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WORLD BASEBALL CLASSIC: ROUND TWOMarch 16, 2006Buck MartinezPOOL 1: ANAHEIM, CALIFORNIA THE MODERATOR: We will begin our session today with questions for United States team manager Buck Martinez. Q. Buck? MANAGER BUCK MARTINEZ: Yes, Nick. Q. How are you doing? After the game last night, were you able to speak to any of your players about what happened and just to inform them they'd be playing? MANAGER BUCK MARTINEZ: No, I didn't. I was with my family at the hotel room and received many phone calls from many media outlets. I went on the radio in a couple different scenarios that I know. Players were watching, and the stories I've had in the clubhouse today are pretty incredible of them being out to dinner and getting Blackberry messages, pitch-by-pitch accounts from fans. Alex Rodriguez said it took him three hours to get through dinner. But I know a bunch of guys who were out and calling back and forth, communicating with their phones, text messages and everything else. Everybody was up to date pitch-by-pitch. Q. How did you feel after the game ended? MANAGER BUCK MARTINEZ: I was in my room watching it on the computer, and my brother and my mother, couple of good friends and my nephew and my wife couldn't watch the 9th inning. She went out in the hall. She was pacing up and down the hall while the 9th inning was unfolding. It was a very beautiful baseball game. So much of what you teach about the fundamentals of baseball, the competition, the desire, the dedication, both of those teams played like warriors. It was a marvelous game. I was very relieved. We needed some hope, there's no question about it. It was a very anxious night for me to sit there and watch two teams play, score this late into the ballgame, because I was very relieved that we get one more chance. Q. Buck, whether the USA in is San Diego or not, could we get your assessment of the tournament in general, specifically the semi-final field as it stands right now? MANAGER BUCK MARTINEZ: The tournament, I think, exceeded my expectations dramatically with the competitive balance of all the pools. I think it exceeded the fans' expectations for the level of excitement that we have seen. I have many people that were baseball fans several years ago, had kind of lost interest, that their interest rekindled because of the World Baseball Classic. I don't think it's a stretch to think that we have expanded the boundaries of baseball. When you see the Puerto Rican players standing in the dugout watching Cuba celebrate. We saw Venezuela standing there very disappointed knowing that their tournament had come to an abrupt end. I think it sums up the emotions of the players. And when you have 30 team USA players watching a game between Japan and Korea with as much interest as if it were determining their postseason fate during the regular season, I think that speaks to how successful this tournament has been. Q. Buck, can you tell us how it feels to possibly be the last manager to pencil Roger Clemens' name on a game that means something possibly? And also ,could you tell us if -- is there anymore update on the Barry Bonds situation? Have you thought further about maybe bringing him in if you guys make the semis? MANAGER BUCK MARTINEZ: Well, I will address the Clemens situation first. Quite honestly I haven't thought about it being the possible last game of Roger Clemens,' because I watched him for two games now. I just think he's performing at such a high level, and I'm not speaking with any insight information. I'm just speaking as a baseball guy watching him pitch. I expect him to pitch beyond this start. As far as the roster, obviously we have continued to have informal talks. Nobody has reached out to anybody at this point, and we're going to get through this night and then we'll have time. My understanding is we don't have to set our roster until two hours before the game on Saturday. Q. Buck, the players who aren't already playing in the USA, how many Major League caliber players have you seen of those which really stood out in your mind? MANAGER BUCK MARTINEZ: The double play combination of Japan, the DH for Japan, I think they're high quality Major League players. Matsuzaka, without question, could be a front end of the rotation pitcher in the Major Leagues. Command, velocity, poise, wide assortment of pitches. Several of the Korean relief pitchers, especially Oh, are very capable of helping Major League teams. I think the focus that Major League scouts have put on the Korean team might focus more on the left-handed relievers. They have very good left-handed relief, and I think the middle infielders, when you look at the Korean shortstop, very sure-handed, very confident, very tough player. Iwamura of Japan, the third baseman, outstanding player, great hands. There was a lot of talent in this pool, and I think we have seen that there are more Major League caliber players around the world than we expected because now we have seen them playing with some of the super stars in the Major League. Q. Buck, can you give us the update on Derrek Lee and Johnny Damon? Are they available to pinch hit or something? MANAGER BUCK MARTINEZ: Johnny Damon is available tonight, still dealing with the same arm issues. Derrek Lee will be available on a limited basis as he feels much better today than he did yesterday. We're very optimistic that he will be good to go for the next round. Q. Can I go back to the second half of my question? MANAGER BUCK MARTINEZ: Sorry if I forgot that. Q. The three teams that are already in the semi-finals and how they got there and just your own assessment of their abilities? MANAGER BUCK MARTINEZ: The three teams in the semi-finals will be Korea, Cuba and Dominican Republic. I think we were all aware that Dominican Republic had an outstanding offensive team. Probably haven't hit as well as they thought they would coming into this tournament, but I think the caliber of play they have faced kind of was better than they expected. Cuba was an unknown entity coming into this tournament. We have seen them execute very effectively on offense. We have seen them show some very good arms, some strong pitching. I think Korea -- I don't want to say they're a surprise to the tournament -- but to be 6-0 at this point of the tournament has to be considered a surprise given the fact that they have beaten Japan twice. Very talented team, very disciplined, obviously very well prepared. I think the semis set up very, very well for a phenomenal day of baseball in San Diego on Saturday. THE MODERATOR: Any more questions? Q. One more, Buck. We're always comparing players from the rest of world to Major League players. Is it time maybe that we started developing some appreciation for the Japan league and the Korean league and winter ball and things like that? MANAGER BUCK MARTINEZ: I think that's an excellent question. And if you think about