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WORLD BASEBALL CLASSIC POOL TWO: MIAMIMarch 16, 2009Davey JohnsonMIAMI, FLORIDA Q. What's the update on Lindstrom and Braun? DAVEY JOHNSON: Lindstrom is, I think, going to have an MRI as well as they want Braun to have an MRI. I think Lindstrom is definitely out. You know, in that case I just wish that he had said something, but that's the nature of the player; they're going to go out there injured. I've had conversations with them from day one about if there's anything bothering you, we have other guys. Let's be on the side of caution. But he went out there anyway. So we can't take a chance with him; he's done. In Braun's case, they want him to take an MRI. He feels he doesn't need one. But he probably is going to not do anything today. He's going to take batting practice tomorrow. He will have a conversation with Doug Melvin in the interim. I will probably not have him available for tomorrow's game, although he said he will be ready, and he wants to play. Again, that's a situation where kind of like Chipper, Chipper said he was ready and he wasn't able to go. He reinjured himself. We will err on the side of caution there. He's already been arguing with me about it, but I don't see him being available for tomorrow. Q. You said you wished Lindstrom had said something to you. Was this something that was hurting before last night? DAVEY JOHNSON: I mean, in the press conference yesterday, the conversation between him and Ianetta when he came in the game, he told Ianetta, "I have a sore shoulder." And then his first pitch went about 500 feet, and he wasn't throwing like he can. The next pitch he threw the ball behind Rooi, and he just tried to get more on the fastball, and he couldn't. That's why it was wild. I apologized to the Netherlands team and the manager and explained to them that it wasn't an intentional thing, it was just something where he had a sore arm and he was trying to get more on it. Myself and Lachemann talked to Ianetta and said, that's something you've got to just give that to the bench and we'll immediately come out and make a pitching change. That didn't happen, and in the game I saw him kind of making a funny move, and that alerted me that he was not 100 percent. That's why I went out there. Q. Was he hurting before that in Canada? DAVEY JOHNSON: No, he was fine. He got it rubbed prior to the game and some treatment on his shoulder. I'm sure that a lot of that -- pitchers do that every day, so that didn't raise a red flag. But it's an unfortunate thing, and hopefully he's all right and it's just kind of a normal thing for spring training. Q. You don't have Braun tomorrow, and you're down to I think 11 position players. How difficult is that? DAVEY JOHNSON: Well, I mean, all these guys are everyday players in the Big Leagues. Actually from a managerial standpoint, it makes it easier for me. I mean, DeRosa is going to play third base and/or the outfield, left field. So I will play him and he will play nine. I mean, there's not anybody on this club that I would pinch-hit for or make a change during the game. I mean, they're stars on their clubs. So that's not an issue as far as managing a ballclub. Q. You've been hit pretty hard with injuries. How do you explain all the injuries? DAVEY JOHNSON: I mean, you know, for my guys, they're playing big games this time of the year. They're big gamers and they're going 100 percent, and things can happen. You hope that doesn't happen, but it happens during the regular season. A guy slides into a base or takes a check swing or something, and you can have a little nagging injury. In yesterday's game David Wright got popped in the head with a knee at second base on his pop-up slide. Youkilis tweaked a muscle in his shoulder and neck area. These guys are used to all playing through a lot of little nagging injuries. You play 162 games for six months, 30 in the spring, you're used to -- players are used to going out there and not being 100 percent. But I'm not going to take any chances on not sending a guy out there 100 percent. I already had the talk with Braunie. I said, "You remind me of myself. I had a broken thumb in Philadelphia and didn't get it X-rayed and kept playing because I didn't want them to think I was hurt." It actually got better. They made me X-ray it and it was broken, and I had to go on the DL. Guys play through injuries; that's just what they do in baseball. You do that in professional sports. You play through little injuries. But we can't allow that to happen here. Q. What other stuff do you guys take forward in convincing, letting guys play here? In the past couple days you guys have had Pedroia who said, "I pushed a little too hard." and you had Lindstrom saying to us, "It was hurting me in the bullpen." Whereas if that's a spring training game, he's not going to come in. How do you have that delicate balance of taking a step forward but now that's two steps back, convincing people well, you can get hurt anywhere but they are getting hurt here? DAVEY JOHNSON: That's the one conversation from day one that I told this group. I don't want anybody being a hero. If you have anything, anything that's slightly bothering you, I want to know about it. I have other guys. We don't want any heroes here. Don't go out there with a chance to injure yourself in any way, shape or form. I had that conversation with everybody, and not only once, twice. But that's the nature of the player. They want to compete. They're competitors when they go out there. He didn't say anything to Mel Stottlemyre in the pen. If he had said something to Mel, he would have never pitched in the game. I mean, that's unfortunate. Players are going to hide their injuries because they've done it and been able to get by. But the adrenaline is slowing down here, and a lot of times guys don't even know it. Ianetta took a 98 mile-an-hour fastball off his right forearm and didn't touch leather. Ianetta said, "I'm fine." That's the type of player that is out there competing. Q. Was that against Lindstrom? DAVEY JOHNSON: That was against Lindstrom. I thought it got part