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WORLD BASEBALL CLASSIC POOL D: SAN JUANMarch 8, 2009Felipe AlouNelson CruzJohnny CuetoMiguel OlivioSAN JUAN, PUERTO RICO (Questions and answers translated from Spanish.) MODERATOR: Let's start with some opening statements. FELIPE ALOU: Good evening. It's good, even though we are against the wall. We still know that we're against the wall, but this victory, this was a big win for us. It shows that the team can bat and we can hit some home runs. And it showed that we had quite close pitching. It was close last night in the defeat, and it was close tonight in the victory. So moods have changed quite a bit in the dugout for the Dominican team. Now we have a chance to settle accounts, to see if we qualify to move up in this Classic. Q. After last night's game you left open the possibility of making changes in the field where Nelson Cruz is and in the catcher where Olivio plays. Are you thankful for not making those changes. FELIPE ALOU: Cruz was not in left field, it was right field. Cruz is mainly right field, because Bautista had his -- his leg was tired. It had nothing to do with him. Guillermo came to that early, and he told me he was ready. There were a couple of guys that came to the bat before the bus got here at here at the stadium. He -- and his numbers surpassed all games in the spring training. There were three, the games that he played in left field. He's one of the regular club players. He has shown and he is showing why we have stayed with him. There was another change, like, for example, Tatis. Tatis played, and I kept the catcher because Olivio is the big league catcher that we have at this time. And we have to respect that quite a bit also. Q. To Miguel and also first Miguel and Nelson. One question, I would like both to answer. Definitely tonight the Dominican bats woke up. What can you tell me, Miguel, how well you felt in batting tonight? MIGUEL OLIVIO: As everyone saw I did very good. The Dominican bats, people have to be patient. Because ball is here. Anybody can win. Anybody can play good. Today it was me and Cruz. But it could also be Ortiz and Tejada. The team is very inspired right now. NELSON CRUZ: I would say it was a team win. Pitching responded. It was better than yesterday. The Dominican team has a good offense. So it's not surprising to anyone that we can make a lot of runs. Q. We would like to talk to all, but we are going to give a chance to Johnny Cueto to tell us in the exhibition games with the team, were you as certain as today that there was any difference? What was the tactic to come out successful against Panama? JOHNNY CUETO: First of all, I was training without aggressiveness. I said to myself when this Classic starts that I was going to be ready. And thank you God I was fine, and I felt fine with all my pitching and I was aggressive. The Dominicans lost yesterday, but it was a good game. I said to myself, this is the last game, so we have to beat them. And that's how it was. Thank God. Q. The managers are always the ones who are blamed for the defeats. But the managers also do some things that make the teams win 9-0. What did you do to wake this team up? FELIPE ALOU: Well, patience, patience. I was talking with the people from Panama for which I feel bad I would say. Because it's really difficult to wait four years to play two games. I don't know if that format will change ever, but -- for example, if we would have been the ones that lost that defeat would not speak nor reveal the situation of baseball. Those two losses for Panama. The best Panamanian ball comes from there. Since the question was addressed to me, I said, well, we have spent three games without scoring runs. The last two we scored one in each game. And last night we scored one by a home run with open bases and a shortstop sacrifice. So it was not an acceptable performance for the Dominican team. Even if we would have lost them both and been eliminated, we all know that is not Dominican baseball. And it's also not Panamanian also. The thing is that, to wait four years to play one game, and if you lose that, then you are against the wall playing one game. And if you lost it, you have to go back to Panama or the Dominican, wherever you are from. So as I say you have to be patient. And the guys that I mentioned, they played tonight based on patience, and they responded. That's what it is. You have to be patient and wait. I know a lot of fans who left to go home back to the Dominican. I'm glad they saw the game on TV. And they were patient and they waited. But even for two games you have to be patient. Q. In 2006, Johnny, Bartolo Colon, a veteran, told me that the most nervous he felt in his life is when he got on the mound to represent his country. Did you feel at any time warming up in the bullpen or when you got on the mound, and would you use up your pitches? JOHNNY CUETO: First of all, I have never been scared. I always have the strength to pitch. I was warming up, and I felt good when I was warming up. And I said, well, I knew I was going to have a good game because I felt really good. And when I got to the bullpen, I felt tough and low and all my pitches were good, the sinker and that. And I said, we've got to win this game in any way. And thank God it was like that. Q. Felipe Alou, depending on the outcome of tomorrow's game, whoever loses will be playing the Dominican. It could be a rematch with the Netherlands, or it could be that game that everyone was expecting for tomorrow, Puerto Rico and Dominican. What preparation do you expect to have for the one who loses tomorrow? FELIPE