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WORLD BASEBALL CLASSIC: SEMIS & FINALSMarch 18, 2006Kosuke FukudomeSadaharu OhKoji UeharaSAN DIEGO, CALIFORNIA THE MODERATOR: We'll have our first question for Team Japan. Q. This question is for Manager Oh. First of all, we'd like to congratulate Team Japan for advancing to the final. I'm just wondering because Team Cuba and Team Japan are going to play different styles of baseball, more like an Asian kind of style against a Latin American kind of style. Who do you think has a better advantage for the game on Monday? SADAHARU OH: Well, in the past when the Cuban team was using the metal bats, we surely had a different style of baseball then on the respective teams. But nowadays, the style of baseball between Cuba and Japan are very similar. Like I saw their play in the day game today here in San Diego, and the way they played the game was more like the Japanese style than American style. So the day after tomorrow when we meet them, the game will be played in a very similar way, with a lot of speed and a lot of schemes in the game. Q. This question is for Mr. Uehara. Talk about your performance tonight and just how dominant you were. You struck out all three batters, or three of four, I guess, in the 7th inning, the last inning you pitched. You seemed to get stronger out there. Talk about how dominant you were out there tonight and talk about your dominant history in international competition. Also, for Manager Oh, do you know who you will start against Cuba on Monday? KOJI UEHARA: Well, in the 7th inning I struck out three hitters, and that was after our offense scored five runs in the top of the 7th. So I really wanted to shut out that inning, and that strong will really worked very well in my pitching. As for international competitions like today, this was my first time to pitch in Petco Park in San Diego, but I was able to pitch in a lot of different beautiful stadiums all over the world, and each time I've felt really good pitching in a new ballpark. That may be why I've been able to be successful in each game. SADAHARU OH: I'd like to let the Cuban team think about it for a little while, so I'll announce it tomorrow. Q. This is a question for Mr. Oh. Up to this point, prior to this game, Fukudome has been I think it was 2-for-19. Where did you get the inspiration to use him in this situation, and I'd like to know from Fukudome what your confidence was like when you came up to bat as a pinch-hitter? SADAHARU OH: Well, like you said, he hadn't been in top condition lately, and that's one of the reasons that I took him out of the starting lineup today. But he was really swinging very good in yesterday's practice and also in the batting practice before the game today. But at that time I had already decided the starting lineup, so I didn't really change my mind. I had good confidence that I could use him anytime during the game, and in that very inning, the Korean team sent the side-armer (Byung Hyun) Kim on the mound, and at that time I thought Fukudome could be the hitter in that kind of situation. I didn't have any doubt about it. KOSUKE FUKUDOME: Well, I wasn't really confident as I went to the plate, but before my at-bat I saw (Nobuhiko) Matsunaka, my teammate Matsunaka, hit a double, and he was sliding head-first into second base, and he was bringing our momentum up. I really wanted to swing at any pitches in my at-bat so I could contribute to the team, and I think I was successful in doing that. Q. This is a question to Mr. Oh. Today you had a different lineup, and that different lineup showed your strong mindset in this game, and the result was really dominant by your team. Team Japan really dominated the Koreans. Are you going to use the same lineup on Monday against the Cuban team so that you can have another strong feeling going into that game? SADAHARU OH: Well, in today's game, our goal was more to beat the Korean team who we lost to twice in this WBC event. That's our mindset; that's the mindset of the entire team. And in the game, we had some opportunities early in the game, but we couldn't really cash in. Still, we kept pushing and we played hard, and our players played with all their might throughout the game, and we were able to score a lot of runs toward the end of the game. About the lineup on Monday, I haven't really thought about it at this moment, and I'd like to see how the players will do in practice tomorrow and decide who to use for Monday's game. Q. I have two quick questions, and I'm going to ask them one at a time. For Mr. Oh, the history of Japan and Cuba in international play is not a good one. Is this the biggest game in Japan baseball history, and how do you prepare to beat Cuba in such a game? SADAHARU OH: Well, I don't really know about the past games between Japan and Cuba, so I can't really mention about the past. But I believe this team this time is much stronger or will be probably the strongest team that Japan ever had against a Cuban team. One thing I can tell for sure is that we can show the great performance in Monday's game against the Cuban team, and whether we win or lose, we will play the game with a lot of heart and a lot of pride that we came to the final game of this WBC event. Q. This is a question to Mr. Fukudome. You hit a home run in the pitchers' park, Petco Park, so how was that home run? And also, were you able to hit that crucial home run because you have faced these Korean pitchers so many times in the past, and you now knew the patterns of their pitching? And also, you have faced the Cuban team in two Olympics, one in Atlanta and one in Athens. I'd like to hear about your impression of the Cuban team from your past experience. KOSUKE FUKUDOME: Well, I had real good timing on that particular pitch when I hit a home run, so that led to the result of the two-run homer in this pitchers' park. I only wanted to have a good hit in that at-bat because I wasn't really looking for any home runs or anything. I didn't even think about the patterns of Korean pitchers because I only knew that I really had to have a great desire in that situation so that I could contribute to the team. So that was more than a skill, more than that I was accustomed to their pitchers, that I could hit a home run. From my past experience, I think the Cuban team has such a great ability in each player and they can do a lot of different things, so we really need to be careful on what they do because we won't be able to score a lot of runs against them.
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