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WORLD BASEBALL CLASSIC POOL C: TORONTOMarch 9, 2009Chris CooperTORONTO, ONTARIO Q. (No microphone.) CHRIS COOPER: At the beginning of the game, we did have a bunch of lefties. We talked about it in our pre-game meeting just, you know, Dan is starting the game, and that the final plan was for me to come in after him, possibly, just because they had so many lefties in the line-up. And I think we did a good job keeping them off balance and mixing pitches up. Q. Was it something from the major league scouting that you knew these guys did not like (indiscernible)? CHRIS COOPER: Yeah. We had some scouting reports. I mean, just, you know, sometimes you go against the plan a little bit, things change as the games go. But, you know, we went out and made the pitches when we had to. You know, just a tough situation, some of the spots, but got through them. Q. How big is this for you? CHRIS COOPER: This is awesome. To be here is amazing. And to represent Italy, and it's a big win for the country, and big win, and makes a statement, and hopefully we can do it again tomorrow. Q. Given your background, what does it mean for you? CHRIS COOPER: It means a lot. My father is Italian, and my mother's maiden name is Degenero (phonetic). So just to represent the country and especially since I played there last year and got a taste of how Italy plays baseball, then to come out here and represent them on this stage, it really means a lot. Q. (No microphone.) CHRIS COOPER: I think so. When you jump on a team like that, it's the situation where I don't think, you know, they expect us to come out the way we did. And we did it against Venezuela. We were swinging the bats well, just couldn't get any runs across. But tonight, it was different. I think that happens, especially in these kind of games. It's must-win every game. So some guys start to press, and it's a good thing to get out and get on top of something early. Q. (No microphone.) CHRIS COOPER: The league in Italy is great. Seeing the guys from Italy, the Italian-born guys that have played there all their life, to come here and swing the bat well and play great defense and pitch well, really means a lot to the league. And to show that they can play baseball, they can compete at this kind of level. Q. Are you going back there this year? CHRIS COOPER: Not sure yet. I definitely would love to. It's one of those things as a baseball player, your dream's always to get to the major leagues and to play affiliated ball. But, you know, wherever the road takes you, you to play. If it's Italy, that's great. Q. How happy are you to have people see you? CHRIS COOPER: Definitely. It's great opportunity for guys that are free agents, guys that want to get back in, you know, maybe fell off the map for a few years, or one year or whatever. But, you know, hopefully someone saw something, so we'll see. Q. You probably heard they saved their best pitcher for tomorrow. Were you guys aware of that and did you talk to it? CHRIS COOPER: I heard someone mention that, but a game's a game. You could have the best pitcher out there throwing and get beat up. You could have the worst pitcher out there and throw five scoreless. It's just whoever is out there, you got to go out and just stick with your plan and play hard. Q. Do you feel like that was a sign they were looking past you? CHRIS COOPER: I don't think so. I mean, you know, it's -- I think baseball players in general, it's just you respect each other, you respect the game, and you say, Okay, anybody with a bat in their hands is dangerous. Anybody with a ball in their hands is dangerous. So if someone -- I don't think any player wants to go out there and say, I'm just going to walk through this. Q. Do you figure if they have to call on you for the next game, you would be able to give them an inning or two? CHRIS COOPER: I don't know an inning or two, maybe a pitch or two. But, I mean, it would be awesome to get back in tomorrow and help the team out. But we got a great pitching staff, and a lot of guys out there that want to get in there and play, and produce. So we'll see how it goes tomorrow. End of FastScripts |
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