ALOU: Well, we know that the Puerto Rico team is a fearless team. They have three big pitchers. They are the best pitchers for the best games. We already saw what happened last night. On the other hand, the Netherland team beat us. So any of those two teams are something to be concerned for. This victory, where at least the bats got loose, we are going in with a lot more confidence than we did to the first game. Even with tonight's game in the beginning. For our game the day after tomorrow we have Ubaldo Jimenez. He may be our winning card. He has a repertoire that is incredibly powerful. He was a young pitcher in the last season in the big leagues. In the second half, he was one of the best pitchers in the national league. So any of the two teams, the ones that we are going to have a guy that is on his fifth day of rest. And we're going to have a bullpen where the men who did that great job last night did not pitch tonight. So we have a scenario that's quite promising for that game, and we are going to see what happens and who is going to be our opponent. Q. The situation Hanley Ramirez, Jose Reyes. Hanley played the first day, Jose makes the offense of the team maybe a little bit speedy. Is there any possibility that at any time we'll see those playing shortstop and second? FELIPE ALOU: No, sir. No, no. Aside from the pitch count of 70, there's something else, other things that we are prohibited from making those changes. We can't. There has been talk -- there are understandings with the teams that they would not like to see a shortstop star playing second base. It's a big difference playing second base and playing shortstop. It's the same as Tejada playing third base. It's not the same thing. Those are men who have spent all of their career playing in one position. And I would like to go against logic -- for example, the Florida Marlins has just given a contract to Ramirez for 780 million. Imagine that I would take that liberty. I won't follow. Go on. The Marlins say that they are bankrupt. They don't have all that much money. (Laughter.) Q. We hope that your hunch for next game is the same as today's. I'd like to know whether, for that game, unless it is a surprise, it will be against the Netherlands. Will there be more changes in addition to what you mentioned about playing Jose Reyes and Ramirez? FELIPE ALOU: When the second home run, Olivio's second home run, I started to think about Tuesday's game. Before that I was only thinking about today's game, Sunday's game. The managers are like that. Sometimes the kids, maybe the young ones, think, we've already won it. But I've seen many things happen that are out of your hands. We're going have a practice, I believe, tomorrow about 11 in the morning in Carolina. I'm going to go to bed to savor the win. And tomorrow I'm going to make decisions about what the game the day after tomorrow is going to be. We'll see how the guys feel. This lineup today was a lineup that was made in the manager's office. Sometimes we make the lineup at home and we bring it in our pocket. But this lineup, I had a talk with the coaches and some players to make that. I believe Tuesday's lineup, God willing, will be a lineup that will be prepared by all. We'll see what happens. Q. Felipe, something in your introduction you said, settle accounts, and us knowing about baseball, you foresee that the Netherland team will be very difficult to beat Puerto Rico. Are you going to inject that into the players, that that loss yesterday means that you have to beat the Netherland team? FELIPE ALOU: When I said settle accounts, it wasn't saying that we have to do anything. There are players that have played for me. Like, for example, the second baseman, he belongs to the San Francisco Giants. So most of them speak Spanish, maybe all. A number of them have relatives that are Dominican. So there are a lot of friendships between that team and our team. The thing is that we are supposed to beat them. And they defeated us. Even though we did not make the plays and we forced Volquez to pitch with bases loaded. But they played well. They pitched well. They ran the bases well. But we as the better team as it says on paper, are forced to win that game and to move up. So we continue against the wall in spite of today's enjoyment. Q. Question for the two batters. Do you think that -- were you thinking about your career when you were asked to play for the Dominican team, you said yes and then you had some situations in your organizations where you had to fight for a position; and then you decided to join the Dominican team, in spite that you are risking to be regulars in the big leagues, even if your managers may have told you your position is safe and secure. You were the offensive heroes of the first Dominican win. How do you feel? NELSON CRUZ: Well, I feel really happy. The fact that I'm representing my country means a lot to me. In the last Classic I was in training, and I was seeing the games. And to me it was a dream to represent my country in such a large event like this one. Today there was no space to make mistakes. We had to come out really aggressive and play the best we could. MIGUEL OLIVIO: To me it is pride, because in the first Classic I was not able to be here. But tonight I feel like the biggest man in the world, only because my family, who is in the Dominican Republic and the fans, who are the most important thing, the kids walking down the street, they're going to protect me. I feel happy also for my friends and my colleagues that I came out with today. End of FastScripts |
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