Berkman's getting uncomfortable talking about how comfortable he is at the plate when the Reds are in the other dugout.
Berkman:
"There's a comfort level when you know you've had success against a team in the past, and it gives you more confidence going into a game and a series. So much of this game is mental, and this could give you a little boost...
...I think a lot of it has to do with the pitching over the years. They've always had a lot of right-handed pitching and not a lot of left-handed pitching, and I'm a much better left-handed hitter than I am a right-handed hitter. I think it's a combination of factors. Statistical anomalies abound in the game. Everybody has one team they do well against and a couple they don't hit very well. I can't explain it more than that."
Arroyo, on facing Berkman:
"He hits anything down and away, which is your safe zone for most guys if you want to stay off their power. He hits that ball to the opposite way with so much juice. He's impossible to pitch to sometimes. You hope you can get inside on him but sometimes he'll jump you there and hit you out of the park. You try to make perfect pitches every time you face him."
Berkman, on the ruckus:
"I'm sure they're tired of hearing about it, and I certainly don't like to have it mentioned, even though it is every time we face them,"
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We didn't come out here to play tiddlywinks, son.
-Hal Smith
