Brewers right-hander Jeff Suppan will take the ball against Philadelphia in Game 4 of the National League Division Series Sunday afternoon at Miller Park.

Suppan met with reporters Saturday. Here is a transcript:

Question: Having previous experience in World Series and divisional play before, does that kind of give you a little bit of an edge to yourself mentally going into a game like tomorrow?

JEFF SUPPAN: Yeah, you know, all experiences go into every start, especially postseason starts. My approach is the same, but I do have experience in pitching in games like these.

QUESTION: Do you remember or forget your last start against the Phillies as you approach this one?

JEFF SUPPAN: Do I remember the start? Of course.

QUESTION: Or do you just forget?

JEFF SUPPAN: It's a great question. I appreciate that one (laughter). No, I mean, that's a good question.

I think my approach has always been the same as far as that goes. Emotionally I forget it. But I can never go back. When I'm 50 years old, I can't go back when I threw against the Phillies in Philadelphia and I can't change the numbers or the start or anything like that.

But that's a part of my routine and how I process different things. I would use that for this next start, though, all my starts against the Phillies.

QUESTION: You said throughout September that the issue was not being able to set up your other pitches with your fastball. Have you had the time to look at video or analyze things to figure out what was happening with your fastball command? Do you have anything you've changed going into tomorrow?

JEFF SUPPAN: Well, it's a process. Sometimes when you're in games, you should be able to make adjustments on your fastball or any pitch. September was a month where I thought I was making adjustments, but the result was the same on my fastball. So I worked on that in between starts, and I feel I've made the necessary adjustments on my fastball.

But that is definitely a big part of my game is execution of my fastball, number one, and then my other pitches.

QUESTION: As somebody who's seen what a successful postseason team looks like in the past, I know the results haven't been what you guys wanted, but how have these guys handled this attitude-wise?

JEFF SUPPAN: I think they've handled it very well. It's been a situation where we had a rough four games the last time we faced them during the season, but I don't think that had any effect on our last two games. I thought we played very well and we didn't come up with the win.

But I think for such a young team, for a corps that is pretty young, position-players-wise, they've done a fine job of controlling their emotions and going out and just letting the game happen.

QUESTION: With what the team has gone through the last month, the really highs going into September, then that tough stretch, then that incredible last week where you were playing like a playoff game every night, and now these first two games in Philadelphia, how emotionally draining has that been for the team and how hard is it to keep bouncing back and going through that?

JEFF SUPPAN: Well, I mean, that's kind of why you play. You play to play in big games. And is it emotional? Yes, it is emotional and you do have highs and lows. It's something that for me, like I have a routine, a certain way I do things and I make sure I get my sleep because sometimes you forget about that. You're so emotional and you're riding that roller coaster. The team has done a fine job of balancing that -- I forgot your question, actually.

QUESTION: Just the emotional drain of it, how do you keep bouncing back?

JEFF SUPPAN: Okay, so the emotional drain of it is definitely there. How you deal with it is you recognize that there is an emotional drain, and you try to separate yourself from all the other things that are going on, and you really try to focus on what you do as a player to go out and perform.

 Page 1 of 2 (view all on one page)

Next >>

Post a comment / write a review.