can pitch the way we have pitched pretty much all year, we'll be all right.

Q. Dave, I wanted to ask you, you face these guys, you haven't had much success. Do you overly think about prior occasions where you had more success -- I mean not too much success with a team, or you adjust, or just forget about the previous encounters you might have had against these guys?
DAVID PRICE: It is tough to forget about it. It is two postseason losses. But it is something that I think about and something that I want to get over with.
I am not intimidated by this lineup by any means or anything like that, but it is a very good offensive lineup and they make it tough to pitch. But it's postseason baseball and you have to be able to step up and make some pitches for your team.

Q. David, you've pitched in so many big postseason games in your young career here, what do you take away from that experience and what is playoff baseball like to pitch in?
DAVID PRICE: You know, just like in regular season baseball, one pitch can beat you. And that's the toughest thing. But it is the postseason. You are going to be amped up, you have your emotions, your adrenaline is running high.
You have to be able to make sure that you can control your emotions, and that's probably the biggest thing. Just take it one pitch at a time, being able to control your emotions.

Q. David, when you're looking at this ballgame, the approach that you take, do you want it to be different than the approach that you had in April, June, July? Or is it something different you have to do for the postseason?
DAVID PRICE: No, not at all. I feel that's probably when people get into trouble, when they try to do something different as opposed to what they have been doing all year.
I have a routine that I have, and I'm going to stick to it. And I feel it is a pretty good one. And I will go out tomorrow and look to have success against the Rangers and take it from the first inning.

Q. After last year's Division Series, did you go home and watch the ALCS and World Series or did you have to try to forget about baseball?
DAVID PRICE: No, I didn't watch it. I didn't go back and watch the games or anything like that. I didn't forget about baseball. It's what I love to do. I think about it every day.
But it was tough to get over that, absolutely. The same team beating you twice here at your home ballpark in front of your home fans. That was a tough pill to swallow.
But it's going to make me better. I know it will. So I'd like to have many more postseason starts, starting with tomorrow.

Q. David, you're always so good about picking your teammates up. I am wondering if at any point here in this last month you have had any sort of crisis of confidence, or has anyone reached out to you to return the player?
DAVID PRICE: No, there hasn't been any crisis of confidence going on. I feel good. My body feels good, my arm feels good. I've had a good week of playing catch. I had a very good bullpen three days ago, so I'm looking to throw like me out there tomorrow, and that's the bottom line.
I expect to go nine innings and give up zero runs, and that's my game set right now and I guess that's my mindset right now and what I look to do.

Q. David, go back to the time at Vandy when you were thinking about: Do I really want to play baseball? You have to make the decision do you go home, do you stay. Through your career you had a lot of success. When you've had adversity, do you relish these opportunities that you get to prove to yourself that you belong here? Not only do you belong, but maybe you can succeed at the highest levels?
DAVID PRICE: Absolutely. And that's probably every player in baseball. You want to have a chance to be able to shine at that biggest moment, and that's -- for me, that's tomorrow. That's what I am looking to do. I need to be able to step up for our team and our fans, and it's here at home.
So we need to come out here and win tomorrow and play good baseball.

Q. David, I believe the Rangers are the only team you haven't beaten at all regular season, obviously postseason. Are you aware of that? And is there something about their lineup that poses a different challenge for you than other teams? Or is it maybe just coincidence?
DAVID PRICE: I did know that, yeah. And I don't know. It's a very tough lineup to pitch to. They essentially have five Longos in their lineup that are hitting the ball out of the park. They've got I think five guys with almost 30 or four guys with 30 or 30-plus and one guy with 25.
And so, I mean, it is a tough lineup. But I don't doubt myself out of it by any means. I feel like I was throwing the ball all right against them, I threw the ball well against them this year, I threw the ball well against them last year in the regular season as well.
It just hasn't happened as of yet. Just like against the White Sox, it happened this year. And that's what I am looking to do.

Q. David, I think in August you had three successive starts against the Yankees, Boston and Detroit. I think you gave up like three runs in 24 innings or something. That's kind of a tough mental stretch to go through. Do you feel like you had any lasting residual effect on how you finished the season?
DAVID PRICE: Absolutely not, no. I mean, if I don't get hit in the chest with that line drive in Boston, I probably would be able to go out and throw a couple more innings in that game and be just fine. And the game against New York, obviously that's not the way I wanted it to go, but it happened. In Baltimore I gave up the lead in the seventh when it was 2-2.
And that's part of it. It just hasn't happened for me in September, and I feel like I have thrown the ball right. And I am looking to go out there and be dominant.

Q. Dave, last year you did a do-or-die situation which is Game 5. This year it is not such a do or die. Is it a different mental preparation type of thing since it is sudden death type of thing instead of, yeah, we'll take a 2-1 lead with a chance to win the next day? Is it a different mental preparation for that type of thing from the type of sudden death as it was last year?
DAVID PRICE: No, I don't think so. I think in the postseason you have to play every game like it is Game 7. And, you know, I think that's the mindset that everybody takes out there, I feel, because that's -- in the postseason, tomorrow is the biggest game we're going to play. That's the game we need to focus on, that's the game we need to win. It doesn't make a difference if it is Game 1, 2, 3 or 7.
THE MODERATOR: All right. Thanks, David.
DAVID PRICE: Thanks.

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