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WORLD BASEBALL CLASSIC POOL TWO: MIAMIMarch 15, 2009Davey JohnsonRoy OswaltJimmy RollinsMIAMI, FLORIDA Q. Question for Davey: Yesterday the players spoke about being embarrassed of the score against Puerto Rico. Did you guys feel that you needed to send a statement tonight? And I would also like to ask you, tomorrow now you play the winner of Puerto Rico and Venezuela. I would like a quick comment on that game tomorrow. DAVEY JOHNSON: Well, as far as payback, we got outpitched and outhit the first game badly. I don't care too much about the ten-run rule. That doesn't bother me too much. That can happen in a ballgame, especially in the spring. But we're looking forward to playing somebody from tomorrow night's game. I guess we play the loser. It doesn't much matter to me who it is. We've been beaten by both of them, so it doesn't much matter to me. Q. As a Dominican I would like to know what was the secret to defeat Holland because apparently the Dominican Republic didn't find the formula. I would like Davey Johnson to give me his answer in this regard. And second of all, clearly the final aspiration for the U.S. is to be in LA. How strong do you see the way ahead? DAVEY JOHNSON: Well, I'll answer that in private, okay. But the Netherlands are a great team. They've played international play a long time now, and they've held their own against Cuba for many years. I think the Dominicans might have taken them a little lightly. I think they might have gotten beat the first game, but they knew how to play the game of baseball. We wanted to play today. We didn't want to go home quite yet. Q. With the injury tonight with Chipper, will you keep Derek in the DH role for next game? How are you looking at that right now? DAVEY JOHNSON: Whatever Jimmy wants to do (laughter). Either way it's a great choice. But they'll be both in the lineup. Q. Jimmy, you talked about the other day how much it is rewarding playing with Jeter and things like that. Can you talk a little bit about how he's helped you, maybe some of the little tips he's given you and things you've talked about helping in this whole thing? JIMMY ROLLINS: Well, I did ask him about defending a championship, and he gave me some advice that I could take back to the team and can't share with you guys. Other people be trying to steal the formula. We talked about a number of things, just different approaches to take ground balls, what to do in a situation when it gets big and everybody is getting excited how to keep yourself calm in the game and not get caught up. So those are little things that you try to pick a guy like that his brain for because he's been in every situation good and bad. So it has been a help. Q. Roy and Jimmy, you're coming off a game where several players on the team described it as embarrassing last night and obviously a must-win situation. How would you describe your mindset coming into this game? ROY OSWALT: I think the biggest thing for a starting pitcher. You try to set a tone early. The first inning you try to go out there and get some quick outs, get the guys in the dugout and let them swing the bat a little bit. Tonight try to establish a fastball early, first inning. I don't think I threw one off-speed pitch, just trying to get a tone set that we're going to go right after them and pound the strike zone. From a starting pitcher, that's the mentality I try to take after a loss is, don't try to go out there and be too fine, go out there and pound the strike zone. JIMMY ROLLINS: Well, I told Roy last night when we got on the bus, I told him, I don't know if they make big-game pitchers down in Mississippi. He said this wasn't his first rodeo and he came and proved it. Everybody was relaxed. We've been in different situations before, guys on the team. We know how to go out and play. It was a matter of being determined to go out there and make something happen, not to sit around and wait and let the game play out, but take it to the game, take it to the team. Whoever is on the mound, I got to face VandenHurk during the season and it's going to be a challenge. He's tall, he throws the ball well, knows his spots, throws a curveball well, so you just have to go out there and accept the challenge. I didn't get a chance to play last night unfortunately, but I was going to make the best of any opportunity I got tonight. Q. Davey, talk about team comes out of the dugout. You went and got Lindstrom? DAVEY JOHNSON: Yeah, I'm glad somebody asked that question. Lindstrom when he first came in the ballgame when I came out to him he said, "My shoulder is sore." He's kind of a young catcher. Normally the catcher would motion over to the bench, say "His shoulder is sore," and I would have got him out of the game. That was the reason. He wasn't throwing at the third baseman, he was trying to hop up and get a little extra on him and the ball got away from him. Typical pitcher, even when the bench jumps all over you, he's ready to, "come on." But he had a sore shoulder. I saw him go like this (rotating shoulder) over there, and I immediately went over to the umpire with the trainer and got him out of there. He said, "My shoulder is just sore, but I can keep going." He's very game about it, but that was the end. He should never have started that inning. As far as, I didn't lose my head. Putting McCann out in left field, Braun told me he was going to go out there and take everything. He wasn't going to swing, a lat in his back was tightened up and he didn't feel like he could swing. Well, with the injuries we were looking at, I looked down at the bench and I figured I could probably run Lilly out there for defense, but I wouldn't run him out there to hit. So the healthiest probably was McCann. I said, "Can you play left field?" He said, "Boy, I'd love to." I said, "Well, go hit for Braunie," and I'll have to have -- I hope this can get out to Coxie. Sorry about that. I told him to get real loose, but I didn't lose my mind on that move. Q. Are both of those guys you feel are going to be available Monday? DAVEY JOHNSON: Well, I think we're off tomorrow, and hopefully Braun will be okay. We'll just have to play it by ear. THE MODERATOR: I think it was announced in the press box it was his left side. It was actually his right side. Q. For Davey and Jimmy: You said the pitch got away from Lindstrom. That said the Netherlands' bench was quite animated and upset. If you were in their spot, how would you have reacted? DAVEY JOHNSON: Yeah, I would have, and I'm sure my bench would have, too. You know, that's why I sent Lache out there to settle him down and he didn't complain about his arm. Only when I saw him grab him -- do like this out there, did I know something was wrong with his arm, and that's why I went immediately out. You know, I just wish the catcher had said something because he never would have started the inning. Q. How would you have reacted? JIMMY ROLLINS: As a hitter? Q. (No microphone). JIMMY ROLLINS: Yeah, that's what you're supposed to do, stand up for your team, stand up for the guy that got threw at and make sure the other team knows that we're not going to stand for it. You know, you can't fault them for that, whether it got away from him, a guy throwing that hard, the ball going behind you is not the most comfortable feeling in the world. Sometimes you've got to do a little extra to protect your guys. Q. Davey, are you concerned that because you have so many injuries that you may have to put players in positions they are not used to, like you did with McCann tonight? DAVEY JOHNSON: I hope not. I hope it's just a rare occurrence. Obviously we can't do anything if somebody is seriously hurt until after this series, so we're just going to have to play with who we've got. I did go up to Ted Lilly and say, "If I need another outfielder, can you go out there?" because he's all over in batting practice jumping into balls and catching everything. He said, "Do you want me to go get my cleats on?" I said, "Not right yet, but it may come to that. So you do what you've got to do." THE MODERATOR: Thank you very much. End of FastScripts |
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