of the glove, but Watson told me, no, it got him dead on the right forearm. But Ianetta, with the adrenaline flowing, didn't even feel it. Q. For his brief appearance Matt obviously had a pretty interesting night because you said you apologized to the Netherlands, but he told us after the game last night that he was trying to send a little bit of a message, that he thought Engelhardt kind of show-boated a little bit on the home run. Did that surprise you a little bit in a game when you guys were up six, seven runs like that? DAVEY JOHNSON: Well, I'm sure he didn't want to throw it behind him, and I'm sure probably the soreness of the shoulder, he probably wanted to come in on him, and that's just the competitive nature of a pitcher. You know, if I had hit a ball that hard -- I sat on the bench, I managed Engelhardt, and I said, basically he's a big swing; he's going to be a little tardy on this one. They have good scouting reports, and he was guessing his swing and he cheated a little bit. I've never seen Engelhardt hit a ball that hard before. I asked him, "Did you get all of that one?" Obviously he did. He looked at it a long time at home plate. Sometimes pitchers take offense to that regardless of the score. But I think it was probably a combination of both those things, and even talking to Mr. Loria after the game, he thanked me for going out there, and I said, "Well, it looked like he was in some discomfort by doing a little motion with his shoulder, and I went out there." And he said, "I could tell that he wasn't himself because he was only throwing like 94." Q. Would you think with the comments that Matt made that there might be disciplinary action? DAVEY JOHNSON: Well, I tried to stand up for him and said he gave up a bomb and he had a sore shoulder and he was trying to get a little extra on it and the ball got away from him. I said it's not in the scheme of things as far as judging -- it wasn't a close game. That wasn't anything flagrant. It was down around his rear end. I mean, it wasn't up high or anything flagrant as far as I was concerned. When I sent Lache out there right away, I wanted to double check that he didn't let that situation get him too pumped up where he overthrew or just to calm him down because he was reacting to the bench as he was coming out, as most pitchers do. I understand, and I would have reacted -- my bench would have reacted the same way not knowing the circumstances going on in that game, too. So I don't begrudge anything that happened; that's what happens in a ballgame. Q. You've been on the other side of this; you've managed big league teams. You know Bobby Cox with Chipper and Francona with Pedroia. What would you say to these guys? Obviously they want their players back in one piece. What would you say to the managers of the big league teams? DAVEY JOHNSON: Well, I think managers like myself, injuries can happen at any time. Hopefully there's no severity. Hopefully everybody had quite a bit of training and stretching and all that prior to going out there. But I mean, when you swing the bat hard and when you throw and make plays, things can happen. They happen all during the year. They can happen in spring training, they can happen in October. That's just part of it. Hopefully nothing was of any consequence and they're all right. Just a few days off and they'll be fine. Q. Just a clarification on Braun, was it suggested by the team that he gets the MRI, the Brewers? DAVEY JOHNSON: Yes. They want him to take an MRI. And his comment was, "If I was feeling like it was something serious I'd be glad to take an MRI, but I don't feel it's serious." Myself, Bob Watson and Paul Seiler, we talked to him -- I talked to him on two occasions, and he said, "I'd be the first person to go get checked if I thought it was something serious." You know, we're trying to keep him in. You can't force him to do anything. But he looks like he's going to be fine. I'm sure that this is something maybe that's happened to him before, and a few days off and he's fine. He wanted him to keep an open mind and let him swing tomorrow and make my decision at game time. And I said, "Well, I know ball players, and you remind me of myself. I know you're lying to me." And I also got word from the Brewers that he may not be honest as to how he feels. So we will definitely err on the cautious side there. Q. I know the MRI they shoot the dye in there and it could take a day or two for him to be able to play. Do you think if you win tomorrow and all goes well -- DAVEY JOHNSON: Again, I would probably err on the side of caution and give him those two more days off. I've always done that with a player. I always said, I've got to see you take a full workout and then I'll give you a day off and then you'll play. Q. Who will pitch tomorrow night? DAVEY JOHNSON: Have they announced theirs yet? It will be Lilly or Guthrie. More than likely Lilly. Q. (Inaudible). DAVEY JOHNSON: Not really. This is a really good group of guys. And again, it's not like broken bones or torn ligaments or things like that. These are basically -- all of them are just injuries that can come up. A switch-hitter having a little rib pull or something, that can happen. And I'm sure Chipper is going to be okay by opening day. I'm sure Ryan will probably be fine. Hopefully Pedroia is. Pedroia is in great shape, and I don't see that injury as being severe, either. Q. Where is Lindstrom right now? DAVEY JOHNSON: He's not here. He's probably being examined by their doctor and probably taking an MRI. But he is definitely out. Q. He left the team? DAVEY JOHNSON: Nobody has been placed on the DL as far as I know. That's just a technicality. Q. You said yesterday that there's a certain aspect to this where you want guys coming out of here with good experiences. Do you fear with these injuries, however minor they might be, that this sort of plays into the fears of players and managers and GMs for next time? DAVEY JOHNSON: Well, that's probably what you guys are going to write about. It's too early in the spring, the guys are not prepared like the Latin American players or the Far Eastern players. But