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AL DIVISION SERIES: RAYS v RED SOXOctober 7, 2013Jeremy HellicksonTAMPA, FLORIDA: Game Three Q. Can you talk about the not knowing your current situation? You have no idea if you'll pitch tomorrow night or not. Can you talk a little bit about your late‑season slump, I guess is the right word, where you had trouble staying very long in the game? JEREMY HELLICKSON: Well, you know, right now I'm preparing like we're playing tomorrow. I came in yesterday and tossed and worked out a little bit. I'm confident in what we'll do tonight and what the guys are going to do, so definitely planning on pitching tomorrow. And as far as my season went, it's not a good one. Very inconsistent. Very frustrating these last few months. I pride myself on going out there every five days and giving us a chance to win and being consistent. I felt like the last ten starts I don't think I went five in maybe but two of them. So it was very frustrating and it hurt not to go out there every five days and help this team win. Q. With this home crowd atmosphere, the electricity, the energy, just for Alex tonight and you potentially tomorrow, how do you harness that? Is it going to be more nerve wracking, is the heart pounding that much faster because of the playoff situation, you've got the home crowd? How do you harness that energy and make it work for you? JEREMY HELLICKSON:  Well, I'm probably more nervous right now than I will be tomorrow, you know, sitting up here. But you just have to use it in a positive way. It's going to be loud. It's going to be fun. My last playoff start didn't go too well. So I'm ready and looking forward to getting out there tomorrow. Q. As you said, not the season you expected. Given the fact that they have confidence to give you the ball for a potential Game4, how much confidence does that give you and did it surprise you when you heard they were going to go with you in four? JEREMY HELLICKSON:  I was surprised a little bit. I know that what I did the last two months didn't sit too well with the guys making the decision. And I was very happy that they still had confidence in me going out there in a playoff game. The way Archer threw the ball this year was unbelievable. Like I said, I was surprised. But I'm ready and very excited. Q. What do you think the biggest lesson or takeaway from this season will be for you? JEREMY HELLICKSON:  I don't know. I've got to be better. It's not fun what I did the last two months and the first two months. Like I said, I pride myself in going out there and being consistent and I was anything but that. It was very frustrating. I'm glad it's behind me. Tomorrow is a new beginning and I can't really dwell on what I did in the regular season too much. It wasn't my best, but I get another chance tomorrow. Q. Joe talked about Matt and you on extra rest. How much of a difference could you tell when you came back from the rest during the regular season and how you feel right now? JEREMY HELLICKSON:  I definitely felt fresh. The game in LA, I think you could tell I had a little extra on my fastball. And the curveball was a little better. And I just felt fresh. Just taking one start off can help a lot. I felt good before I took that week off, but I just felt just a little more fresh and a little better when I came back. Q. Can you talk aboutfacing the Red Sox and what will be some of the keys to staying and shutting them down? JEREMY HELLICKSON:  I think the biggest key is keeping Ellsbury and Victorino off base. Those guys are the table setters for all that power they have behind them. I think just keeping those two guys off the base will be the key tomorrow. Q. If you do take the mound tomorrow it will be the fifth elimination game that this team has faced in just over a week. How do you think that experience has helped you and the team? JEREMY HELLICKSON:  I think it will definitely help. Every elimination game we went into felt like just another game until we get out there and see the crowd and make some plays and then we're a little more fired up. But we want to be in this situation. We know we can win three in a row. It's going to be difficult but we know we can do it. Q. When all is said and done and you're in the off‑season, anything you'll do differently or anything you'll do to kind of get back on track for next year, soul searching or anything physically? JEREMY HELLICKSON:  No. I felt great physically. If I could do something in the off‑season and help my curveball a little bit, I'd like that to be a little more consistent. I think just the main thing was fastball command just wasn't there. It came and went. Change‑up command wasn't my best either. But I think being a little more consistent with that curveball really helped. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
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