[Because of what the Yankees are and the fact he has pitched for them, Lilly agreed there might be something a little different for him when he starts against them.] There's a little bit to that, ... and just the fact that beating a good team feels good. |
A lot of times, they feel that pressure. |
At this point I feel pretty confident (about making Saturday's start). I felt good. Tomorrow should be a better indication. |
By locating, I can be able to do that, [even] if I may be off a little that night. |
Every year, [the Yankees are] going to have a pretty potent lineup, ... and I think I've run into them on a lot of days where I haven't been throwing the ball very well. Even today, I thought I threw the ball pretty well, and I still gave up three runs. It's just a really tough club to go out there and control. |
Every year, they're going to have a pretty potent lineup. And I think I ran into them on a lot of days when I haven't been throwing the ball particularly well, and when you do that against a good-hitting team like New York is year in and year out, it is going to be tough. Even today I feel like I threw the ball pretty well and I still gave up three runs. I mean it's just a tough club to really go out there and control. |
From a player standpoint, I feel like our GM did everything that he could to give us a chance to win. To top it off, we got one of the best catchers in baseball to finish off the off-season. Now it's up to us. |
He's played long enough that he knows he's very capable of breaking out of [a slump]. That comes from experience and success, and being a veteran, and knowing that you can work your way out of a little skid. |
I can't imagine that it would [keep me out very long]. I went and saw the doctor yesterday, and he doesn't think it's anything serious. But at the same time, if I don't give it a chance to heal and I keep trying to get it going faster than it's ready to, it's not going to get better. |
I definitely was more conscious of making sure I didn't take any chances on doing something that would set me back. |
I definitely was more conscious of making sure I didn't take any chances on doing something that would set me back. I think the last two springs were kind of fluke-ish. At the same time, I'm more conscious of it, but I don't want to worry about it so much that I don't live a normal life. |
I definitely would have liked to have [started]. But I just didn't want to make it worse. |
I didn't feel that good (Monday). I'm pleasantly surprised with how it went (yesterday). |
I didn't think that would be very difficult. He's been at this for a long time, he knows what he's doing. I have a lot of confidence in him, it's just a matter of me going out there and executing pitches. |
I don't think ... I know it's a big year for both the club and myself. But it seems like every year that I've had in my career is a big year, whether it be the first one when you're trying to break in and prove yourself or the second one to prove the first one was no fluke, whatever the reasons. |