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WORLD BASEBALL CLASSIC: FINALS

March 21, 2017

Jim Leyland

Los Angeles, California

THE MODERATOR: Questions for United States manager Jim Leyland.

Q. You said yesterday that you were going to, throughout the day, look at Sugano a little bit more, talk to people who had seen him before. Have you had a chance to look at him and get some more information? What are your thoughts about him?
JIM LEYLAND: Well, yeah, we got a little more in-depth scouting report. I don't know if that's going to do us any good. He's really good. He can throw any pitch at any time. He's a professional pitcher. He's a Big League pitcher.

So you can look at that stuff all day long, you can talk about it, but it's a matter of executing, you know. So we're going to face an excellent, excellent pitcher tonight, and we'll see how we do. But he's a guy that fastball counts, he'll throw something else, so he knows what he's doing. He's got good control.

Q. What have you -- over the course of this tournament, what have you learned about what wins and loses games here different than any other job you may have had like this?
JIM LEYLAND: It hasn't changed. It really doesn't change. It's usually about the pitching, which our championship season in the Big Leagues it's the same thing. It's usually the team that pitches the best normally has the best shot of winning. It's very rare that you outslug anybody. You don't do it for a whole season. Once in a great, great while, maybe.

But for the most part, it's about the pitching, catching the ball, throwing it to the right base, just playing basic baseball. There is nothing tricky about it. It really doesn't change at all.

Q. What about the rules and restrictions on pitching that seem to be a lot more flexible for the other teams than they are for the U.S.?
JIM LEYLAND: The pitch limit?

Q. Not just the limit, but throw days, sticking on schedule? It doesn't seem like you have that much with the Latin pitchers, but you do constantly with the U.S.?
JIM LEYLAND: That's a great question. I really can't speak for them. I know we do have restrictions, and it's not restricted only to the pitch limit. There is much more involved than that. Some managers and organizations don't want their pitchers to go back-to-back just yet. If they would, it would be a strict pitch limit on that.

So it is a little tricky. There is no question about it. That's mostly in corresponding with the teams and their pitching coaches. We talked to three pitching coaches today before we came out here, between telephone calls and text messages. So it's a little tricky, but it works out good. I mean, knock on wood, I'm thrilled so far. We've only pitched one guy in the entire tournament back-to-back, and that was because he had only thrown four pitches in the first inning. So that's the only guy -- that was Jake McGee, and that's the only guy we've actually pitched back-to-back.

Now, when I say back-to-back, I mean, if we played and then had a day off somebody might pitch. But I'm talking about two days in a row. So we're happy about that. We're doing everything we can. You know, we obviously respect all the organizations that are looking out for their players' welfare. We totally understand that and respect it.

Q. This may be a follow-up, I'm not sure. But there are fans going to tune in tonight and tomorrow night that maybe haven't been watching the whole tournament. They heard you say yesterday I'm going to get in as many players as I can, particularly I'm going to rotate my catchers. If you're fortunate enough to get to tomorrow night, that would mean that Jonathan would catch, who is a great catcher, and Buster would not. I'm wondering how you explain to fans who are just tuning in, how do you play a game for the championship and convince everybody that you're trying to win and Buster's not playing?
JIM LEYLAND: Well, I think I've set the tone originally by saying that these guys are catching nine innings a little earlier than they normally would. I've gone every other day with them. I'm going to continue to do that. I would really feel bad if somebody thought we weren't trying to win because we were catching Jonathan Lucroy. This guy's a good player. He's a real good player. If there's anybody in the United States right now that doesn't think we're trying to win this thing and putting what we feel is the best team out there each and every day, then they really haven't been following it like they should.

So we're proud of the fact that we've got everybody a start. It's not enough. I can go on record as telling you that Josh Harrison and Bregman have got the short end of the stick, and maybe Murph a little bit lately. But I feel bad about that. But I've got to do what I've got to do. But those guys did get the short end of the stick.

As far as the catching, that's a no-brainer. I don't really think -- I would like to think that anybody that's a baseball fan would understand the way we're handling the catching we think is the proper way to do it.

Q. I'd like to ask about the rule for challenging for video replay like in yesterday's game? There were four times they used video challenges yesterday. Did you see that, do you know?
JIM LEYLAND: Yeah, I saw it.

Q. We in Japanese baseball culture, they don't have such a challenge rule. So will you try to use video challenge rule?
JIM LEYLAND: Well, the rules are a little bit different for this, because as manager you don't really challenge. You go out, as you know -- all of you watched the game last night, I'm sure -- and you can ask the umpires if they would certainly consider reviewing it.

