On if there was any doubt they’d get here:
“There was never any doubt. We knew that last year was somewhat of a fluke. We kind of got caught not really knowing what to expect. A lot of these guys they took the attitude of trying to hang on, this year we took the bull by the horns and we were like we were shooting for the stars. We’re still shooting for the division until they close us out. and we’ll let the wild card be a byproduct of finishing second and coming up short. But we’ve still got life.”
On how he missed home plate, with all the drama of the night:
“It’s a good question. I was in between sliding and standing up, nobody was telling me anything. I thought I might have got a toe on it but I wasn’t willing to walk off to the dugout, so I figured I better go back and tough home plate.”
On his feelings, what tonight means, his career, retirement decision:
“It makes it all worth it. I’m happier for these guys. We had a goal coming out of spring training and we’ve given ourselves an opportunity. That’s the biggest thing.”
On what this means after last year:
“It’s huge. A lot of vindication, a lot of relief in this clubhouse after last year for us to clinch a spot and give ourselves an opportunity at the postseason. That’s all you can ask for coming out of spring training every year.”
On having an impact all year, no different in ninth:
“You go up there every at-bat and you’re trying to be as tough an out as possible. I know in the ninth inning what I’ve got to do. I’ve got to pick out a good pitch and I’ve got to put a good swing on it and let the chips fall where they may from there. Luckily I split a gap. I know they were playing no doubles so I had to split the gap perfectly. It fell in, we got a break with the wild pitch and then Freddie put a great swing on a fastball.”
On some lessons learned from last September:
“Not to look in the rearview mirror. Keep looking out the front windshield. I think we got caught kind of looking in the rearview mirror and counting down the days and whatnot and that’s the wrong attitude to have. You’ve got to go out there and take the bull by the horns and shoot for the top of the division and let the wild card be a byproduct.”
On regaining lead for Medlen:
“He’s not going to be perfect. He pitched great. He made two mistakes the whole night, and a guy that hadn’t hit a home run all year, in his entire career, takes him deep twice. It just doesn’t make sense sometimes but I feel like as long as I’ve got an at-bat in the ninth, we’ve got a chance. I was lucky enough to set the table and Freddie Freeman mopped it up.”
On how satisfying:
“It’s great. I’ve done it before. I’m happy for these guys because they were the ones who were feeling it after last year. I’m extremely happy for some of these young guys, they were looking forward to a champagne bath last September and didn’t get to experience and this year they finally get to. They’re going to realize these are pretty fun so maybe it’s a little shot of adrenaline for them.”
FREDDIE FREEMAN
On the walkoff:
“This is the coolest thing that’s ever happened to me.”
On if still floating on air:
“I have yet to come down. I don’t think I’m going to come down tonight. Talk to me tomorrow to see if I’m still in the air. I probably will be.”
On Chipper leading off the ninth, feel like this is your night:
“You knew…Chipper has done it all year. That’s what he’s a Hall of Famer for. He got the rally started today. For us to win this game right now, how 2011, 2012 has come full circle it’s a great moment and it’s a great moment for this team. But we still have a long way to go because we’re not out of the division yet.”
On the sequence:
“I saw slider-slider-fastball. I was just trying to get the ball up, the ball in the air, trying to get a good pitch to hit. I sold out 1-0 thinking he was going to throw a fastball. He didn’t. He threw one 1-1 and I was able to get a good swing on it and hit one out of here to win this game.”
On no ambush:
“No. I was going to take a pitch because when I faced him in Miami, he threw first pitch slider. I took that same approach. I took a pitch just to see, and I guessed right. Like I said it’s the coolest thing that’s ever happened to me.”
On watching it out:
“Right when I hit it, I could just feel it going through. I knew I hit it good. I didn’t see it hooking at all. I saw backspin. I just can’t believe this right now. this is unbelievable.”
BRIAN MCCANN
On this might not erase last year but all you could do was move forward:
“I feel like it does erase it because basically it’s the same ball club. What we had to feel in the offseason, what we had to feel coming into spring training. We all came together and played really good baseball for six months and Chipper’s last year, I think this couldn’t be a better story. For him to lead off the ninth, get a double and then Freddie Free to take that pitch dead center field. People at home don’t know how hard that is to take a lefty to dead center. It’s been a great season.”
On fitting to see Chipper running in from third:
“It’s very fitting. When he lead off the ninth, we were all sitting there saying he’s going to do something special here. And he took a 94 mph fastball that was on the black and hit a ball to right center field on a line. It’s just been a remarkable year all the way around.”
