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WORLD BASEBALL CLASSIC POOL C: TORONTOMarch 7, 2009Joey VottoErnie WhittTORONTO, ONTARIO THE MODERATOR: To begin, we're going to ask manager Ernie Whitt to make an opening statement. ERNIE WHITT: I didn't know I had to make an opening statement. I think everyone saw it was a well-played game. You know, we kept the crowd involved, we had our chances, and we just came up a little short. So I thought our pitching was good, our hitting was good. I mean, I guess we had five hits, but, you know, I think our team is capable of more hitting, other than the guy to my left. He had a pretty good day. Q. If you can address just the fact that this team just had so much fight in it, just seemed every time it looked like the Americans are ready to pull away, you guys would just claw right back into the game. JOEY VOTTO: It starts from the top, the older guys, that's their attitude. It's just infectious. Being a younger player, like myself, I just fed off of it. And, you know, there's so much heart on the bench, and a great attitude and a never-give-up attitude. ERNIE WHITT: It's like Joey said, we never give up. And even though we lost today, we know we had to win two games. So we have to win the next two games. That is the bottom line. And we'll come out Monday, whoever we face, and we'll be ready to win. Q. Ernie, your guys, you gave up three home runs, but seemed like they really beared down whenever the U.S. had runners in scoring position really effectively today. ERNIE WHITT: I think our pitchers did a decent job. I mean, you know, it's -- they kept us in the ball game and, you know, we kept clawing back and, you know, I thought it was a pretty good ball game. We just came out on the short end of it. Q. Joey, this is for you. It's two-part question. First off, did you take the Go Train again today? JOEY VOTTO: No, I drove in today. Q. Now, just what was this experience like for you? I mean, 40,000-plus fans, and I think -- did you even notice that at one point, I think thousands were chanting your name. What was that experience like to play a game of this magnitude here at home? JOEY VOTTO: The magnitude part's kind of new to me because I've only played regular season games. The chanting I didn't notice. And the fans, I mean, I've played in front of big crowds before, So the fans never played a part. I guess, I mean, it's cool to have, you know, people chanting your name or whatever they were chanting, so, you know, that's great. Q. Ernie, given the history of this ballpark and the games that the Blue Jays played in another era here, what was the feeling like on the bench with the crowd and everything? What was the atmosphere like in the ninth, the sense of urgency? ERNIE WHITT: I think any time you have a -- you know, you want to put yourself in a position to win. I think we did that. You know, we had our chances. That's all that you can ask for. I mean, that's the beauty of baseball, is getting the opportunity and getting that chance to win. And if the player comes up with the hit at the right time, you know, we could still be playing, or the game could be over and we could be a winner, or the game's over and we're a loser. But, you know, it's all you want to do, is give yourself an opportunity to win. And we did that all day today. Q. Could you comment on Mike Johnson's performance and Phillippe Aumont, the way he worked out of that jam in the seventh. ERNIE WHITT: M.J. did a nice job for us. You know, he got behind some of the hitters in the second inning, but then he came back. And, you know, he threw strikes. And that's what we want him to do. He made a couple of pitches, the home run that McCann hit, he was trying to cut the ball in on him, it came back over the plate. Again, if the ball's in, it's a good pitch, it comes back over the plate you get hurt with it. Overall, I thought M.J. gave us a real good game. He kept us in the ball game. And, you know, we had our opportunities, and again, I thought he did a nice job. As far as Aumont, you know, here is a 19-year-old kid going out there in front of 40,000 people, probably the biggest crowd he's ever faced, and his composure was great. He got himself into a situation that, you know, we were on touch-and-go because of the fact that, you know, we were told that he was not supposed to throw more than 25 pitches. And it was like, that 25th pitch, he struck the guy out. I'm going, What do you do? I mean, what if he fouls that pitch off, do I take the guy out or what? I'm going -- so I was in deep discussion with Greg Hamilton, and I said, you know, You're going have to wear this with Seattle if he has to throw an extra pitch. But, you know, this is a great character builder for him, I think. I mean, it shows that he can play on this stage. And he won't be ready for Monday, but he will be ready for Tuesday. Q. Joey, this is a loss, but how important was this going forward, especially for the younger players, to compete as hard as you guys did against Team USA? JOEY VOTTO: I think it's very important to let the younger players know that we can stay head-to-head with a team of that caliber. I mean, from one to nine, they were all-stars. And I don't feel this way, but I'm sure that the younger players feel like, Shoot, you know, we can do this. We can play with these guys. Maybe that means something to their career more than just the World Baseball Classic. Q. I'd like to ask you, Ernie, in kind of going a little bit with what Joey had to say, you're a veteran, you've played a lot of games, what do you say to younger guys like Joey to kind of get him to be ready for the next game? ERNIE WHITT: Well, there's certain people that you really don't have to say anything to, and Joey's one of those guys. He's played at the major league level and he has played in front of big crowds. I know when Chris Leroux came in, I mean, this kid has pitched in a ball. He comes in with one out, and I said, Just breathe, have some fun and go after them. And he did a nice job. The same thing with Aumont. I mean, we have a great mixture of guys on this team. And the fact that we have a veteran presence, it helps the younger players. And that is the beauty of this whole program. As veteran players get older, we are still bringing some younger kids through the system, and they're experience is first-hand. Hopefully, they'll gain by the knowledge of playing with these veteran players. Q. Ernie, I would like to know your opinion about Venezuelan National Team. How they're going to play against Venezuela? ERNIE WHITT: We're going to play to win. (Laughter), as we do every game. I agree with you, they've got a very talented team, as we do, and I think every team in this tournament, in this pool, is very capable of winning at any time. And so you can't take any team lightly. And, you know, as I've said since 1999, with my first day managing Team Canada, there's never a quit with Team Canada. You know, we'll battle to the last out. And we lost today, but we'll be prepared on Monday, whoever we face. THE MODERATOR: Thank you, Ernie. Thank you, Joey. End of FastScripts |
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