the execution we have seen, and I'm speaking of Korea and Japan because that's what we've seen most recently, but the way they execute fundamentally, their positioning, their execution of a pitch, pitching plan. They don't make any mistakes. They don't rattle. They're well disciplined. Obviously, you see the value of their practice regimen where they take hundreds of ground balls a day. They swing a 100 times a day more than we do in North America. I think it is time to say, you know what, that's not a bad idea. Their spring training is longer. We always -- and I was asked this question many times. What if the players in the World Baseball Classic run out of gas the last eight weeks of the season? It's baseball. It's playing baseball. You do it for three hours a day. I think what I would like to see in baseball is a return of infield. We don't see outfielders throw because they don't throw enough during infield practice. All the great throwers of the '70s and '80s were throwing every day during infield. I think that is a routine that allows you to get better. I think we've gotten to a shortcut with saying, you know what, the travel is tough. The guys -- travel has never been easier. Step on a charter plane. You don't see your bags until you get to your hotel room and everything is convenient. I think some of the things that the Japanese and the Koreans do as a regular practice routine could benefit Major League baseball clubs. Q. What have you -- after playing the Koreans and watching them a couple of times, including last night, what do you take if you get to the semi-finals and play them and Peavy is still your starter there, correct? MANAGER BUCK MARTINEZ: Yes. Peavy will start should we get to San Diego. What I've taken away from watching Japan and Korea play in this round is that they will not beat themselves. You're going to have to beat them. You're going to have to battle tough pitching. You're going to have to be a little aggressive. I think one thing that might play well against them is a little more speed game, a little more hitting and running, a little more base stealing, and things like that. We haven't seen the catchers throw much. We haven't seen their ability to control that part of the game. The pitchers are pretty tough. They work quick to the plate, but I think one thing that I have seen watching them very closely is that they don't make any mistakes. They just do not allow you to get back into a game if they have you down or to blow them out if it's a close game because they won't walk anybody and they don't boot the ball around. Q. (Inaudible.) MANAGER BUCK MARTINEZ: That gets back to the repetition of doing those drills over and over and over again. Even with the emotional letdown of the two-run single, they executed one of the best cutoffs and relays in the entire tournament to gun down the runner at third. That shows a tremendous amount of concentration and the value of repetition during your workouts. Because, I mean, I can tell you. It had to be very deflating after the hitter fouled the ball off his foot, hits the ball up the gap. The center fielder never ever slowed down, dug it out of the warning track, made a perfect throw to the relay man who relayed a perfect strike to third. That's a product of great practice, great work ethic, and concentration. Q. How about the play in center field where he came up with the ball so quickly he almost nailed the guy at third base taking the extra base, too? MANAGER BUCK MARTINEZ: Yeah. We have seen it throughout this tournament. They don't make any mistakes. They execute well. They understand how to play the game. You know, as a culture, I think the Eastern culture is such that they dedicate themselves to being the best at many things. And they have taken all of what they have learned about baseball, and they have put their own dedication and their own thought process into making it better, and they have some things that are much better. THE MODERATOR: We have time for two more questions. Q. Buck, looking into this afternoon, what are your concerns about the Mexico club? MANAGER BUCK MARTINEZ: That they have a tremendous amount of pride. We have beaten them once already in this tournament. They have a very capable, competent Major League pitcher on the mound and Oliver Perez. They have one of the up and coming young run producers in all of baseball and Jorge Cantu. Obviously, they're in a very relaxed kind of mindset. They're determined. Their fate has been determined. So they're dangerous. They're very dangerous. Nobody in that clubhouse is taking them lightly. Cantu is one of best young hitters to come into the game. He's established himself very, very quickly. We know that they're a threat. THE MODERATOR: Last question. Q. Buck, Bobby Valentine was on ESPN today, and he was critical of the umpiring in the Japan/US game, not only the controversial play on the tag-up, but also the issue about going to the mouth to the pitcher. Have you seen the replay of the tag-up play and your thoughts in general on this? Because it caused a huge uproar in Japan as you probably know. MANAGER BUCK MARTINEZ: The going to the mouth was so blatant, it happened a couple of times. And, you know, I think there was even a time or two that it was missed. But the umpires had instructed the pitchers that they could blow on their hand because it was cold. He actually licked his fingertips a couple of times standing on the mound. And, you know, probably more than anything, he was just a little bit rattled with the situation and did it again. But whether it's the World Series and a swing and a ball roll to the mound or the WBC with a bang bang play at third base, the advent of instant replay and slow motion and several different angles causes tremendous amount of scrutiny to the umpiring. And I don't know that umpiring is any better or worse than it's ever been. It's always been kind of the same. There was a controversial play with Ed Armbrister during the World Series in Cincinnati to the A.J. Pierzynski swing and a miss strike out reaching first base to the tag play during the WBC. It seems as though there's always a play or two no matter who is umpiring, no matter what the venue is, but they're always controversial plays because that's the nature of the game. You're dealing with 18 players on the field and four umpires generally, and things happen in a very quick game. And fortunately, that has been the focus of a lot of controversy. Q. Do you think replay should be brought in? MANAGER BUCK MARTINEZ: No, absolutely not. I think you're taking away the element of the game, the beauty of the game. When other sports have it, it involves more often than not timing of a clock, rigid boundary of a sideline, something of that nature, but I don't think baseball has gotten to the point where you would take that human element away. THE MODERATOR: Thank you.
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