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NL CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES: NATIONALS VS CARDINALSOctober 10, 2019Ryan ZimmermanAnibal SanchezSt. Louis, Missouri - Workout Day THE MODERATOR: Questions, please. Q. AnÃbal, yesterday Juan Soto told us about the first time he kind of shuffled in the batters box while you were on the mound, and he said you laughed. And I was wondering if you remembered that exchange and what you think about Juan's kind of shuffle that he does sometimes. ANÃBAL SÃNCHEZ: Oh, yeah, yeah, yes, that happened last year when I saw that, like, to me I never seen a guy that I put a pitch and he comes straight to me, and I'm like what's going on over here? I thought this guy was going to fight with me or not, but, yeah, it was kind of funny to me at that point. But now I see how the guy, he's done it every day in the box, fighting ever pitch, with every situation. And it's not like for everybody to see this guy hitting every day like that, it's good, especially when you have him on your team. Q. For either of you, but just the way that Davey kind of managed and went about this first series and I guess all year, what stood out to you and impressed you guys about him this first playoff round. RYAN ZIMMERMAN: I think I've been saying it all year how he's been the same guy. And I think we have actually talked about it before, I have had a lot of managers, obviously, and they all come into spring training and say they're going to stay this way no matter what, we're going to be here for you, it's going to be us, we don't care what anyone says. And then as soon as stuff goes bad, every manager has pretty much kind of thrown that out the window and sort of gone into self-preservation mode, where Davey, honestly, has stayed the same way. He's positive every day, his energy, he always trusts his players and has his players' backs. And I don't think it's been any different this year, even when we started as poorly as we did, he stayed the same. And then as far as how he managed this series, I think in the playoffs you can do some stuff that you don't normally do in the regular season. And I think every game is so important you got to maybe put some guys into some situations that they're not used to being put in, but he's kind of working with what he has and obviously did a great job. Q. Ryan, hitter to hitter what impresses you most about what Anthony does at the plate, just when you watch him hit? RYAN ZIMMERMAN: Yeah, I think there's never any sense of panic, I guess. His control of the strike zone, his approach, his plan, the ability to stick with his plan. And just, I mean to hit the ball as well as he does and as hard as he does, a lot of guys have to, it looks like they put a lot of effort into it, where it's almost like, I guess if he doesn't try as hard he does better. So I just think -- and no moment's too big, he just kind of treats every at-bat the same. And for a guy like myself that's pretty even-keeled, I think I appreciate his mannerisms. Q. AnÃbal, you did so well in Game 3 even though the game ended up in a loss. Can you take away from that game against the Dodgers where you went five innings and allowed one run, the things that worked well in that and help you in St. Louis or is this just a whole different ball game when you face the Cardinals? ANÃBAL SÃNCHEZ: For me my whole career every game is different, every situation is totally different. The game that I had against the Dodgers, I think I had a really good game plan with Zuk, so it's helped a lot. But tomorrow is going to be a different day, different crowd, different team. I don't did my homework, but I start today to prepare my game for tomorrow and let's see how my game plan for tomorrow is and hopefully just put up a quality start for the team. Q. Ryan, I've got two questions for you: First is, in 2012 the last time you played the Cardinals in a playoff situation Stephen Strasburg was not on your club. How much different is it having him now. The second question is: Since you guys just played these Cardinals three weeks ago, is there anything you can draw on that for the start of this series tomorrow? RYAN ZIMMERMAN: To answer the first question, obviously a lot better to have him on the team for the playoffs. But I think what we did in 2012 is the reason why he is the type of pitcher he is now. Obviously I don't make those decisions. In 2012 it was a highly-debated issue, but I think at that point as tough as a decision it was for them to not pitch him, I think they honestly were looking out for the best interests of the player. Which you have seen some guys that have tried to push that limit coming back from that surgery and things haven't turned out too well. So I think in the moment it was a tough decision and maybe not a very popular decision, but you can also say that Stephen wouldn't be the pitcher that he is now or be doing what he is now if they didn't make that decision. So that's the long answer. But the short answer is, yes, it's a lot better to have him on the team in the playoffs. And then as far as just playing the Cardinals, yeah, I think you can definitely draw from that. The first thing you can draw from it is they're a really good team, and they're a really good team with some guys that have been through this before. Their catcher is one of the best players of our generation. It's not going to be any easier than what we just had to do in this first round. They have some guys with a ton of experience, a ton of talent, and it should be a fun series. I think all of us are looking forward to it and we know it's not going to be easy. Q. To take you back to that 2012 series, what immediately jumps out to you when you think back to that? Is it that you guys finally got in and this was kind of the start of your ascension? Is it what happened in Game 5 and Pete Kozma, is it anything in between? RYAN ZIMMERMAN: I mean, that was a long time ago. I think, obviously, I always say 2012 was such a fun year because we weren't supposed to be good for another year or two after that. And I've also said that that group of guys sort of reminds me of this group that we have. We kind of got on a roll that year unexpectedly and just kind of ran with it. And then we had some veteran guys that kept everyone loose, we had a lot of fun on that team, we did some silly things, we made fun of each other, nobody was safe, I always said on that team. So there's definitely some comparisons as far as the character of that team. Every team's different. What we have done with this team, I don't think is comparable to anyone else. But as far as what I take out of that, I think more kind of that feel than the actual series. Every series is different and so many things have changed since then and the experience that a lot of us have is so much different. So, yeah, it's a fun city to play in, I remember the games there were awesome, it was obviously one of the best baseball towns in the country, so it should be a fun environment. Like I said about this series and these big games, this is why you play the game, to be involved in series and games like this. Q. And second, for both of you guys, because you have some influence here, Kurt's had a hard time throwing out base runners this year and obviously it's not just him. So what, as a first baseman, and AnÃbal, you as a starting pitcher, what can you do to try to help the catcher, especially against a team like the Cardinals that likes to run a lot and presumably be trying to do so in this series. ANÃBAL SÃNCHEZ: Yeah, I think that's going to be the key for every pitcher in this series right now is to hold the runners on first, because we need to help the catcher, like you say. It's part of the game. At the end you have to do, like, your best to keep those guys on first base, make a couple different moves, hold the ball, whatever you have to do to keep those guys there and help the catcher to keep the score close in the game. So those guys, I know those guys are going to try to steal, especially early in the count for the hitters and that's why we know that and we have to take advantage of that situation. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports   |
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