WORLD BASEBALL CLASSIC: POOL D - NICARAGUA VS PUERTO RICO

March 11, 2023

Sandor Guido

LoanDepot Park

Team Nicaragua

Postgame Press Conference

Puerto Rico 9, Nicaragua 1

Q. Nicaragua was great. Especially in the first part of the game. First question, the crowd wants to know, why did you change the pitcher Rodriguez after four innings? He could pitch against one or two batters. Why change in the pitcher to Ramirez?

SANDOR GUIDO: That's the job that we had planned for him. He could pitch a little longer, but we had planned that job for him, and we chose Juan Carlos Ramirez because of his experience. He wasn't able to have success.

Q. Erasmo came in a very complicated situation. Why didn't you wait for one more inning and bring him in a better or timely situation?

SANDOR GUIDO: Erasmo's situation was different. We had to use him today in order to use him in other games. I told you that we wouldn't expect or wait for a long time for that opportunity. We didn't find that situation. We didn't have that situation, and it was a good time to bring him, but he was not able to keep us in the game. Those are situations that we see on the game, and we cannot control it.

Q. I was surprised when I saw Vazquez playing first base. You were using Miranda. Not only because of the error, of course, have you made that decision before the game?

SANDOR GUIDO: Vazquez is an experienced player. He had a played first base professionally, etc. He has been practicing at first base. The error happens, and that's why you ask me why Vazquez was at the first base.

Q. What motivation message have you prepared for your team after this first game, after this first loss? What adjustments are you planning to make on defense to improve it?

SANDOR GUIDO: Well, the motivation is always the same. It's the first game. We still have three games to play. We are going to fight in each game. I just talked to them. They have to keep their heads up. This is a World Classic, and all the teams are tough. We have to keep our heads up.

We can make some changes, but that's okay. We have young players that can do the job as well. If we are going to change something, we are going to discuss that with the coaching staff.

Q. What was the game plan for you heading into this game because it seemed like all of your batters were very aggressive against Marcus Stroman?

SANDOR GUIDO: It is better to attack the zone from the very first moment. It is the plan that we had versus Stroman, who is very good. We made solid contact. We were able to hit some of his pitches.

Q. I know that this is not the result that you were expecting, but what do you think about the fans with the Nicaraguan flags in the ballpark, et cetera? It was impressive.

SANDOR GUIDO: It's a bittersweet feeling for the fans. They were happy at the beginning of the game. The loss, of course, affected them all, but I believe that they will continue supporting their team. We are going to keep this pace in the game tomorrow. We're going to try to win, and we're going to do the job in the next games. I hope that they continue supporting the team. The players know that we have to win a couple of games.