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WORLD BASEBALL CLASSIC POOL TWO: MIAMIMarch 18, 2009Luis SojoMIAMI, FLORIDA Q. It seemed like there was a lot of heat, a lot of complaining the last couple of games. Think about where you are now. Is it funny? Is it strange? LUIS SOJO: That's part of the business. When you don't perform and you don't do good, people are going to talk. When you're doing good, hey, well, they're supposed to win. But you get used to that, at least I did. I got used to it for the last four years. But the most important thing for me is that we focus on the play right now. They know what they want, they want to win, and hopefully we do that. Q. What are you hearing about tonight? LUIS SOJO: Well, if I understand we're not going to hit because the field won't be in good condition. I don't know, they haven't hit anything yet. We've still got to wait. Q. Talk about your lineup, if it looks like you might be playing in sloppy conditions. LUIS SOJO: Well, they got upset because the only two guys I don't want to play today, they're not in the lineup, which is Mora and Ramón. But everybody is ready, so we'll see what happens. Q. Are Mora and Ramón okay for the next round? LUIS SOJO: Yeah. We talked to those guys yesterday, and at first when I talked to them and I said they're not going to play, that they were taking today off (Inaudible). Q. What are you thinking for LA? Do you have it kind of lined up right now? LUIS SOJO: Well, Carlos Silva is going to start on Saturday, let's put it that way. If that's not the case he's going to start on Sunday and then Felix is going to follow for the championship game. Q. Do you have anyone scouting those games out west or how are you kind of following what's going on out there? LUIS SOJO: Well, you don't need to. You're watching the game. As a manager I've been watching the games, and it's my job to tell the pitchers, you better try to strike out the lead-off guy because if you end up walking him, he might steal second and third. And with Ichiro, you've got to find a way to get him out. It's tough. Especially in Japan you've got a lot of big league players, guys that play in the United States, but we've got big league pitchers, guys that know how to pitch, guys that depending on what kind of pitch he has working that day, he's going to use it to get people out. Q. How important is today's game in regards to seeding? LUIS SOJO: Even though we are one foot into LA, we still have to approach it with the same intensity that we do every other game. The most important part is to try to win the pool. The purpose is to try to get a win here to keep that positive vibe going into Los Angeles, and we hope that everything comes out great. Q. Right now the series between you and the United States, Venezuela and the United States, is split. With a win here, would it give you better psychological momentum going into LA? LUIS SOJO: That is true. We already know that they are a very strong team. They have the players to take the title, if they wanted to. Our intention is to take it easy and do the best we can to get this victory. Q. Tell me about the baseball fans here in Miami. Do you feel like it's like playing in Caracas? LUIS SOJO: In the first game it was sad to see how the numbers were, but when we were facing Puerto Rico it was great to see the people and the ambiance. And the most important part is that baseball comes first and politics stays out of the game. End of FastScripts |
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