He showed a lot of composure for a guy that hasn't pitched above 'A' ball. |
He showed a lot of composure for a guy who hasn't pitched above A-ball. We learned very quickly in international competition anything can happen. You put that flag on your chest, and people get fueled by that. |
He was very encouraging and came into the dugout on Friday against South Africa, offering his support. But I never heard about that through official channels or anything like that. |
He was very excited. Anybody that can have his bat in the lineup (benefits). He's a game-changer and a good guy to have on your lineup, no doubt about it. |
He's a very good pitcher. It indicates they want to get after us pretty good. Rodrigo has won 29 games the last two years in a very tough division. |
He's had a lot of success pitching in international competition, and that gives him an edge. I met him in Baltimore during their first series, and sitting on the bench with him before the game, I was impressed with his composure. |
He's not at the top of the totem pole, but his makeup makes him versatile to be used at any point. |
He's one of those guys that the majority of baseball fans aren't that familiar with, but baseball players know about him and how good he is and how dominant he is. |
His competitive makeup, the fact he throws a lot of strikes and is a no-nonsense, let's-go-get-'em, me-against-you guy. There are guys who might take four or five innings to get into the game. We looked at guys who throw it over [the plate] and like to compete. He certainly is proud to have that [USA] banner on his chest, I know that. |
I don't care who you are. When you put on a uniform that says USA it is different. I saw a picture of the (America) hockey team on USA TODAY (after the Olympics) with their heads down. That is not a good feeling. We are not using anybody's disappointment as motivation, but it is a reminder of what we are doing here and everybody is watching us. |
I don't know if I've ever been more nervous watching a game I wasn't participating in. |
I don't know that it's pressure, but I think it's a responsibility that they all sense. These guys, when you look around the field, I don't think their vocabulary includes 'pressure.' They like the competition. They like the challenge. And I think the challenge for us is to win this tournament, and they're aware of that. |
I don't know that there is such a thing as an embarrassment. There are quite a few teams that can beat anybody in this tournament. |
I don't know that there was a whole lot of fact behind it. |
I don't think there's any feeling it's unfair. I don't think you can allow outside influences to influence how you work a game. They are professional umpires. I think they do their best to get everything right. |