I've got all my buddies calling and telling me, 'Nice job,' and I didn't do anything. They're all giving me crap, [asking 'Are you going to get into these games?' If we don't pitch, we don't pitch. We'll ride these guys' coattails if we have to.

The whole team does that. When I have a bad one on the road and my hotel room phone is ringing, it's a teammate saying he wants to come up and borrow my shoelaces and belt. By no means has it ever been to that point, but they like to have fun a little bit. To be honest, I think that has made it easier for me to deal with.

I think you kick a guy in the butt in a tough situation, it's only gonna make it worse. You shouldn't go out there and say, 'You (stink), it's still a strike.' It's messing with a kid's head.

When Toronto made me the closer, that was something I had to learn to do. The pressure was a factor. I didn't realize until after the fact that it was about winning the game and getting the save anyway you could.

He has gotten a little quieter.

We've been [hearing] it all year. We broke camp knowing no one picked us to do very well during the season. We came out of spring being third or fourth in the polls. We were the underdog all year even when we had a 15-game lead. Nobody really considers us contenders, so if we're underdogs during this whole thing, it would just be the same as it was during the year.