we're talking about athletes nowadays that stay in shape year-round. This is not like it was back in the '60s where guys got in shape a couple weeks before spring training. These guys, most of them have a rigorous workout all winter long and start throwing in January, start running in January. So it's not like this is a liability for them. These things can happen at any time during the season, it's not just in March. But I think the competition between countries, and I think if you ask all those guys out there, to a man, it's been an experience that they've really enjoyed and have enjoyed competing, representing their country. Q. In the Latin American countries these guys go back and they play maybe 15 games of winter ball. Do you think some of the U.S. players, if they're going to play in the Classic in the future, might want to consider something like that to get game ready, rather than just being in good shape? DAVEY JOHNSON: Well, maybe the one complaint I have is it's just too many off-days. To me it's always easier to get hurt the more off-days you have because you're not staying at that highly competitive level; you're shutting it down and then gearing it back up. It's possible a team doesn't lose a game, they could have nine off-days in the whole format. I don't think that's really a good design. These guys want to play every day. Q. Do you know who you're playing at shortstop tomorrow? DAVEY JOHNSON: Yeah, I'll have Jeter at short. Q. Just to keep with the pattern of every other game? DAVEY JOHNSON: Yeah, I mean, he's a great shortstop, and I like to keep my DH in the three hole. I'll probably put my leadoff hitter in the three hole. I mean, that's what I woke up thinking about doing. Unless I read something that you guys write to the contrary, or hear something on the damn radio, I might change my mind. Whatever Timmy McCarver says, I might do that (laughing). Q. Brian Roberts basically comes in off the street, what are your thoughts about him? DAVEY JOHNSON: Well, he's another great player. He was high on the list. If it wasn't Pedroia, it was probably going to be him. But it was fortunate he was living 30 minutes away in Lauderdale, and it was just jump in the car and come down. Q. When you see Rollins make that play, the double play last night, I think at this point he may have better range than Jeter there, does that make you reevaluate at all? DAVEY JOHNSON: No. Hey, I'm very comfortable with Derek Jeter. It's not something I'm worried about at all. Q. So it's pretty much going to go Roberts, Jeter, Rollins? DAVEY JOHNSON: That sounds like a pretty good idea. Did you come up with that? Q. So you have DeRosa as kind of your utility guy at third and the outfield? Is that what you're saying? DAVEY JOHNSON: Yeah, and that's the conversation I had with Eric Wedge. I said, "Do you have any preference about where I play DeRosa?" I asked Bobby Cox about Chipper, "In an emergency or something, first base, could I put him over there?" And -- when I said "Chipper," he nearly had a heart attack. So then I went to DeRosa, and I said, "I'm going to play him at third base and probably the outfield, left field. How about first base?" He said, "No, I'd prefer not." And then Dunn came up. Dunn has played over there, so that alleviated all my worries. Q. Did Bobby have any concerns about McCann playing left? DAVEY JOHNSON: No, I don't think he has my number (laughter). When I called him in the spring, the fact is his cell phone died, so he probably doesn't have mine on his cell phone because Roger Goodell called me on his, and I talked to Bobby through Roger Goodell. I did give McCann explicit instructions, "lob the ball in, don't run into the fence, and make sure you're loose." I think if you talk to Brian, he'll say he had a ball. And he was hoping something was hit to him, and he was hoping just as hard it wasn't. Q. You guys can't make a roster move for Chipper, right? DAVEY JOHNSON: No, or anybody. We hadn't started the second round. We hadn't turned in our roster for the second round, so we were able to do that. And I think that that should be made available. I mean, I think that in these games being this early in the spring, I think if you're trying to get a catcher playing time -- like on Wednesday, I wanted to share the catchers because they each caught nine, and then I wanted to share the catchers, and I asked the Rules Committee if one of them got hurt, the second catcher got hurt, could I bring in the first catcher, and I think you should be able to do that if there's an injury, rather than forfeiting the game or playing a guy out of position. I mean, I think you need to look at what could happen in a ballgame trying to get everybody in the lineup, avoiding injuries and things like that. Q. Next go-around maybe a 30-man roster might make sense with what we're seeing now? DAVEY JOHNSON: No, I don't think the number of personnel is an issue. There are a lot of issues that I would have about early on with pitchers - you need a bigger bullpen, and then later on you need a smaller bullpen. Adding more isn't necessarily better, because again, hopefully we play two more games, but then we have two off-days. I mean, if you have a 30-man roster, you've got more guys that you can't get playing time. And then I have the thing, are we going to run it like an All-Star Game? So more isn't necessarily better. As guys get stronger, pitching staff gets stronger, ideally you should be able to readjust your staff. You know, I would have loved to have done the same thing that the Asian clubs did; they came here and played two exhibition games. But we weren't even allowed to let a player get -- if his team was close by, let him go over and play in a B game. I mean, those are the kind of things from my viewpoint where I would like to have guys get more at-bats. I'm sure time in center field with Grandy and Victorino and with all the off-days, basically I would have preferred for their development, get them more A-Bs. So I mean, adding more to the roster just creates more problems. End of FastScripts |
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