|
|||
|
|||
|
 |
|
|
WORLD BASEBALL CLASSIC: ROUND ONEMarch 4, 2006Daisuke MatsuzakaSadaharu OhHitoshi TamuraPOOL A: TOKYO, JAPAN Q. First of all, congratulations on making the next round. You guy had the three-run home run in the first inning and that was a strong start for you guys, talk about how that affected your team to continue the offensive momentum you had last night and to just get going. SADAHARU OH: Firstly, we knew that Korea won their second game during the daytime. So I had in mind that we want to win this one, too. We all had that motivation and that atmosphere. That three-run home run made us all feel easier, more relaxed, and from there onwards, our offense became a lot easier. Q. In terms of offense, I think you were very relaxed and good, but your pitcher, first pitcher, Mr. Matsuzaka, after you gained four points, he didn't seem to be in his best style. When he was not doing too good, did you give him some kind of advice? When you're in trouble, I thought maybe one of the infielders would go up to the mound to talk to him or something, but they didn't do that. When the pitcher is not doing good, is that the way you handle it? SADAHARU OH: Well, from our coaching staff side, looking at Mr. Matsuzaka's pitching lately, looking at the exhibition games and everything, I knew that he was not at his very best. While his performance today was not at his best, either. I think the umpire called a balk on his performance and he lost a point, but he didn't lose any more and that was good enough there. I know it's not the best for him. I know he could do better. But I'm relieved that he only lost one point. And since we have members from various professional teams, this is the difficulty I have to put up with from here onwards. Being a team representing Japan -- I think we need more sense of unity so that when the pitcher is in trouble, some members maybe can cheer him up or advise him or make him feel better. That didn't happen this time because we didn't have the unity which we had otherwise. Q. Do you think tomorrow the players will be thinking about America, or do you think you can keep them focused on tomorrow night's very important game with Korea? SADAHARU OH: Well, I think they are relieved they have survived the Asian round, that's for sure. But I keep on saying that we have to win all three games and they know that. I keep saying that we have to be the No. 1 team to go over when we go over to America, and I think they know that, too. So I will make sure that the atmosphere doesn't go in the wrong way, and I have to keep on telling them again, we have to win all three games, we have to be the No. 1 team to go to America. I'll make sure of that. Q. You keep saying that you want to be No. 1 in Asia, does that mean you want to play against America in the first game in the States? SADAHARU OH: We have to play against America anyhow. So I just want to win all three games and we'll bring our best to America. Q. I heard about Mr. Wada, his shoulder condition is not at his best, that's what we heard, can you comment on that? SADAHARU OH: As to for today's game, I didn't use him if I didn't have to, so I didn't. But I've been watching his training throughout the camp, training camp and everything, and I've seen him for like four years and he was doing pretty good in the training camp. Once his shoulder condition gets a little better, I'm sure that he will be a big power to the Japan team. But today, once we go over -- once we survive the Asian round, the next game will be like from the 12th of March, so that will be a useful time for him to recover. Q. Your second batter is Mr. Nishioka, he is doing so good, he has some mobility, he runs fast and is very effective, what do you think about that, please? SADAHARU OH: As for Mr. Nishioka and Mr. Kawasaki, also, they are both playing in the Pacific League, and they know very well -- I mean, I know their performance very well from throughout the seasons in the past. I picked them because I knew how effective they are. They have proven that my choice was right. I wanted to do some good plays and they have been doing that, which is very good. While some players are in better condition than others. So I would like to use players who are at their best condition. Maybe their condition will change after we go over to the United States. So who knows, maybe there will be -- I might be selecting some other players, but right now doing good. Nishioka and Kawasaki are doing good, so they will be playing tomorrow and if they keep it up, then they will be playing in the United States, as well. Q. What did you think about the Chinese Taipei players today, what's your impression? SADAHARU OH: Well, yesterday, they were defeated by the Korean team, and they were very, very motivated to win today's game. Like I mentioned before, our player, Tamura hit a three-run home run in the first inning, and that really affected them and that really made a difference for them. That three-run homer was a very good one for Japan, but it has been a very bad one for Chinese Taipei. I'm sure they were here to do their best, but we had the momentum rather than they. Q. During the first two games you had the same batting lineup, are there going to be some surprise for tomorrow's game? And one more thing, Mr. Yabuta (ph) was one of the pitchers today, what did you think about him? SADAHARU OH: About the members of our team tomorrow, we have a conference among the coaching staff and that's when we make the final decision. If the players are doing good, there's no reason to change the members. The next question about the player you mentioned, his pitching was good, but it must have been his first experience in an international event. I haven't asked him anything yet, but he must have been nervous. He was trying to use a breaking ball, but his control was not so good as it could be, but if he improved on that, he would be a lot better. Q. Can you comment on the play of Ichiro Suzuki, he was supposed to be the big star coming into this, but it seems like Tamura and Nishioka have been stealing the spotlight. SADAHARU OH: Well, Ichiro, he's only human, he can't be at his best every single day, and this is a lot earlier in the season than usual years. He's trying hard and he's doing so well as a member of our team. Ever since he decided to join our team, he's been preparing for the game in a lot different way than his usual seasons. People want so much from him and he's not doing that bad, but there could be criticisms against him. But he is doing good. He's physically fit and when he tries his best, all of the other members of the Japan feels good that he's trying so hard with them. I'm sure he's helping out our team in a lot more ways than a person might think that he is. Once