It's that time again: the pre-game press conferences with Josh (and Tito and Tek) were today at Fenway. ESPN is intent on reporting that Josh was "angry" when he spoke, but they clearly have never seen a Josh press conference before. He was just annoyed and bored- you know, his normal self.

Josh talked about C.C., his experiences with Tito Francona as a manager, the 1-0 game he pitched against the Indians in July (watch his reaction to that question- you can tell he goes blank at first, like "What friggin' one-nothin' game are you talkin' about?", and then... "oh. that's a dumb question."), if he ever thinks about what he would do pitching to Papi and Manny, if he agrees with Tito's description of him as an 'emotional' guy (he makes the reporter repeat that question, nice stall tactic Josh), channeling his emotions, the Indians lineup, the benefit of playoff experience, and throwing a postseason shutout.

He's also surprisingly candid about his anxiety on gameday- and admits that he's nervous the whole day on his scheduled starts (I'm surprised he owned up to that)... but that the nervousness fades the moment he throws his first pitch.

Never fear, all the standard Josh-isms are present: the blank stoneface, the faces at stupid questions, the eyerolling, the deadpan responses, and everyone's favorite "executing pitches". But there's something new in this press conference... see if you can spot it.

Quotes of the day:

On whether the matchup with Sabathis adds motivation:

"Our hitters gotta worry about C.C. Sabathia, not me."

On Tito referring to him as an 'emotional' guy:

"I'm not into self-proclaimed nicknames or anything like that. So, if he says that, I guess I agree with it. He's my manager, he tells me what to think."

On the benefit of playoff experience of the pitching staff:

"I didn't have any [playoff experience] in '03 and I did pretty good."

On whether this Indians team is the same team they faced before:

"Not in October. Everybody's locked in this time of year. Ain't nobody out there just flailing away."

Be careful, Josh- your Texan is showing.

But the best part is when a reporter starts to ask him a question about the Tribe, and he gets as far into the question as, "When you look at that Indians lineup..." when Josh interrupts him with a stone-faced:

"This oughta be good."

And you hear the reporters trying to muffle their laughs, and several of them can't hold it in and let a few guffaws out. And then there is an actual break in Josh's armor, and he grins. GRINS! A tiny grin, to be sure- but still!

This is not a doctored photo.