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WORLD BASEBALL CLASSIC POOL C: TORONTO

March 8, 2009

Roy Oswalt

TORONTO, ONTARIO

Q. What do you think of how you did tonight?
ROY OSWALT: I felt pretty well first two innings, then I hit a little bit of a wall in the third.
Spring training you throw 50, 60 pitches, but it's not really adrenaline going; you kind of just work the corners mostly and not really throwing all out. Tonight I had a little adrenaline going, the first and second inning, and kind of got gassed.

Q. Tough to amp up even though you got an all-star line-up basically they have over there and in a game like this?
ROY OSWALT: You got to make good pitches. I thought later in the game I made, I mean, early in the game I made good pitches, then later I started missing spots, starting coming off the ball a little bit. I don't know if it was just from being a little gassed or trying to throw too hard too early. But overall I felt pretty well.

Q. Must make it easier knowing the offense is so great, that if you make mistakes they can help cover?
ROY OSWALT: Sure.
You know, my biggest thing is I'm going to throw strikes. I'm going try to throw strikes no matter who is up there and pound the strike zone as much as I can and try to get them to hit it on the ground.
Tonight, walking two guys in four innings, not a goal, but it's only the third game I've thrown this year.
Most the time third game into the spring training you got four innings, 40, 45 pitches. Now you are trying to go four or five innings against one of the better line-ups they throw at you.

Q. (No microphone.)
ROY OSWALT: Oh, yeah. Usually during the season once you get through the first two innings you kind of get a pace going. You just say that you can work to get to the seventh and eighth inning.
Tonight, third game of the year, thinking hopefully I can make it through four. (Laughter.)
My arm felt good; body, legs got dead on me.

Q. Question about the pitch count in this Classic format as opposed to spring training?
ROY OSWALT: Spring training don't really count for a whole lot except getting in shape. And here you're trying to win the game.
That's one thing I like about the world competition like this, in 2000 the same way in the Olympics, no one really plays for their own numbers, everyone is playing to win the game. And I could careless if I give up two or three runs as long as we win the game, that's all that matters.
During the season, you are trying to win the games but trying to keep your numbers good also. And this competition here, you're trying to win games.

Q. There's a clock out there on your pitch count, and that's part of the rules, as opposed to when you are pitching spring training and you got a coach, and they get you out when you need to.
ROY OSWALT: Spring training, usually you start out with 30 pitches the first time out, then you go up to 40, 45, then 50, 60, 70, try to get up to 100 pitches. You know you have a pitch count.
And tonight I was looking up, and I was thinking, Maybe I'll get into the fifth when I started the fourth. But that first guy, the first pitch, then two hits, I gave up a walk, then a hit, and it cost me 12 pitches right there. I knew then that if I just get out of the fourth inning that might be about all I'll have.

Q. Davey said that he was concerned about all the offense, especially for the pitchers. Possibly might only play seven or eight. Has either you or Marcel given you an indication of when you are going to pitch again, and are you concerned at all?
ROY OSWALT: No, they haven't said when we can pitch. I guess they want to see the line-up in the next pool. And, no. If I have to, I'll throw two bullpens in between.
Sometimes during the season you get extra days, and sometimes you don't. Just kind of pace yourself to the line-up; the last two days, how you look.

Q. (No microphone.)
ROY OSWALT: No. I've been around long enough where I am not going to chance something to hurt my club.

Q. Normally at this time of year you are in spring training. Is it tough for you to get in the loop for this kind of game this early in the season?
ROY OSWALT: I was telling them, I've had one spring training start, and then I had the second start with this team against the Yankees, which is pretty much another spring training start. This is only the third game you get to start. So you have a little bit of adrenaline going into the first, and then you try to calm yourself down and just pitch.
I think that's the biggest thing about guys that go in this competition. They try to go too far too long. And this early in the year, without having seven to eight starts behind you, kind of hurts you the long run.
Tonight after the first, second inning I tried to slow myself down and get some quick outs and ran into a little bit of trouble in the last inning. Threw a few good pitches, got some ground balls that just went through the infield.
But I think the more we get out here with this club, the more you get the start, the better we'll be. The next start will be the fourth start, and the next start the fifth start. Once you get a rhythm going, I think it will pick up better for us -- command for the strike zone.

Q. Spring training you know you are coming out after certain pitches, you know what the deal is. Did the competitor in you kick in today saying this is a Classic game, this is a tournament, international, I'd love to be able to carry this six, seven, eight?
ROY OSWALT: Yeah. I was wanting surely to get through five, you know, seventy pitches you can get through in five if you get some quick outs. Getting into the fourth I knew I was running low on pitches.
You know, when you put a USA jersey on and you compete, no matter where you are at, it's just about competing.

Q. As a pitcher to have your imprint on the game to help win, can you see this being held at another time of year when you're built up to seven, eight, nine?
ROY OSWALT: It's really hard because there's some teams that get into the playoffs and some that don't. So if you have it after the World Series you have some teams that may be off three to four weeks before they have to play. So there's really no other time to play it.
It's a little disadvantage for us because we have off-season and we're trying to come back from the off-season, build our arms up. Where some clubs get to play winter leagues and stuff like that, so they get to play for a long period of time and keep in shape.
I think the biggest key is trying to start early and getting started early to get your arm strengthened up where you won't get hurt when you come out here and play.

Q. I've covered seven World Cups in soccer. Best soccer players in the world are ground down by May and June; they're just dead. Then they have to go out and play for their country in the biggest tournament of the world; it's almost the opposite. But sounds like this Classic is never going to have the best of pitchers ready to go seven?
ROY OSWALT: Unless they do something in the middle of the year around the All-Star break or something where they -- then you are talking about trying to play, you know, eight games in eight days, then you have eight days off in the middle. So it's really about the only time you can do it.

End of FastScripts

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