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WORLD BASEBALL CLASSIC POOL A: TOKYOMarch 7, 2009Terry CollinsJianang LuTOKYO, JAPAN Q. What was the key to succeeding in today's contest? You won twice; back in the Beijing Olympics and in this tournament against Chinese Taipei. TERRY COLLINS: It is a big day for our team on this stage, which was certainly different competition than the Olympics. It's a big honor. I thought the key to the game was the starting pitcher, Jianang, gave us quality innings early in the game and allowed us to get the lead, and our bullpen did a good job holding on. Q. I am very impressed by your team's performance today, there were no errors or balks. Did you notice any mistakes that your team made today? And also, how does this victory translate into excitement and confidence for you as you go into the next game? TERRY COLLINS: Well, there were some mistakes, certainly. You can't walk people, especially lead-off hitters, and we certainly cannot do that tomorrow night no matter who we play. So we are going to talk about that as a team. We missed some signs tonight that were in some big situations that cannot happen. We had a runner at second base and nobody out, and we missed the bunt sign a couple of times. Those things, we have got to play flawless ball against whoever it is tomorrow night, for sure. But this is a huge confidence-builder for this team. When I met this team, they didn't expect to win any games. I was told when I got the job: You're going to lose two times and you'll be out. So I think this is a huge confidence-builder for our ballclub, and we are going to enjoy this win, for sure, tonight. Q. You talked before the tournament about dealing with the team's nervousness and emotions; how do you perceive that going into tomorrow's game with a lot on the line? TERRY COLLINS: I certainly hope that today's game can relax them a little bit. I think part of what you saw early in the game tonight was some base-on-balls early; we blew the first hitter off on four pitches, and that was nervousness. Later in the game, we walked a guy leading off the inning, and I think that was nervousness. This victory should, I hope, relax this team, so tomorrow night, obviously a huge challenge, whoever we have to play, two outstanding teams. Hey, we will just enjoy it. You compete the best you can. And the one thing we realize, it's an elimination game for them, too, so they have to play well. So let's just go play baseball. Q. Tell us about tomorrow's contest. You are facing either Korea or Japan. What if you play against Korea, can you name any key players if you play against Korea? Can you tell us your impression of the key players of Korea? TERRY COLLINS: To be honest, I can't tell you about the key players from Korea. I know they have got a bunch. I've watched a couple of games they played. You know, Kim hit the home run last night; you probably cannot let him do damage against you. As I look ahead to tomorrow night, I really feel this way: The pressure is going to be on the other team. They are supposed to win. We are not supposed to be there. So, both those teams are very, very, very good. They have got good players. I always hate to single out one or two guys, because it's really unfair. Because if you get those -- two nights ago, we got Ichiro, and he was 0-for-5 and Murata beat us. You can't just worry about one guy; you have to worry about all nine in that lineup. Q. Talk about managing your bullpen with the pitch counts and everything, and the fact that you were winning and you wanted to think about the next game tomorrow. And having not been in China much, tell me about what you feel this victory means for baseball in China. TERRY COLLINS: When it came to managing the bullpen, after the outing Jianang gave us that got us deep into the game, it was pretty easy. Yeah, we had the lead and we certainly had in the back of our mind about tomorrow night. We could not get over-confident about it, but we had to realize that when it comes to Junyi, we couldn't over-use him and just wanted him to face a couple of guys. As far as internationally, you know, when I walked off the field into the clubhouse and saw the Chinese officials as excited and as happy as they were, I think it means a lot to baseball this China. Again, I think it's a different stage than the Olympic Games here. You know, one of the things that Jim Lefebvre told me when I took the job when I called him, he told me: "You have to understand, the competition is going to be a lot more in the WBC than the Olympics." He said, "Make sure you understand that Chinese Taipei, they are going to want to beat you as bad as you want to beat them because of what happened in the Olympics." So I know that they were looking forward to this game, to perhaps get a little revenge for the Olympic loss. So I think this means a lot, not only for our team, but hopefully for baseball totally in China. You know, I'm a baseball guy and I want baseball everywhere and to be the sport. So hopefully it will help grow it, make it grow in China. Q. Representing China, nobody is expecting you to get any wins, but how do you pump up your players to keep the motivation up? TERRY COLLINS: You know, I really believe -- and those of you who were around me the last two years when I was in Japan know, I believe in motivation and talking about nothing but the positive side of the game. As I've said many times to the players: This is a difficult game. So respect your ability, respect your opponent, but have some fun with the game. Take some time to concentrate. And I told them today: Hey, look, we have nothing to lose and everything to gain when we go out on the field. So let's play aggressively, enjoy it, and I think they did that. I think after the first inning, our starting pitcher settled down and we enjoyed every inning after that. We got a couple of big hits early in the game, which I know loosened the team up and brought some confidence to the lineup. So hopefully we can do that tomorrow. Q. If