The Post’s Steve Serby sat down with the lefty Mets ace who is 15-7 with a 2.64 ERA and hasn’t lost since June 28.
Q: It’s Saturday night; the season is on the line Sunday . . . what are your emotions Saturday night?
A: Can’t wait until the game starts.
Q: With the season on the line?
A: You know, every game for me is very important. But when the game is on the line, I’m gonna be ready for it. I guarantee you that I’m gonna be ready.
Q: And Sunday morning when you wake up, your teammates are counting on you to make the playoffs, there isn’t a place you’d rather be than on the mound that day?
A: This is what we’re here for. There’s no tomorrow, there’s nothing else. You just gotta go out there and do it. It doesn’t matter if it’s the first game of the season or if it’s the last one. It’s always the pride that you have in yourself and how professional you are when you take the mound that separates you from another.
Q: The football expression Just Give Me the Damn Ball is what you're all about?
A: Just give it to me, I'll be ready.
Q: They used to call Reggie Jackson Mr. October. Are you ready to be Mr. October?
A: If that's what I have to do, I'll be ready.
Q: You beat the Yankees in the 2004 playoffs at the Stadium; the atmosphere in the playoffs is different, right?
A: It is, 'cause every single pitch counts, and then the fans added to it the whole time, from the first pitch to the last.
Q: How crushing would it be if this team did not make the playoffs?
A: A lot of people talk about what happened last year and stuff; I wasn't here last year, but I guarantee you that these guys don't think about what happened last year. Things sometimes don't work out the way you want it to, or the people want it to, and then you just gotta take it like a man.
Q: A third Cy Young award, or a World Series championship?
A: A World Series championship.
Q: Did the boo-birds bother you early in the season?
A: They have the right to do whatever they want . . . and I know that the only thing they want is us to win. I took it as a little bit of a challenge. I always say, it's not how you start, it's how you finish.
Q: Describe your temperament on the mound.
A: I'm not gonna get beat, that's the way I am. Even though I don't show my emotions, you know I'm there, and I'm gonna let everybody know that I'm there. You gotta have presence on the mound, and you gotta let everybody know that "I'm in charge."
Q: Do you enjoy being an ace?
A: I think it's fun. Every player in baseball, in the minor leagues, that's what they dream of - to be in the highest level possible, and to be in the best situation and the biggest challenge, and that's the way I am.
Q: You can block everything out, can't you?
A: I get on top of my game right from the get-go. I don't just think about, "Oh, I'll get 'em next inning, I'll get em next at-bat." I get it right away, 'cause that's the way I am.
Q: Would you like to see Jerry Manuel back as manager?
A: Definitely. He's been great, and he put this team back together. There's a lot of lot challenges going on since he took over, but he has been able to handle everything and manage every single player, and to talk to them, and to be part of it.
Q: He loosened up the environment?
A: One thing he said, he just wants us to be . . . us. "Whatever you want to do, just do it. But I just want you to go out there and give me the best you have, and a little bit more." He's a great guy, we can talk to him any time, about anything. He's always there.
Q: Fill in the blank: one day Jose Reyes will -
A: Break the record for most stolen bases.
Q: One day David Wright will -
A: Be the MVP in a World Series.
Q: Your two daughters, Jasmily (6) and Jasmine (3)?
A: Every time you go back home, you see those little ones call me Daddy, it's a great feeling. My oldest one looks like my wife (Yasmile) and she's like my wife, and the little one is the wild one.
Q: Were you a wild one as a kid?
A: That's what my mom said (smiles).
Q: Does the older one get a kick that her daddy is a star pitcher?
A: They really love the games and now they're going to school, and my daughter gets upset because she has to go to bed about 8, 8:30.
Q: Even when you're pitching?
A: A rule is a rule. They gotta go to school.
Q: You started playing fantasy football three years ago.
A: My first-round pick was Manny Ramirez (laughs).
Q: You went to the U.S. Open tennis men's finals.
A: They make it look so easy and simple, and believe me, it's not.
Q: You bought a fire engine, hospital supplies and children's gifts for the people of your hometown in Venezuela.
A: Even though you're here, you can't forget where you're coming from, and don't forget that your loved ones and a lot of friends of yours are there. There's no better feeling in the world than to see those little ones happy.
Q: Seems like yesterday when you were growing up a left-handed shortstop.
A: Dreams can come true, but you have to go for it.
Q: What would you say to Met fans if this team were to choke?
A: I'm gonna give everything that I have, and when I walk out of there, I will say, "I gave my best." These guys are ready for that, to be ready to give everything they have on the field.
Q: Your message for Met fans?
A: Be positive and leave all the negativity away. I would say that we'll have the right guys to make it happen all the way . . . and then once the regular season is over with, and we make it to the playoffs, you're going to see a very, very intense team going out there trying to make it all the way.
Q: So you expect to be in the playoffs?
A: Definitely!
Q: So if you have to throw 170 pitches with the season on the line, you're ready to that.
A: If they let me do that, believe me.