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WORLD BASEBALL CLASSIC POOL B: MEXICO CITYMarch 10, 2009Ever MagallanesOscar RoblesMEXICO CITY, MEXICO Q. How are you feeling? OSCAR ROBLES: I'm feeling really happy. I'm happy because of yesterday's victory, and it definitely motivates you to continue working hard. And like you said, we're thinking about the next game. We're focusing on that. We're focusing on the positions. Q. I saw when you walked out of the dugout, you were calm, and then you actually hit a home run. OSCAR ROBLES: Yes, I was doing fine. The manager gave me an opportunity; I tried to use it. We have a good team. We know we can meet eye to eye with anyone, so we'll continue being focused and we'll continue playing the game. Q. The other day you said the ultimate thing could be if you could play third, shortstop or second. Wouldn't you feel nervous if you switched positions? OSCAR ROBLES: No, I've been working at every single position. I played shortstop yesterday. I might replace someone tomorrow at third or second, so you have to be ready for anything. Q. Finally, who might you be playing against tomorrow? OSCAR ROBLES: We still don't know, Australia or Cuba. We have to be ready. If it's Australia, we'd love to face them again. I think there might be an strong opportunity to beat them this time. We have to be ready. Q. If it's Australia, what lessons can you draw from the first game? OSCAR ROBLES: The most important thing is not to be overconfident. I think that when we were beating them in the first inning, we felt we were doing great, and we lost. We know we have to be very smart. They've got great hitters. We can't lose our focus. Q. Are you surprised by the pitching shown by Australia as well as South Africa? OSCAR ROBLES: No, we know that each country is bringing in their best artillery. Australia and South Africa are great teams; they don't give up. And we have to be aware of that and play the game the way we know how to. Q. The mood on the team, first you lost, now you win; what's the mood like? EVER MAGALLANES: Well, like Oscar said, maybe we started playing a little bit too overconfident, but we put our feet back on the ground, we played the game, and we will play again tomorrow and just match whoever the rival is. Yes, of course the mood yesterday was highly motivating. The players were happy and we'll continue doing the same thing. Q. It's always a pleasure to have you, but on top of that, to see you play, I saw you in high spirits yesterday. OSCAR ROBLES: Well, it's hard on us. We need to be motivated, happy, outgoing. EVER MAGALLANES: Like Oscar said, the first day we walked out feeling a little bit over our heads, but now we've focused ourselves better. Q. In any case, if you meet Cuba, have you been able to size the team up? EVER MAGALLANES: Sure, we have. We've actually already played with them. We've had friendly games. We've seen them. But now we'll be able to scout them even some more with today's game and have a better report by tomorrow. Q. Oscar was saying that the possibility of facing Australia gives you the possibility of winning again, but if you meet Cuba, you will meet a very strong opponent and then you'll be able to size the team up. EVER MAGALLANES: Both teams are very strong. We can't think that one is stronger than the other. We will take on whoever. At this stage of the game, everyone is bringing out the best in them. They're putting their best foot forward. Q. We felt the Mexican team yesterday was a bit anxious, and proof of that is that you've made two mistakes. Were you feeling like that? Were you feeling desperate? OSCAR ROBLES: I think it's just logical because when you come back after having a really bad night like the night before, you want to come in, you want to really prove yourself, and of course we were feeling anxiety, and we wanted to get rid of South Africa as soon as possible. It was harder than we thought, but pitching was fantastic, and that will definitely be important for the next game. Q. So have you finally calmed down after yesterday's game? OSCAR ROBLES: Absolutely. It was practically a life-and-death game yesterday. Now this victory has increased our level of trust in ourselves and our abilities. I know we'll be able to be successful. Q. Tell me about the players that played yesterday including Durazo. EVER MAGALLANES: They're all valuable players, and like I said from the first day, this is a complete team. We know who the stars are. We have a great bench. We know that we have a great captain, and Durazo is very important. Yet there are players that can replace them successfully, and we saw that yesterday with players that hadn't played. Q. You said that you had players play that hadn't had the opportunity. When you walked up to the plate, you hit a home run. How did you feel about that? OSCAR ROBLES: I've always been considered to be a contact hitter. My focus is more to actually touch the ball and not so much hit it into a home run. I never thought I'd be hitting a home run, I just thought about playing well, and that was a result. Fortunately we won, and I've placed my grain of salt into this. Q. (No microphone). OSCAR ROBLES: I've always thought like that. I'm very patient. I like to make pitchers work. I like to show them what I'm made out of. I like to be able to share with my friends what kind of pitching they're going to get, and I've always tried to follow that, be that type of hitter. Q. We had a few people injured during the last series, but now we have more people injured this time. Might you be feeling a bit squeamish of going out to play, a bit fearful? For example, Durazo who's injured now; is anybody feeling any level of fear of not wanting to play? EVER MAGALLANES: Well, not really. We have a good bench. We have a great team. The ballplayers, at any time they can really just become injured, you know, but we still trust our pitching. That's Mexico's strong point. End of FastScripts |
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