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WORLD BASEBALL CLASSIC: 2ND ROUND POOL FMarch 16, 2017Tony PenaWelington CastilloSan Diego, California Q. We saw the lineup that you mentioned. It's not -- Nelson Cruz is not included, but you mentioned that you weren't going to change the lineup. What motivated you? TONY PEÑA: Well, the only change that you have is that on Tuesday -- excuse me, Marte is playing. And obviously he's my centerfielder, and I can't include everyone. I think I need to keep him healthy. In some of the games we have to be prepared to make adjustments, and that's a necessary adjustment. Q. Welington, you've been an anonymous protagonist, and we can mention Manny Machado, but you've been driving the pitches. Taking into account how do you see the perspective from the catcher in the game today against Venezuela? WELINGTON CASTILLO: Well, first of all, God bless to everyone who is here. Nothing, he's a veteran. I give God thanks for allowing me to be here and to share this experience with players, of that magnitude. All of those individuals that are here. We know what to do, which is to play ball and to call the games that we need to play. If it weren't for God, I'm grateful I have a great arm, and it's a pleasure to share my state of pitches and to also acquire the counsel of these veteran players. Q. You're on a team full of stars. How do you find the balance between winning, making sure they play, and making sure their organizations are content with their presence on the field? TONY PEÑA: Everyone in this ballclub is capable of playing. On this team, everyone can play. Like you said, we have a group of players, thank God, who are super talented. We look to create the lineup to allow everyone to play, and everyone wants to win. When they decided to be here, it's because they really want to be here and they're going to play with incredible dignity. They only have one thing in mind, produce and to play the game and win it. All of them will do a great job. Everyone has done a great job. Marte, if he feels better, then we'll be much better with him on the defensive. Q. For both of you, but specifically Tony Peña, the Venezuelan team, not only the Dominican Republic, you obviously have a goal of winning this game. But despite Venezuela that has many areas that they have to take care of such as keep the ball low, and everyone that does that, those that continue to do that will be chastised for it. Is the Dominican Republic actually being cautious regarding that? TONY PEÑA: Well, the Venezuelan team is great, and those four teams that are present are great teams. We have our plan, a plan that obviously I haven't and I'm obviously not going to share that with you. But we're going to continue to play a different kind of game. WELINGTON CASTILLO: I don't think that anything should change. We are all professionals, as we said in the beginning, and we're going to go out and do what we know how to do and play. And we're going to play hard. We're very good players. We have good pitchers and batters. And we're going to go out hungry and with the wish to win the game. Obviously those who play better will take the victory. Q. Tony, there are conflicting opinions with regard to the World Baseball Classic that there may be lots of injuries. What is your opinion about that? TONY PEÑA: Well, I think we see a lot of things within the Classic. I think the first round is the most difficult. It's the most difficult round, is the first stage, especially for pitchers. They are not in optimal conditions, and as soon as you progress with the rounds, you'll notice that the pitchers are in better shape. They're focused on the ball. Unless they're not prepared before. When a player prepares, clearly understanding that they're coming to the WBC, they start preparing in December. Some of them do it in November to be in great condition for the game. When you start seeing the pitches, and you'll start seeing those increases in pitches, that means that the arms are strengthening. Obviously, most of the coaches are concerned about that, and I, as a leader and manager, I need to start to make sure that I take care of all of them. I don't want any of my boys to actually not play. I don't want to create an obstacle that could possibly be as a result of an injury. Last week, for instance, I had Robles who could have pitched in a different game, but I said no, I will have him -- I have to keep him out. Thank God. I'm grateful that most of the opening pitchers have gone quite a bit further. Q. It might be too early to talk about this, but what kind of information do you have about Team Japan, and what kind of ideas are you going to play with Japan? TONY PEÑA: I worry about today. I worry about who I'm going to play tonight. We are going to play against Venezuela, and that's my head tonight, is on Venezuela. Whenever we get to that round, then we'll get prepared and then I will answer your question. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports   |
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