possible, can you name the probable starter for tomorrow's contest? TERRY COLLINS: No. (Laughter). Q. Tell us about your former manager, Jim Lefebvre. He represented the China Team for a long time, and you've only represented for two months or so. How do you get the job passed from Jim Lefebvre? You mentioned that you mentally affected your team's performance, tell us about that, and also, if you have any specific techniques, baseball tactics you want to adjust, tell us, please. TERRY COLLINS: Well, as far as Jim Lefebvre goes, he put several years into making baseball in China and this national team. He deserves a lot of credit for the advancement of these players. I got a great report from Jim; from Steve Ontiveros, the pitching coach from the Olympic team; from Tom Lawless, one of the other coaches, so I got a pretty good description of what to expect from our club. When they came to Florida, it was about trying to instill some confidence, trying to instill some pride. You know, the WBC is about playing for your country, but as we know, this is individual pride. When you're a baseball player and you walk out there, the last thing you want to ever do is embarrass yourself personally. You can't worry about having your neighbor back home be embarrassed or your brother and sister; it's you that's performing. So go out there and have some confidence in yourself. And so we talk about that a lot. When we talk about the mental side, hey, let's talk about preparation. Let's talk about concentration. You have to be able to separate what happened an out ago to look ahead. We have said many times when I was here in Japan: This game is about adjustments, from pitch-to-pitch, from at-bat to at-bat, and from day-to-day. We will enjoy this victory for about the next two or three hours, and we will sit in the stands and watch that great tame tonight and prepare for tomorrow. We can't worry about 3 o'clock anymore and we have to get ready for the next day. That's the only way you can approach it as a player and make sure you are ready for the next -- whatever it coming, the next pitch, the next at-bat. Q. In today's contest, you had a lot of signs: Steals, hit and runs, stuff like that. I believe all of these are sign plays, and personally I think that you are the most aggressive among team China. What made you have so much aggressiveness, tell us, please. TERRY COLLINS: After watching the game, they are two different performances, Yu Darvish, than Lin that we faced today. I felt that if we got some runners on base, we needed to create action. We can't sit back. I don't think our team is at the point where you can just sit back and depend on your offense to carry you. I think you need to create some holes in the infield by moving runners. We missed some signs today that were action signs that we cannot afford to do tomorrow. We're going to talk about that later. Again, we are such a young team when it comes to this type of an atmosphere. We have got to change the way we play a little bit to compete. Q. Congratulations on your first WBC-winning game. As a player representing your country, how was your emotional feeling before the game started? JIANANG LU: Today's contest was the very best game among all our experiences. So before the game started, I tried to do my best, and so was my team. Q. Today's victory is such a huge victory; what brings you -- what does today's big win mean to you? And also, back home in China, still there are some people that are cheering for baseball, do you have any specific comment for the people in China cheering baseball as a sport? JIANANG LU: The win, it is just a start. It is not a big deal. It is just a start. We have to keep winning, again and again. Our country doesn't have a long baseball history. We are still behind. So we have to go step-by-step to catch up on other opponents/countries. Q. The China Team played very well. The day before yesterday, your team gave up a run a balk suffered against Japan. But so far, generally your team is performing very well. Do you have any specific comment for tomorrow's do-or-die game? JIANANG LU: Yes, we are representing our nations, so no matter who we play against, we focus on tomorrow's game and but all effort, as much as we can, and try to work hard. Q. Before the game started, how would you describe Chinese Taipei, and after the game finished, how do you feel about Chinese Taipei? Do you feel any differences? JIANANG LU: Yes, talking about Chinese Taipei, they have a good result, even in international competition. So before the game started, I felt that Chinese Taipei is a tough opponent. But we are -- well, before the game and during the game think that even though Chinese Taipei is a tough opponent, we still have a good opportunity to get the win. So that's how we play. Q. Do you have any specific comment for Ichiro, because he is struggling. He went 0-for-5 the other day against China. When you are on the defensive position, how do you see Ichiro's batting condition? JIANANG LU: Well, what was on Thursday? Can you describe the question again? Q. I meant game one of Japan's game. I meant the day before yesterday's game, China versus Japan. The first game of the Tokyo round, Japan against China, when you're on the defense, how do you see Ichiro's condition? How do you see Ichiro's hitting mechanics? How do you see Ichiro's atmosphere? JIANANG LU: Yes, talking about Ichiro, he's such a genius hitter. Even though he went 0-for-4 or 0-for-5, he is still the best among the best. His rhythm, his condition, although everybody says that he is a bit struggling, but he is capable of making adjustments. Q. Everybody is saying that baseball in China is growing rapidly; can you describe any reasons why? JIANANG LU: In the future, I don't know. No one knows, not even me. No one knows the future of baseball in China. But, hopefully in the future we could be one of the best countries, baseball countries, in the world. That's my hope. End of FastScripts |
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