WORLD BASEBALL CLASSIC: POOL C - GREAT BRITAIN VS CANADA

March 12, 2023

Ernie Whitt

Mitch Bratt

Chase Field

Team Canada

Pregame Press Conference

Q. If you got to check out the games yesterday, some pretty cool atmospheres. What did you think of them and how excited are you for your guys to play in that today?

ERNIE WHITT: I wish we were playing yesterday. It was fun. I've done this before and the energy is tremendous. And it's great to see. I mean, I think this is what baseball needs. It needs some passion and excitement in the game. And this tournament gives it to them.

Q. You talked, after your start the other day, just some of your prep. What have these past few days getting ready for tomorrow look like for you?

MITCH BRATT: Threw a bullpen yesterday, just kind of nice and easy, just going through the emotions, getting ready tore tomorrow's game. I haven't thought about it too much because I felt if I do I might get overwhelmed a little bit. But looking forward to tomorrow and making the most of it.

Q. Did you watch some of the Great Britain-U.S. last night? And maybe seeing some of that success and just maybe steel you a little bit more for it?

MITCH BRATT: Yeah, watching that game made me feel a little more comfortable. But I didn't watch too much of it because I didn't want to look into it too much. But I watched the other game as well. It was good.

Q. Ernie, you talked the other day about the debate going right, left, right, left versus maybe stacking up some lefties. How did that end up playing out for you?

ERNIE WHITT: Right, left, right, left. So that's where we're at. Of course we have more left-handed hitters than we do right. I think Great Britain is throwing a right-hander, starting a right-hander against us today.

So I'll use Caissie out in right field, with Clarke coming in off the bench. I've got some guys I can use and I've also got some other guys if they go to a lefty. So we'll play it as the game goes, see how it goes.

Q. What is your advice to your team? Do you want them to treat this like any other game, or do you want them to really feel the moment?

ERNIE WHITT: I want them to feel the moment. I want them to go out and have fun and play the game the right way. And we've talked as a team that you can't take a play off. You play with passion, but you play the game the right way.

And I talk about whenever a ball's in play, there should be movement on the field. Everyone should be moving. There's a place for everyone to go. And sometimes players get caught up in it and they don't go where they're supposed to go.

And so that's why I try to reinforce it -- just don't take a play off, like I've said before. If you back up first base or you back up a base a hundred times and you never get an overthrow, that's great. But the one time that you don't do it, there's an overthrow and there's egg on our face.

So, again, it's just take the moment, enjoy it, relax, be yourself. I'm not asking the players to do anything more than what they're capable of doing. So I got confidence in every member of the team.

Q. Mitch, you guys have such a young amount of talent on your team. What's it like to be part of that next wave of kind of team Canada coming up?

MITCH BRATT: It's an honor. It's definitely a great experience. Especially the older guys like John Axford and all those guys, they've really been real good mentors and people to talk to about their experiences and the stuff they've been through. And hopefully it can kind of help out the next wave of who's going to be coming up as players.

Q. What did you see from Team Great Britain yesterday that's going to make them tough today?

ERNIE WHITT: They're a scrappy team. They battled at every at-bat. They didn't give any at-bats away. They showed that they should be in this tournament. And you tip your hat to them.

And that's why you play the game. Any team can beat any team at any time in a one-game set.

So if it's a seven-game set it might be a little different. One day you might have everything going for you and the other team doesn't. I mean, it's just the way it is. And that's the beauty of it.

Q. Mitch, are you a big scouting-report guy? How deep do you go into data and hot zones, cold zones before a start in preparing your game plan?

MITCH BRATT: Usually it's just kind of picking out one weakness that the hitter has. I think last year towards the beginning I did a really good job of kind of picking out different things that the hitters weren't good at, but towards the middle and end of the year I was thinking too much and I was playing the numbers game a little too much. At the end of the year I just didn't look at the numbers at all.

So I think going into tomorrow I'm just not going to look at anything. Just kind of play it by ear and go from there.

Q. There's a bit of debate: pitchers pitching to strength versus attacking weaknesses. Where do you fall on that scale there?

MITCH BRATT: I would say pitching to my strengths. I feel like when my strengths are on, not many hitters can make the most of what I've got. The game plan is tomorrow to do what I do best and go forward and see what happens.

ERNIE WHITT: I love hearing that -- absolutely love hearing that. There's so many times pitchers get away from their game instead of staying to the strength of their games. And to me I'll take strength on strength anytime.

So I just, again, I want him to be himself. I want him to throw his arsenal and be comfortable doing it. If they hit it, they hit it.