we go to America, maybe he will do a lot more beautiful things than he has done until today, who knows Q. Your pitching today, please compare the good parts compared to your previous pitching, and what is the room for improvement? And question to Mr. Tamura, you really wanted points, the first points, earlier than the opponent, and you did so well, and what is your comment on your own performance? DAISUKE MATSUZAKA: I pitched for two days before today's game but either one was not so good. And today I pitched in an official game, I was in this international event atmosphere, and I was hoping I can do better. I was not worried about the game, and I thought I could do my job. HITOSHI TAMURA: Well, yes, I really wanted the first point of the game, and I had a big chance in the first inning and I really swung and ripped it. It went well. Q. Mr. Matsuzaka, you had a balk in the second inning and you didn't do your best fielding after picking up the bunt and the fly ball, what do you think about that? DAISUKE MATSUZAKA: Well, yes, I've never done that kind of balk in my whole year. This is the first time I've ever done that. The ball itself has changed to a new type, and I had to get used to it. When I was trying to pitch then, I had a hint that that is something that could happen, and, well, it did happen, and it turned out to be a balk. Well, it wasn't nil-nil, it wasn't a one-point difference, we already had a lead, so that was a big break for me. As for the bunt, I caught the half-liner ball, the ball was much stronger than I anticipated. I should have caught the ball and tried for a double-play. I should have done that, but I couldn't do it. You saw my facial expression. I could only get one out, but that's better than none. Q. Obviously they are wanting to keep this game as low-scoring and as close as possible, and at that point you hit a home run that put you guys up by three runs before they even bat, did you just kind of see them deflate at that point? I mean, what was it like? HITOSHI TAMURA: No, I couldn't see that. Actually I wasn't paying too much attention that way. I was excited about the three-run home run, and I was making sure to step on each base and that's about all I had on my mind. Q. When you played against the Giants, you had like a 150-kilometer-per-hour ball, and you could do that because this is an international game? What do you think? Did you know that your ball was very, very fast today? DAISUKE MATSUZAKA: Well, yeah. As for my pitching, the atmosphere of the game itself will effect my pitching. I knew that from my experience and I could anticipate that was going to happen. So today, well, I didn't really -- I wasn't really aware about my ball being so fast. But I didn't really think about 149 kilometers per hour and things like that, but I guess I was throwing okay. Q. Well, you won, you are the winning pitcher, but I think you know that you can actually do a lot better. What is the point that you must improve in order for Japan to win more games ahead? DAISUKE MATSUZAKA: Can you ask me the question again, please? Q. Your performance today was not at your best, but if you have a stronger opposing team, what is the things that you have to improve? DAISUKE MATSUZAKA: Well, usually, I know the importance of how I should win. And I always think about my performance very much. But in this kind of event, good pitching doesn't always lead to victory, and I know that the important thing is that we win the game. So as for the result, I am quite satisfied with the result I got. As we go into the second round in America, the balk thing did I today, I shouldn't be doing some big mistakes like that anymore. I want to stop making those careless mistakes. Q. Can you talk about your feelings regarding the game against Korea tomorrow, talk about its importance and just the general importance to you as individuals and for Japan to establish itself as the No. 1 team in this group? HITOSHI TAMURA: Well, tomorrow, the Korean team, they have many Major Leaguers. They have a tough team, that's what I think. But we, Japan, are also tough. Since I feel I should do good fielding and when I get the chance, I want to do good batting, so we can score some runs. I'll just do my best. DAISUKE MATSUZAKA: Well, tomorrow, I will not be pitching tomorrow against Korea. I want to shout my voice and support my team. I want Japan to win so well that Korean members will think it's going to take a while for them to win against Japan in the near future. Q. You threw 67 balls today, a little more than 65, did the 65 rule, regulation, affect your pitching in terms of how you pitched? In the second round you can pitch up to 80 balls. Is there going to be any changes in your pitching plan? DAISUKE MATSUZAKA: Well, today, when I was the final batter, that's the only time I was aware of the new rule, regulation. Until then, it wasn't really on my mind. So it's not like it's been on my mind all the way. I just wanted to get the final batter out instead of giving him four balls. In the second round in America, I think I want to pitch not being aware of the new rules and I just want to pitch the way I always do. Q. In terms of how to pitch throughout the whole game, did that rule affect you today? DAISUKE MATSUZAKA: Well, in my mind, it's been in my mind somewhere to be honest. But I knew the rule is going to affect me ever since I decided to join this team. So it's nothing new. So I just take did my pitching today and I'm glad nothing bad came out of it. Q. You were talking before about the ball and the resin bag, please comment on that. And also, please comment on the strike zone and the American rules, how did you feel about that today, and how did that effect your pitching today, did it make any advantage for you or anything? DAISUKE MATSUZAKA: What was the first part? Okay. The other day when I pitched against the Giants, I was getting used to using the resin bag and I did have a little trouble before. When my thumb gets slippery on the ball, there may be a little trouble, so I kept in mind that I should be careful. As for the strike zone, when I threw the ball to the outside, I didn't feel it was extra wide or anything. I didn't feel that. Since the umpire took strikes from the ball I threw, I felt lucky sometimes. It was not very wide compared to what I've been imagining. So as long as I throw the ball somewhere above the home plate, I knew there should be no trouble.
End of FastScripts... |
|
||||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
About ASAP Sports •
FastScripts Archive •
Recent Interviews •
Captioning •
Upcoming Events •
Contact Us
FastScripts | Events Covered | Our Clients | Other Services | ASAP in the News | Site Map | Job Opportunities | Links |
|
ASAP Sports, Inc. | T: 1.212 385 0297
|