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WORLD BASEBALL CLASSIC: 1ST ROUND POOL CMarch 9, 2017Jose BautistaCarlos MartinezMiami, Florida Dominican Republic - 9, Canada - 2 Q. Jose, how do you feel after having had a good performance today? Are you pleased? Are you prepared well enough? And what is the next strategy for the next game to get prepared and to see if you can continue with the same performance as today? JOSE BAUTISTA: Well, I feel happy. Whenever you contribute to the cause, you are happy, and especially when you have pitchers that are doing such a great job as today. The plan is the same, we have away to get prepared and we don't have to do anything else. We have a good plan and we expect to be healthy enough to be on the field, to play together, and to continue the performance we had today. Q. 27,000 fans, almost 90% percent of the fans from Dominican. What do you feel with that great support for the team? JOSE BAUTISTA: I thought I was in Quisqueya. It was great energy from our fans, from our people. When you play for your country, it cannot be compared to many things. So we felt very good on the field, they transferred that positive energy to us and we with were able to perform. CARLOS MARTINEZ: When we see the Dominican fans on our field, we get more enthusiastic and I think then we put 110%. We are really proud to see so many fans. We always hold a meeting and we're devoted to the fans, first to God and then to the fans who support us. We are really proud that the fans came in and to put our homeland in the right place. Q. In Bradenton we talked about the plan you were going to use in your exit now from the Classic. Did you gamble on not striking out batters, pitching to contact? CARLOS MARTINEZ: Yes, I have a limit on my pitching, I focus on getting the hitters to swing. I don't focus on the batters -- but when you do get them to swing at pitches, with the low count, I can try to get to the fifth or sixth inning. And I was thankful to have the chance to be able to handle that, but with may players on the field, I feel confident. Q. First of all, congratulations. Everybody was paying attention to the game in the Dominican Republic. Carlos, a lot of people came from Puerto Plata to see you pitch in your first Classic, and they gave you the responsibility, because Cueto could not pitch in the first round, to win and to pitch this first game. How do you feel very much when you saw so many fans supporting you and what did you feel in this regard? CARLOS MARTINEZ: In my first Classic, I saw the guys who played the first Classic, I felt very much -- I felt that I was there with them. I said I have to achieve my dream to play for the Dominican Republic, and I achieved it. I'm grateful to the managers that allowed me to have this first game. And I had good focus, and I said this is my game, and I wasn't nervous or anything. I simply worked as I always do. Q. Jose, great game. When you received the news to bat clean-up, did you feel a lot of pressure with a great responsibility given to you? What do you feel now with the result, because you had a good performance. How do you feel? JOSE BAUTISTA: For the same reason that you just mentioned, it was a team full of clean-up hitters. That released me from the pressure. We know we're all pulling in the same direction, and we will all give our all, and we agreed on that from since the first day we practiced, in the clubhouse and I'm just happy to have been able to contribute. Q. There is a very specific motivation, there are two jerseys in the dugout with the names of two fellow countrymen who are not here today. It's a shame that they lost their lives in different tragedies. I know Carlos was very close to Yordano Ventura. The baseball has suffered many losses the past few years. What did that mean to you as inspiration? CARLOS MARTINEZ: To me, for me especially it is painful. And for my fellow players it is also painful, both of them were a big loss. That gives us a lot of emotion to us Dominicans to follow in God's steps, to pray to God, so he will give us a blessed life. When I left the field and saw the two jerseys, so I entrusted myself to God and I know that the two guys, wherever they are, they will be so proud of us. And we're happy because what we're doing, what we're doing for them. JOSE BAUTISTA: It was a very beautiful detail from the management to have those jerseys in the dugout, as an example of the brotherhood among all Dominican players. And as Carlos said, we have to learn from our mistakes, and to start to guide the young people better as they come up. Q. Carlos, we know your importance as a pitcher for the Cardinals. This tournament is different because you can make changes as you advance in the later rounds. Are you prepared to go the entire way or do you have information from St. Louis that you will have to stop? CARLOS MARTINEZ: If I have the health, I'll go to the end. I think God has something so beautiful for us, we are placing our game in the hands of God. We pray before and after the game. So the first thing is to give thanks to God, because he has kept us here and to ask for his blessings, so that we remain healthy. Q. Carlos, how important is the role of the communication that you have with Castillo before this game? And Jose, how favorable is it for you to know Marcus Stroman as a teammate, who is a potential starter for the U.S.? CARLOS MARTINEZ: I always hold a meeting, me personally, with myself, alone, and I get ready mentally. I see the lineup before the game, and secondly I look for my catcher. I always try to give him the trust that the catcher deserves; that he'll call for a pitch and then the trust I have in him. And we're always in communication throughout the game, what we are going to do this inning, and we're always in communication, which is the important thing. JOSE BAUTISTA: Marcus is a great pitcher. We cannot be too over confident. I know he'll pitch in the game but I don't know if he'll start. But the certainty that he's going to pitch in the game, is almost 100%. He is a player that plays with a lot of passion, a lot of energy. He's Latino. He's playing for United States, but his mother is a Puerto Rican. And I know that he's going to give all his effort in defeating us, and we'll try hard to defeat him, because in a game where all the players are coming to bring out their best, anything can happen. So we'll try with our health and we'll all play together, and we'll continue to play baseball as we should. Q. A question for each: Jose, batting clean-up, in a team with so many superstars, was there a lot of pressure, extra emotion? And Carlos, you started with a great emotion. You felt in the clouds. Really, were you thinking that you had everything ready to get that first victory for the Dominican Republic? JOSE BAUTISTA: Yes, I realized that after the first pitch. CARLOS MARTINEZ: No, as I was saying, I get ready, I get ready well. I focus well. I try to the day before the game to be as happy as possible, try not to get off track. When I am on the mound, I'm always going to get outs, to try to throw strikes and go hitter by hitter. There is no easy opponent, so I will always try my best. So whatever happens in the game, I always thank God because I know that prepare myself mentally well and that's it. When I go on the hill, I know that I want to pitch my game and I feel that I'm going to win. JOSE BAUTISTA: I already answered it. No, I felt no pressure. In this type of tournament, short tournament, you adapt to the situation during the game and you try to perform. So I focused on that today and I was successful, and I expect to have it in the rest of the games. Q. Jose, in difficult times, as a free agent, to go back to your Toronto team, what motivated you to play in the Classic for the DR? And Carlos, often times the teams tend to impose rules in the place where they have an extension or a contract. Did the Cardinals talk with you when you got the extension or contract about not participating with the DR team? CARLOS MARTINEZ: Well, they take good care of me. Too much, I think. Yes, limiting your pitching when you follow the rules, sometimes you want to pitch more than you can, but you have to respect the rules and have to respect the game. Unfortunately if I pitch an inning with 50 pitches, I thank God, but I try to throw as few pitches as possible because I enjoy competing, to participate, and that's what I do. JOSE BAUTISTA: I decided to participate in the Classic. After the last Classic I sent a message to Moises that I would be ready if they needed me, because I wanted to take part in this. I did it in 2009 and in 2013 I was unable. So my willingness has always been there to be part of my country's team. Thank you. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports   |
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