On Medlen:
“He missed location on two pitches tonight, but other than that he’s been pretty remarkable.”
KRIS MEDLEN
On his outing:
“It’s not a bad outing when you can go back and look at two pitches that you threw that you regret. I just missed location with both of them. Tip your cap. First two home runs? Tip your cap, especially when he took me oppo. We were kinda just – we’ll just stay away from him and kind of dare him to take me that way and he took me that way in a big spot too. You’ve got to tip your cap. I felt like I was in somewhat control the whole game. I felt great. Chipper made a few good plays behind me. It was extremely exciting.”
On the value of keeping a game close:
“Yeah, they’re all stressful innings when you’re in a one-run game like that the entire time. You’ve just got to focus and try not to make a mistake. I made one to him late in the game with a guy on base. Dobbs did a great job of fighting off that two-seamer inside. It’s just one of those things and I had all the faith in the world in the guys. You’ve got Chipper leading off, that’s always a good start. You don’t know if he’s going to lay down a drag bunt or something and get things going. You always have faith when you have a guy like that leading off and a guy like Freddie behind him.”
On trying the streak:
“This was one of the better outings I’ve had during this little streak. I’ve given up four, given up five and guys just play their butts off and it’s gotten me to this little streak thing. I’m just excited. I’m excited, you give up a few runs and the guys battle back for me. I couldn’t be more happy.”
On the pressure coming into this game:
“There’s always pressure. You can clinch but we clinch an opportunity to try to clinch. It’s the way things are now. We’re happy to be there, especially the way things ended last year for us. Couldn’t be happier.”
On how excited he is to pitch in the postseason:
“I can’t explain it. 2010 I had to sit there and watch it which was no fun. I’m just really looking forward to it, and I’m looking forward to battling with these guys.”
On where he was when Freeman homered:
“Sitting in the seat (in the clubhouse). I said some things I probably shouldn’t have said in there, things that I would do if he hit a home run and he did. I am a man of my word but not really. Not to that extent. Like I said, you’ve got Chipper and Freddie, there’s an opportunity right there to do some damage and they did. I’m not lying when I say I knew that was going to happen.”
On how high he bounced:
“I was pretty high. It was one of those ones where it was either going to be a sac fly or it was going to hit the back of the hitters’ eye which it did. Either way, to get off the hook personally, great. Who cares? We won, the guys battled. It was awesome.”
On one of coolest moments of his life:
“Yeah, especially being a part of it. For chipper too, to be able to keep playing. Any extra games we can get for him, it’s a huge thing.”
On pitched two innings last year, Freeman threw helmet, things coming full circle:
“You can’t really win consistently until you lose. You’ve got to have that heartbreak to know how to react in certain situations and how to bounce back. It’s huge for us to be in this situation, especially since the way things ended last year. Losing’s a big part of being able to win and that’s what we’re doing so far. We’ve still got some games to go. Whoever it is we’re going to play we’ll be prepared.”
On attacking September:
“You see MLB Network and all that stuff, showing film from last year and talking about September. Of course it’s in your head, but we’re a different team this year. We already went through that. We know how to react to the negative and turn it into positive. That’s what we’ve done all year. We’ve had eight-game losing streak, eight-game winning streak, we’ve kind of just been up and down all year but for the most part we’ve been pretty consistent, if that makes any sense.”
FREDI GONZALEZ
On how he feels when moment comes:
“You don’t know whether to laugh or cry or look for somebody to hug or slap on the back. It’s special and you’ve got to give a lot of credit to those guys out there after what we went through in September of last year and for him to come out and win 89 games and still have a chance to win a few more and still try to get a division. Those guys are awesome.”
On if eyes are red from champagne or something else:
“Probably champagne. Grown men don’t cry.”
On battling back:
“And Med pitched a great game. He gave up the two home runs to Solano. We knew going in he was their hottest hitter and he proved it tonight. Chipper with a double to lead off the ninth, big moment and Freeman was outstanding to hit the ball to straightaway center like that. Real proud of the guys. I know it’s going to be a difficult task but let’s just keep going and see if we can catch them.”
On if heard from Bobby Cox:
“He was the second phone call I made. I called Pam first, then I called him. It was good. I just listened a little bit. He’ll be down here a little later in the week.”
On Chipper’s impact:
“And he wants to keep playing. Every time he slides I cringe. We’ll keep playing him and keep running him out there maybe limit him to a couple at-bats. I know the fans want to see himi play and he wants to play for the fans but maybe we’ll back off a little bit here in the next couple days.”
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