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NL DIVISION SERIES: GIANTS v REDSOctober 8, 2012Homer BaileyCINCINNATI, OHIO: Workout Day Q. Is there any added excitement at all to be able to pitch to clinch? HOMER BAILEY: I guess in a way, yeah, there is. But if we were tied up or down by 2, I think it would be as important as any other game. In these situations, every game is important. We're in a good spot, but every game at this stage of the season is big. Q. When did you get told that you would be moved up? Did it change anything that you were doing? Did you get advanced notice? HOMER BAILEY: Yeah, I found out about the middle of the first game. After that I asked if I could fly home early so I wasn't quite as jet lagged. Actually worked out good. I threw a regular bullpen that day and stayed on my regular rest anyways, so no excuses, right? Q. In this series it seems like the starting rotation is starting to get attention. Everybody has been talking about different rotations throughout baseball except for you guys. You guys are thriving on this as far as people finally noticing what you guys have done? HOMER BAILEY: I think I commented on that sometime during the season and maybe toward the end. It's just one of those things where I think there is a lot of things that go unnoticed with this club. We have had a bunch of dad things go on this year, one of the things being our rotation, four guys with 200 innings, sub‑4.00 ERAs, and I think it shows the resilience and everything that goes along with our staff. We always want the ball and you saw Latos the first game chomping at the bit. He knew, it was a part that he owned most of his career, pitched so many times and every game we all want the ball. Q. It's been a good year for you as a team and individually for you. Anything that clicked this year versus previous years? HOMER BAILEY: It didn't hurt to throw. That was the big one, that helps. I think just staying healthy, being able to stay on‑‑ keeping that turn going. There are always those bumps during the season where you don't feel quite as good but there is a difference in not feeling quite as good and having problems going on. Q. Do you expect any kind of a reception your first time pitching at home after the no‑hitter? HOMER BAILEY: I will probably be somewhat oblivious to it. Just like any starter on game day unless there is a streaker running cross, you don't pay attention, you're just focused on what you're doing. Q. How much of pitching in this ballpark is mental? HOMER BAILEY: I don't understand that. Q. How much‑‑ it is said to get in some pitcher's minds, how much of it is a battle of the mental side here? HOMER BAILEY: For as long as I know, as long as our plate and mound are the same distance, I'm always looking forward. I know what you mean. It's a short park, we know that. But that doesn't really alter the way you pitch, it doesn't alter the way you go through a game. Sometimes pop‑ups that probably would be caught in San Francisco, do they go out? Yes. Well, if you want to sit around and gripe about it but they're not moving the fences back, so it's not really mental it's more physical, actually, wouldn't you think? A ball flying out of the park is more physical, not really mental. We're always looking forward. You try to get the next guy. If it goes out it goes out, we're playing with the same short porch and the with the way our lineup has been swinging the last couple of days, I'll take it. Q. Speaking of the mental part, is there anything that you will do‑‑ this is probably the biggest game at this point in your career, is there anything that you're going to do that will mentally get you ready for tomorrow night's game? How do you get ready for a game like this? HOMER BAILEY: You guys, it's just another game. There are big things going on outside of it. Absolutely, there are. I think if you take the time to look at all that you're going to miss what's going on in front of you. The mental aspect of the game is something than I think most of you guys have no idea about because you don't do it. The mental aspect of the game is what goes on between your first pitch and last pitch. I prepare the same way and do the exact same thing, I'm on five days just like I normally would be, so nothing has changed. Q. When you as a kid growing up in Texas, did you follow postseason baseball, or were you a huntin' and fishin' kid? HOMER BAILEY: It's going on in Octoberand back home it's 90 degrees, so I watched the postseason instead of sweating it out in the woods, I guess, I remember watching the Nationals always getting beat by the Braves and I became a Braves fan and then when the 'Stros were in it, being from that area you always try to follow it. Q. Can you talk about the end of the season when Dusty was away from you guys? Was that scary for you guys? What about the bond that he has with your team? You guys seem to have grown up together. HOMER BAILEY: Anytime something like that happens, especially with somebody who is close to us, whether it was Dusty or the coaches or players, those kinds of things go beyond the game. They're like family. We don't have a locker room. We have a clubhouse and a clubhouse is where your family lives and we're around each other more than we're around our own families. Those things go beyond the game and to see that he came out and is fine, if you ask him, he's going to tell you it always make him stronger. He always says he's the highlander, so he will probably say he won one more battle. Q. Dusty, anything you want to do different tomorrow? HOMER BAILEY: Try to get strike one‑hitter on Angel Pagan and then we'll go from there. That's what I'm thinking. Q. Where did you watch from last night? HOMER BAILEY: I was watching from my couch, I caught the first two inches in front of me, and me and Johnny got back about 10:30 and I went home and watched most of it. Q. What did you think of Homer's performance? HOMER BAILEY: Awesome, couldn't have done any better. It just kinda goes on par with what the rest of our staff and our bullpen has been doing all year. If somebody said he was going to go out there and throw seven inning $of one‑hit baseball, you probably would have slugged your shoulders and said "I believe it." Q.Did it feel weird leaving the guys and coming back here yesterday? HOMER BAILEY: A little bit, as much as we're around each other but it made sense. I didn't land at 7 a.m. I was still sleeping. So today I woke up back on regular time and I have a‑‑ I have one more whole day to kinda get back into it. Q. What do you think the atmosphere will be like tomorrow? HOMER BAILEY: I don't know. Q. Two years ago you were down 2‑0, now you're up 2‑0. HOMER BAILEY: We're up 2‑0, so it could be different. I don't know, man, we'll find out tomorrow. Q. So far in this series they've hit a lot of balls at your defenders. Can you talk about the importance of scouting to positioning guys? HOMER BAILEY: Man, you're going to have to ask Speier and Dusty that one, I throw this way, whatever goes on behind me I have no control over. You're going to have to ask Dusty that one. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
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