WORLD BASEBALL CLASSIC: POOL C - COLOMBIA VS GREAT BRITAIN

March 13, 2023

Jolbert Cabrera

Chase Field

Team Colombia

Postgame Press Conference

Great Britain - 7, Colombia - 5

Q. What can you tell us about this loss? Looked like Colombia was controlling the game from the first inning but then Great Britain came forward and at the end and Colombia lost.

JOLBERT CABRERA: Well, we didn't want to be so close mid-game. We were trying for the offense to score early in the game, but we did it. But I thought in the inning when we scored twice with Frias, playing the (indiscernible) in game, we probably would have scored one more run.

We weren't given too many balls. We were very inconsistent throwing strikes today. And fortunately at the end Galindo and Herrera, they came in to stop them a little bit.

Q. Given how well your team played Saturday and the way Great Britain was mercy-ruled yesterday, how surprised are you by the outcome?

JOLBERT CABRERA: I am not surprised at all. I tell you what, the line was a matchup nightmare with all those switch hitters in there. Trying to navigate that but unfortunately my guys are in the middle, the guys that I deployed from the bullpen earlier couldn't bring the command today. They issued extra walks that ended up hurting us.

Q. Could you talk to me a little bit about Harry Ford, the catcher for Great Britain? Great kid calling his own game.

JOLBERT CABRERA: Unbelievable, the whole game we were trying to keep him off a little bit. And you see when you've got that kind of talent, you make one mistake and he makes you pay -- late in the game.

He's that good. And that was with two strikes. Having a lot of energy and a bright future. He's going to be good.

Q. If I ask you to explain something for all the Colombians and the Hispanic world, what happened? Can you give us an explanation, very detailed what occurred in the game because we lost this game. We basically thought we had it won but baseball is baseball.

JOLBERT CABRERA: It's not something that surprises me. Believe me. It does not surprise me. Teams like Great Britain, if you don't start off early beating them and they're even out throughout the game, they will flip it over. That's what happened.

Unfortunately what happened is the pitching at mid game they were throwing a lot of balls that we couldn't tell them apart from the plate. At mid-game we had chances but we were not able to produce the runs, that at the end it's what killed us at the end.

Q. How did you see the situation with the mood in the stadium, because after a game like what we saw on Saturday with all the energy in the stadium, to come with less people, less of a crowd and also -- and after winning a game so important against Mexico, how do you try to bring that mood up with the team?

JOLBERT CABRERA: Well, yes, it was something that we spoke in the meeting earlier today with the staff. We need to bring the energy up. I know the stadium, just the adrenaline of my players wasn't going to be the same just because the stadium was going to be mostly empty.

So when you come from a high like that and the next game that you play, especially after that day off, it's hard, it's hard to bring it up and today was a little too late. You saw it in the game. We were trying to do the push.

Unbelievable save by the first baseman there on the ball in the dirt. If the ball goes up, it's a different story.

My hat's off to Great Britain. They played a fantastic game today.

Q. It's difficult to say because it's a bad loss for Colombia for this Group C. What do you have with the wisdom, you have, that more than 30 years of baseball to increase, to bring back the mood because now we have Canada and it's a great rivalry?

JOLBERT CABRERA: At the end, thinking about the rules, about tournament and what has happened and what happened in Group A where there were five teams tied with the same record, I'm trying want to tell them that he came out to hit, Dayson. He was waiting for his turn. If it would have been his turn in the eighth inning.

But thinking about that, because of the difference of runs, we sent him. There was still a lot more to come from. And it was a bad loss. It was very difficult because all the losses are going to hurt.

But now we're thinking about Canada. This has happened and just try to bring the mood up for the boys to see if we can win tomorrow.

Q. Who is starting tomorrow?

JOLBERT CABRERA: Almeida is starting tomorrow.