Life on the edge: what a feeling.(Closer)

As an older player, I'm privileged to experience this side of the big leagues for the first time. There is nothing like coming to the park and knowing if you lose, your season is over. All the friendship and good times and "Cowboy Up" are out the window. To be on the edge is what all players want. You see what gets you going. You find out if you can handle it or not.

Those who have been there can draw from their experience. They realize that if you take out all the exterior stuff, you function a lot better. You don't want to look back and say if I had been prepared or if I had not gotten nervous in that situation.

Two things I've learned about the playoffs are that fundamentals really do matter and intangibles are everything. If your team scores and then you go out and keep them from scoring, it's huge. Getting out the guys you should get out is crucial.

After the national anthem, the F-14 flybys and the fireworks, the team that gets that stuff out of its head usually wins. In big games, people want to make something happen so they can be the hero, but if you try to force something, you usually end up out in the cold.

Big games--whether it's the playoffs, opening day or the All-Star Game--come down to pitching. A hitter can do only what a pitcher will let him. If the ...