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WORLD BASEBALL CLASSIC POOL A: TOKYOMarch 5, 2009Terry CollinsChenhao LiTOKYO, JAPAN Q. You just finished the opening game, the result was a shutout, what was your impression of tonight's contest? TERRY COLLINS: Well, I thought it was a well-played game. I thought our club actually played a very good game. We pitched -- we made a couple of mistakes pitching-wise, but otherwise, I thought we played very, very well. You know, you can't give the Japanese team much breathing room, and you know, we just couldn't get any big hits. Ichiro made a nice play in right field, saved an extra base hit. Murata's play at third base was huge. Couple of double plays they made kept us at bay. But I thought our club played very well. Q. Tell us about the pitcher, starting pitcher Li Chenhao, he pitched very well, he was patient, but he pitched over 60, so were you wishing he could go one more inning? And the next question is: All of the pitchers are feeling pressure of the pitching count, does the pitching count system bother your team? TERRY COLLINS: In the case of Li Chenhao, as to the pitch count, yes, I wanted -- if I could, I would have liked him to go one more inning. But you know, when he only had nine pitches left, you know, you're talking about the possibility of only one hitter. So I thought I could get him out there, and Junyi came in and he did a good job. But I thought all our pitchers -- we fell behind in some count, a few more pitches than I wanted to throw, but you know, for the most part, we made some big pitches when we had to. So I was very happy with the way we threw the ball. When you face that lineup and you only give up five hits against that team, obviously one big hit, I think you pitched a good ballgame. Q. It's cost you at times but it looks like your defensive execution is getting almost on par with some of the teams, you had the infield in a couple of times and you executed that, and the shortstop kept the guy at third which is a smart play. Can you comment on your defense and how it's been improving and maybe getting to the level of some of these other international teams? TERRY COLLINS: Well, I'll tell you, we've stressed it -- I truly believe that pitching and defense, that's how you're going to create a good team. I think that's how you win, through pitching and defense, as they showed tonight. They made big plays and they pitched great. So we stressed that in s t immensely. The ball in center field, Sun tried to make a good catch out of it. I certainly have no problem addressing his mistakes. The ball that popped out of Ray's glove, Chen Hao is a young guy in left field and he's actually been a former pitcher, so that probably should have been his ball. But for the most part I thought we played very, very well defensively, and again, I think if we can do that, I think the Chinese, you know, we're going to be okay. If they can catch the baseball, their pitching is going to get a little bit better, their arm strength is going to improve the more they play. You know, are they on par with the Japanese? Not yet. But they are getting there, and you know, they have got some good athletes on this team. If they can catch the ball and they can pitch the ball, they will win a lot of games. Q. The last time you played, it was 18-2, so now we are talking about 4-0, so it seems like you made quite a lot of progress. Just wondering if you see the level catching up that rapidly. TERRY COLLINS: Well, there's no reason why they shouldn't. Once again, you're talking about some athletic guys. You know, this Chinese team, they have some big players who can run. They are getting much more aware of what it takes to play baseball. Even though their schedule is not filled with a lot of games, they have played in international competition and they do realize the importance of playing defense. You know, their pitchers, again, we had a game plan going in. I told you yesterday, I know the Japanese very well, and if you can execute some pitches, you're going to get some outs. You're not going to hold Ichiro down for very long, and probably got him at the right time. But I was very proud of the way our pitchers hung in there. They fell behind in some counts and made some quality pitches. The ball that Murata hit, I saw the replay on the scoreboard, so it was still down in the strike zone, so the guy did something that probably only those certain good hitters can do: Hit it out of the zone and hit it out of the ballpark. We made some advances, no question about it, and I think they will continue to make advancements. Q. More general, can you envision a time when China and Japan will be serious rivals or perhap playing in the same league together, and how many years do you imagine that would take? TERRY COLLINS: Well, I truly believe -- it's a tough question for me to answer, because I have not been to China. I met this team in Florida. I do believe this: If they put their mind to it and they decide that baseball is a sport that they want in China to be a big sport, with their athleticism, and those big players that they have, they can make rapid advancement. Your time frame, you know, when they start to give youth baseball, it could be five or six years down the road where all of a sudden, they have really reached a par where they are starting to create some young, bright players. As I've said this whole week this far, you have to play this game to improve. You can practice all you want. You have to play game speed and you have to deal with game situations that you cannot emulate in practice. And until they start playing more than 30 games a year, it's going to be tough for them to catch up. So you know, I told the officials, the Chinese officials, if they do the best they can to try to play more games; and if they can't play in China, then spend more time -- Jimmy Lefebvre did a great job getting ready for the Olympics. He came to the United States and played 25, 30 games to prepare for the Olympic team and I think you are seeing the results of more games played by these guys. And the more they play, the better they will get, for sure. Q. Tell us about your opponent players, is Ichiro a more threatening player, because Ichiro is someone who is a fundamental leader in Japan, but he went 0-for-5; so was Ichiro a threat to your team or not? TERRY COLLINS: One of the things that makes baseball a great game is it's not easy to play. Even the greatest players can go 0-for-5. Like I said, we got him on a night, perhaps, when maybe we just made good pitches on him. Maybe we were so focused on keeping him off the base, which we were; we said, we can't let this guy get on, he creates too much havoc. If we keep him off the base, we have a chance. I think our pitchers really concentrated and kept him off the base tonight. He's still the leader of that team, in my opinion. As I look down that lineup, I remember coming over to Japan a few years ago and Ogasawara was the leader when they won the championship with Inaba. They were both two guys that led that team, and now you add Ichiro to the mix; there's a lot of guys over there that can beat you. He puts so much pressure, so much excellence on himself; he isn't perfect and he is a human being and he is allowed to have a bad night. I guess we are very fortunate that he didn't have one against us and that he didn't go 5-for-5. I think that's what makes it a great game; it takes nine guys. Q. Basically we know that after tomorrow, China is going to play either Chinese Taipei or Korea. Which part do you want to adjust or improve the most? TERRY COLLINS: Well, we have to hit. We have to get some big hits. The area we have to improve on obviously is we have to get some key hits. I don't think we got anybody -- one time, we might have had somebody at second base. You've got to get some big hits. I thought we hit the ball at times very well. Again, you know, if balls over Ichiro's head, it might start something. It might really give us some confidence. But the ball that Chen Hao hits down the third baseline, the ball gets by Murata, all of a sudden you have a ballgame. So you have to get some key singles, and especially, we said it, everybody talks about it, but a two-out single with guys in scoring position is really huge for you. So if we are going to look forward to the next game, then the one thing we have to concentrate on is getting our guys in scoring position and figure out a way to get them across the plate. Q. Right after the change of the pitcher, Johjima, they are Major League players, and did you feel any pressure being in a contest with these Major League players on the Japan team? CHENHAO LI: I have not thought that they were Major League players because if I think they would be pressure, and so I try not to think about it and I just try my best to throw the ball. Because I practice quite a lot to throw what kind of ball I should throw to these opponent players. Q. What was your impression about the Japanese batter? What did you feel about the Japanese batter? CHENHAO LI: I thought they were great batters and I tried my best to throw. I gave everything I had to them. And also, I try my best, I try to get strikes from these very strong batters. Q. Your team has gone from 18-2 against Japan to 4-0. That seems like a pretty considerable improvement. I just wonder how you feel, if you feel the team has gotten a lot better and if you're getting up to rising in international competition, if your overall level is coming up. CHENHAO LI: I was very fortunate to practice in the U.S., and that began my experience, as well. I wanted to show how much we have grown and how much experience we had in the past to the world, so this is a great opportunity to show that. End of FastScripts |
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