Len & Bob's baseball blog

New Cubs reliever Scott Eyre met the media today. Here's a few of the comments from the jovial left-hander:

"As many teams as called, it really surprised me a little bit. I had a lot of headaches the last few weeks talking on the phone so much, but my agent Tommy did an unbelievable job getting me prepared. I guess with all that said let's go Cubs! I haven't researched the team a whole lot. I know a few guys on the team. I can promise you one thing - I'll give you everything I've got every time I pitch, which hopefully like Jim (Hendry) said is about 80 times a year, because I do enjoy pitching. I don't like sitting on the bench."

Can you talk about your last few years?
"I was in Toronto in 2002, pitched in a game and had a tough day, went on the field the next day and they designated me for assignment. It surprised myself and most of my teammates quite a bit. I went to Michigan where my wife's dad lives and got claimed on waivers by the Giants three and a half years ago. Between Bake and Felipe, I think I pitched 260-some times in three and a half years, so they gave me an opportunity to make myself better."

Can you talk more about that opportunity?
"It was just an opportunity to pitch on a regular basis. Felipe in San Francisco showed a lot of faith in me. I'd have a bad game or come in and give up an inherited run or something, and it didn't matter what I did on Monday, I was pitching Tuesday regardless and I was the go-to guy. That installed confidence in myself. I hope I can do the same thing here in Chicago."

You led the league in appearances - how do you keep your arm in shape to throw that often?
"There's a saying Noah Lowery has for me 'no gut no gas.'....I don't run a lot. I ride the bike, do the Precor, and I guess my arm just seems to bounce back after pitching every day. I'll let Larry (Rothschild) know the day I'm tired, but if he asks me to pitch, I'll still pitch. People call that heart or whatever you want to call it, I just call it wanting to play the game I love."

When were you diagnosed with ADD?"
I started taking the medication in May 2002 after simple talks with my trainer, then with a doctor. It made my life a lot easier, trust me. You can tell I didn't take one today, because it takes me a minute to reprocess the questions, especially if I look around the room. That's how it goes. I take Concerta for ADHD. It's just simple, I take one a day. Everywhere I go, it gets to be a joke. I talk a lot and I ramble a lot so you'll have to excuse. Most of my teammates just told me to shut up all the time (laughs). It's not uncommon for me to be told to shut up, so feel free (laughs again).

What attracted you to the Cubs?
I played on the other side of town as a young pitcher. I live in Florida and plain and simple, I love my wife and kids very much and this is closer to home. The fact that they have a good team and Mr. Hendry made it almost impossible to say no. The negotiations lasted about 45 minutes I think and it was done."