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WORLD BASEBALL CLASSIC: POOL CMarch 8, 2013Mike AvilesCarlos DelgadoSAN JUAN, PUERTO RICO PUERTO RICO – 3 Q.  Carlos, what did you think of how the offense slowed down? We know that thanks to the pitching we've won our first game, but I would like your evaluation of the way the offense flowed tonight. CARLOS DELGADO: Well, after the first inning the offense did not slow that much. I mean, their pitcher pitched very good, Salazar, and definitely held us back a little. I think that we took some good at‑bats, but we can improve still. As a team we would like to get a few more hits, but 3‑0 we won, and we'll get ready for tomorrow. Q. The lineup was very patient, was that more or less the approach, to wait for the right pitch, or did you want to be more aggressive? What's the approach more or less? CARLOS DELGADO: Well, we had little information on the Spain pitcher, we didn't have many scouting reports, so we wanted to see the pitches. At times we were aggressive, there were times when they did a swing at the first pitch. But we have a lineup with quite a few veterans, who know what they're doing, and quite patient batters. It's very important in a tournament like this. With the pitch count can be a factor, you try and make the opposition work, the better. Q. Everyone looked at this pool that you had here with the Dominican Republic and Venezuela and knew that it may be an uphill battle for you. What do you think tonight did for you guys in terms of getting the ball rolling when you have to face those two teams back to back? MIKE AVILES: I think it did a lot for us, not to take anything away from Spain. They're a good ballclub. They showed us that. Their starting pitcher beared down after the first inning, and he kind of kept us from having a big inning. I think that the biggest thing was coming out, working the count, putting together good at‑bats and I think we were able to put together good at‑bats in the beginning, and I think that helped us out. On top of that we had pitching that was lights out all night. Every time we needed a ground ball, they came through for us. I think it was more hats off to our pitchers than anything. They kept us in the ballgame, and that's all you can ask for. Q. Mike, how important is the victory, this is your second Classic with Puerto Rico. How important is it to face Venezuela tomorrow? And also, for Carlos, tomorrow is Zambrano, youÂ’ve faced him and you know him. CARLOS DELGADO: Every time you can start winning it's important. I'd rather go to the second game 1‑0 than 0‑1. In Zambrano's case I've batted against him several times, and in his case maybe he didn't have the same repertoire that he had a few years ago. He's a pitcher with experience, he's a pitcher who has pitched very good in the Big Leagues. And so it's important we have a general idea of the pitches that he has. We're going to work, we're going to stay aggressive in the zone. Our plan is to stay aggressive in what we're shown until we get two strikes. We're not trying to reinvent the wheel or anything like that. Simply we're going to work, and if it is in the zone, we're going to swing, but we have to make him throw strikes. Q. Carlos, in your case as a trainer and coach, what are you going to recommend in your batting work to the team to start rationalizing to see if they get better offense with the Dominican Republic team. And in Mike's case, today it's a huge sacrifice, the run, you didn't count on the second at‑bat. CARLOS DELGADO: When you play a lot of ball, you're going to realize that you can't get 20 hits. The important thing after today's game is that we've won. What matters if we get more runs, it doesn't matter who hits more. The guys know what to do. The guys are going to be ready to work tomorrow, and we're going to try to get good at‑bats. After that we can't control it. The key is to have good at‑bats and stay in the zone. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
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