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WORLD BASEBALL CLASSIC POOL ONE: SAN DIEGOMarch 15, 2009Higinio VelezSAN DIEGO, CALIFORNIA THE MODERATOR: Good afternoon, welcome to the press conference following Game 1, Japan versus Cuba. Today, we have Team Cuba's manager, Higinio Velez. Mr. Velez, please share your thoughts of the game. HIGINIO VELEZ: Well, I think that this is a game that was not good enough for the wonderful rivals that confronted each other. It was quite a difficult game, and we always try to maintain an equilibrium in the game, to see if at the end of the game we could match it up. Well, we have lost a battle in the war. The war will begin tomorrow. Q. You know what, us Cubans are used to falling down and getting back up again, three years ago we were actually knocked out, and the next day, we were able to classify and move forward. Higinio Velez, what can you tell the Cuban people today? HIGINIO VELEZ: Stay calm, we are going to come back tomorrow with our all. Nobody will win this classic without any lost games. So we have really good experience, we want to win, and we are already psychologically being prepared for tomorrow. Our fans need to stay calm and trust in us. Q. You have to win the next game. Which team do you feel is easy between Korea and other teams. Which team do you feel more comfortable with? HIGINIO VELEZ: We're saying that we do not pick our contrary team. We are always expecting all the teams. Korea and Mexico are great teams, that's why they are here. Whoever is next is wonderful, and whoever to move forward will have to win, and they will have to play a really great game against us, as well. Q. Mr. Velez, can you please talk about the pitcher today, Matsuzaka, as well as Chapman? HIGINIO VELEZ: I think they are great pitchers, 21-year-old guy who still has a long way to go. Perhaps he felt the pressure, maybe he was not on his best game - I'm referring to Chapman - he was able to pitch, but he was not at his best. He has great possibilities and a great future. Matsuzaka is a well-known pitcher who is consecrated in many different international events, the Olympics, as well as World Series. We faced a wonderful pitcher today, and he did not face an unknown at all. It's a pitcher that we respect quite a bit. Q. Mr. Velez, Matsuzaka struck out four straight batters, looking. Is it unusual for the Cuban team, as aggressive as you are at the plate, to be watching strike 3 like that? HIGINIO VELEZ: It is not very often that this happens to us, but sometimes it does happen. There are pitchers that do strike out a lot of ballplayers. The guys know that this could happen, and they do prepare for this. There are great pitchers that can do this, and not just four strike outs, more, even. Q. Your team, Dice-K Matsuzaka how come you weren't able to hit Dice-K? And Chapman today, how come he wasn't doing all that well? Was that something psychological for Chapman? Why wasn't he able to do it so well? HIGINIO VELEZ: This is the same question that I was just asked by this gentleman, maybe you were not paying attention to the answer, this is the same question that this gentleman just made. Did you want me to repeat it? Sorry. Q. Mr. Velez, you just said that this team right now is in high spirits, even after this loss. What do you tell the players at the dugout after a loss such as this one? How do you keep them in high spirits? HIGINIO VELEZ: Well, first you need to know the character of your team, and their real possibilities, knowing that even if they have a loss, they are a good team, and the team that they showed in the past Classic. They were knocked out in the following day, they were able to have a wonderful win. They can never have this kind of low-down spirits. They are prepared, and they know what they need to do. That's why right now, we are not talking all that much, but we do know about the objective, why we came here, and what we are prepared for. THE MODERATOR: Thank you very much. End of FastScripts |
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