I think if we just stay focused on what we focus on, which is ourselves, playing good ballgames, trying to win every day, don't take wins with us, don't take losses with us, if we just stay with that approach the results are going to be what they're going to be.
Gerrit Cole
A lot of these dips that you go through in the season, it's about persisting through the process and trusting it.
There's a human element here you start to lose when you start rattling off the best mathematical equation to get the out.
When you start lifting weights in the offseason in like November, you're like, 'Ah, I'm going to get this thing up so I can get to the World Series.'
It was a pleasure to play in Houston.
I mean, our job is - we're baseball players, we have to go to work. But when it all boils down, we're just a bunch of kids out there having fun trying to entertain people.
In an industry where you don't always get to see your family as much as you would like, getting to hug your mom after the game is nice.
Strikeouts are something that just happen. You don't go for strikeouts, because your pitch count gets too high. When you do get that opportunity, you have to put them away with whatever is working that day.
As a competitor, you want to pitch against the elite guys and really good guys.
You have to win the grinders.
There's going to be ups and downs throughout the whole year. You can't get frustrated.
I was hurt in 2016, and it made me look at longevity and sustainability. The stuff that I was doing wasn't working for me long term. So, I had to make a change.
I certainly wouldn't pay for a ticket to watch a math equation.
I think that's kind of the common theme when you talk about any good team. Not only do you have the talent and the type of players that allow you to win that many games, but you have to win the ugly ones.
I've just got to keep doing what I'm doing, because from all the compliments I've received so far, it sounds like I'm on the right track.
I try to show up and do my job and get my work in every day, keep pressing forward.
I've always just kind of prided myself on just taking the ball and just trying to give your team a chance to win, and I really don't try to make it any more complicated than that.
Family is everything.
My job is to go out there and just, with whatever I got that day, just give my team the best chance to win.
Every good team is going to have a good culture in the clubhouse.
I just like to leave it out there and feel like I put in a good day's work.
The most rewarding thing to me is going deep into games, knowing you stood up, and did your job.
I'm a sucker for Wrigley, so I feel I'll probably be a sucker for Fenway, too.
I feel like sometimes I'm in a position to really do some good, so I try to do that.
Any time you can get in a position to start to get some of the quality work in as early as possible, I think it gives you a leg up or at least gives you the opportunity to be really prepared for the first time you take the ball.
What I've been able to do is pretty cool, but there is a lot of room for improvement.
There's a lot of different aspects of the game that I've fine-tuned.
I think there's a quiet aggression that you need to have, that presence that you have on the mound, the poise, you know.
You've got to try to close every inning out, take it one inning at a time, one batter at a time.
You try not to pay too much attention to the hype before the game, because you never know what's going to happen.
If I'm not going to make the pitch, then so be it. I'm not going to try to manipulate the ball or muscle the ball over the plate where I want it to go.
There's no WAR for being a good teammate, so apparently that means older guys can't get paid.
We definitely like to celebrate the wins, that's for sure.
David Price comes and finds me out in the lobby and says, 'Dude, I really enjoy watching you pitch.' I'm just like, 'What's wrong with you? Watch your own games, bro. I just throw fastballs inside. You're painting all over the place, striking the world out.'
I tremendously value wins.
Health is key.
You can only control so much.
When you dream as a little kid, you dream about storybook endings and storybook players and scenarios like that.
A lot of my friends at home call me 'Chef G.'
You know in a playoff atmosphere anything can happen.
I've got to keep my pitch count down. If you want to go deep into ballgames, you have to stay under that 100 mark.
When they have the lead, you don't want to fall into too predictable counts because they're playing with house money at that point. You want to try to be creative and keep them off-balance as much as you can.
You have to win the easy ones.
Verlander is a guy every right-handed power pitcher looks up to since the beginning of time.
You get into a tough spot where you're not feeling good and you can't do what you're typically accustomed to doing, you just keep grinding.
If you can constantly just put pressure on all four quadrants, it gives you a little more leverage to be able to fill the zone up with breaking balls and fastball counts - or with breaking balls when guys are maybe sitting on the fastball that you've established.
The season is long. You go through aches and pains with your brothers. When it's on the line, you just want to give them - you know, you want to perform. You want to give them a shot to win the game.
Base runners in postseason games are kind of tough to deal with at times.
Altuve is just so good at that. He can decide halfway to the plate where he's going to place the ball. I've never seen that kind of talent before in my life, and I don't know if I'll ever see it again.
You get into a situation where your back's up against the wall and you don't have any option but to go out swinging, so you might as well go for it.
