Up Close with the Pittsburgh Sports Report
Pirates' pitcher Matt Capps

Matt Capps took over the closer role for the Pirates in early June last season. Capturing 18 saves in 20 opportunities after stepping into the role, Capps held right-handed hitters to a .181 average and all opposing batters to .220. A 24 year-old Douglasville, Ga. native, he will play a key role in the Pirates' success this year. PSR's Stacy Gault caught up with the Bucs' closer in Bradenton last month.

PSR: What are your goals for this season?

Matt Capps: As a team, win the World Series. As an individual, save every game I get an opportunity to save. Until you reach perfection, you always have something you can improve on and something you can work on. That's my mindset - until I reach perfection, I want to keep working to get there. Until this team wins a World Series, we'll keep working to get to that direction and when that happens, we'll work to maintain it.

PSR: Do you ever put a number or quantity on your goals?

Capps: No, it's so hard to put a number on something like that. It's more of a team effort and group effort than just me as an individual. Numbers-wise, if they give me 50 opportunities, I want to save 50. If they give me 40 opportunities, I want to save 40.

PSR: How is this spring training different than past years?

Capps: Enthusiasm; the attitude is a little bit different. Guys seem a little bit more excited this year than they have the last couple years. I can't really say what it is, or put a finger on anything that's much different. We've got a new staff, new people and we're trying to learn their ways and learn what they're all about and incorporate that into what we know works for us, and try to take things to the next level.

PSR: What did you do this off-season?

Capps: I was in five weddings. Well, I was in three but I went to five (none were his). I live here in Bradenton, so I was here. I was at Pirate City Monday through Friday. I also got a golden retriever named Piper, so that occupied most of my time.

PSR: Do you have any pre-game rituals?

Capps: I like to sit in the dugout the first couple innings and see at least one time through the order of the opposing team. So usually the first three innings or so I'm in the dugout and then I go in, put my spikes on, put my jersey on, grab my glove and walk out to the bullpen. Then I'll stretch during the seventh inning.

PSR: How do you pass the time in the pen?

Capps: Conversation is the biggest thing. There isn't a whole lot of quiet time down there. We go over things that happened the night before, who threw and how he felt. What success did he have with what pitch against certain guys…

PSR: What is your reaction to the fan support you've received?

Capps: It's been great. The people that started the "Capps' Crew" are younger kids but very nice people. They're at every game to have fun, and for whatever reason I did something to catch their attention and they took a liking to me. But our fans in Pittsburgh are second to none. With the last 15 years the way it's been, the fans and support we've had is pretty incredible. If you go to different cities that haven't had winning seasons, the support they get is terrible. We're supported like a franchise that's won the past 10 years. I'm excited to see what it will be like when we do start winning. I can't say a single bad thing about a Pirates fan I've run into so far.

PSR: Last year you batted 1.000. Should fans expect any plate appearances this year?

Capps: It's not a good thing if I hit, but you can't teach speed so I'll put the ball on the ground and run as fast as I can. I can always say I hit 1.000 one year.

PSR: What other pitches have you worked on this spring in addition to your fastball?

Capps: I've been working on my changeup a lot. This spring training my changeup is probably the pitch I've thrown the most. My slider is also coming along pretty nice. My changeup is something I got away from for a few years and had to start from scratch to re-develop it. When I was a starter in the minor leagues, I threw it a whole lot and it was something I was pretty comfortable with. When I moved to the bullpen, I got away from it, didn't throw it a whole lot and lost the feel for it. I'm trying to rediscover that and I'm pretty happy with how it's coming along.

PSR: What is your role on the team and in the locker room?

Capps: I'm a mediator. I'm not a guy that's had a whole lot of time or experience compared to some of the other guys. But we have guys with less time and experience than me, so I'm in the middle somewhere. To be able to bridge that gap between the younger guys and older guys is a good thing. There is also a leadership role that some guys look for me to carry, but there is also that mediator role.

Capps Talks About America's National Pastime

I'm playing a kid's game for a living. This is my job. This is what I dreamed of as a kid to want to do and now here I am doing it. It's everything I thought it would be and a little bit more.

It's still baseball, the all-American game. It's what kids of 100 percent purity and innocence go out in the neighborhood and play. There has been some negative attention, but it's still the same game. I don't care how strong you are, you still have to hit a round baseball with a round bat. I don't see any possible way of doing steroids or HGH and not getting caught right now. I think it's a game families should come out and watch. It's a game our fathers and our father's fathers, all the way down the line, raised us to watch and love and believe in. It's still the same game. The game part of it hasn't changed.