I think it's a good format. Because during our regular season, we have people sitting down in the video room that can help the manager make a decision whether to challenge or not. We don't have that person here. It's my eyes against their eyes or whatever manager, and if you think that you have a case, you try to make it. Hopefully we're not going to run into too much of that tonight, I hope.

Q. We hope so too (laughter).
JIM LEYLAND: We'll handle it accordingly. But those are the rules. As everybody knows, this format is a little bit different, so you just have to understand that and accept it and be on top of it. Like I said, we'll handle that accordingly.

Q. Did you watch last night's game, and if you did, how tough is it to see a team get eliminated in a tie-breaking situation like last night with the Netherlands?
JIM LEYLAND: Yeah, that was really different. We had a heck of a night last night. I took the coaches to a sports bar, and we kind of had kind of a casual meal. But they had two big TVs for us, and we sat there and watched the first few innings of the game, and we went home. They came to my room, and we watched the rest of the game.

It's weird, you know, to see the two guys going first and second. They both executed the bunt, actually, and one team got a double play out of it, and the other team got a sacrifice fly. Like I said, this whole thing is different, but what a game. Like I said, I can't tell you how impressed I was with Netherlands and Colombia. I guess they were kind of under the radar coming into this thing, but they made one heck of an impression. Those guys last night played their hearts out.

I was telling the coaches on the way out here, after the first two innings, I want to say, the Netherlands shut Puerto Rico out for eight innings. I mean, that was pretty impressive. That's a heck of a team, heck of a lineup.

The team we're playing tonight and Puerto Rico to this point have been the best two teams in this tournament. So to accomplish that was pretty impressive.

Q. Based on your comments yesterday, it sounded like one of the best things that you had here was building team chemistry and camaraderie by having these guys together start to finish and not adding any people to the mix as you're going along. How important do you think that is in creating the kind of atmosphere to win, which the U.S. has had a hard time doing over the course of the tournament's history?
JIM LEYLAND: Well, the guys kind of took that upon themselves. They're opponents during the regular season, but they're sitting together, they're eating at the pool together, they're talking about these games. I mean, they're really into it. It's been an absolute pleasure.

It's kind of been the best and the worst job I've had at the same time, to be honest with you. The best for obvious reasons and the worst for obvious reasons. I mean, it's tough. There's not a day that goes by that you don't have pressure in this thing for some reason.

Tonight, for instance, we've got a weather situation. So are we going to play through a little rain? Is the field going to get a little muddy? I'm dealing with other team's organizational players, so now it's just one more thing to worry about. How's the field going to be? Is somebody going to slip and pull a hamstring?

And it's the same for both teams. Don't get me wrong. I'm not complaining about it, but it's just another thing to lose the rest of the hair I've got.

Q. You mentioned the weather, with the rain and how it might affect the mound and everything, do you have to be more cautious with your pitchers, how you're going to deploy them, and watch them a little closer given the weather circumstances?
JIM LEYLAND: Yeah, I mean, you know, I'm hoping -- I'm sure they're going to be really cautious with the mound and make sure it's dry and everything. Everybody's going to do the best they can. But, you know, it's -- like I said, it's just extra pressure on you that you don't really need.

But that's the way it is. Plus, this game that we're playing tonight is actually different than the game that would be played tomorrow, either by us or Japan. Because tonight is four and a half innings. It's an official game. Tomorrow it's not. So that could come into play.

So there's a lot of stuff that goes on that you try to cover all your tracks. You try to think about everything. You try to do something different early in the game than you would if it was threatening rain or -- you know, there's a lot that goes into it.

But, once again, I've really enjoyed it. The guys have been great, the competition's great. We're playing one of the best two teams in the tournament so far tonight. It's been exciting.

Q. Quickly to follow-up, what have you been told by the tournament officials on the rain situation? Going to play in showers? Is there a window? What are they telling you?
JIM LEYLAND: I learned a long time ago not to pay any attention to weather reports when you're manager. You don't pay any attention to that. I've been in rooms for the World Series and playoffs where they had -- what do they call them? -- four or five meteorologists on the line: It's not supposed to rain for another hour. Meanwhile, it's pouring down rain on the field.

I know they're good at what they do, and I'm not being -- I'm just being funny, really, but I don't pay any attention to that. I think it's something like we're hitting in the cages. That's a different atmosphere than being on the field, taking your ground balls and everything, but it's fair for both teams. It's the same for both teams. But I don't really pay much attention to it. I don't get too excited about stuff like that.

Q. After the last game, have you said anything or maybe made any speeches to your players going into the semifinals?
JIM LEYLAND: No, I don't give speeches. They don't listen to their dad (laughter).

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