We're going to see it with Mexico and Canada, the spirit and the camaraderie. They're all into it. They've made a commitment and they're fired up. |
We've got a lot of respect for Mexico. |
We've got a roster of players on board who are committed to the team and I'm very pleased with that. Our position players and bullpen are very deep. This gives us a roster that's as good as any team. |
Well, not after we lost to Canada it doesn't. |
When a manager speaks to a team, he's always looking around and checking eyes and seeing focus. Today, the eyes were focused and the jaws were set. There was no inane questioning -- no, 'How come we're here so early?' or 'What about the team picture?' There was none of that. |
When they got a good pitch to hit, they didn't miss it. They pitched very effectively to the heart of our order. We hit some balls hard. They made quality pitches when they had to. |
When you are battling like Roger did, it has a tendency to drain you more. Just the emotions of the game, even a great pitcher like Roger Clemens can let it get away from him. |
With the number of closers on our roster, we have a chance for some pretty short innings. They have a tendency to get ready early, throw a lot of strikes, and they are used to pitching in the heat of battle. |
With Vernon Wells' uncertainty, Carl Crawford's uncertainty, [Gonzo] becomes a very important guy to us. That's what I wanted to echo and get across to him today. |
Without going back to individual seasons, you'd have a hard time finding so many major things happening to one club other than this year. It's like, 'Wow, what else could go wrong?' I think it really wears on a team that's pretty sensitive. I don't think their reversal of fortunes was 100 percent related to that, but it had an impact, no question about that. |
Working the count is one of the most important things you can do as a hitter, and it's going to be especially important in this event. You'd like to have guys who know the value of seeing a few pitches. It's also why you want pitchers who throw strikes. |
You can see by the number of closers we have, we have a chance to see some pretty short innings. We're going to be very aware of trying to keep guys from entering in the middle of the inning due to the timing of this thing, but at the same time, we feel we have a lot of depth. |
You come in with a lot of anxiety about whether or not you remember (how to manage), but it is like riding a bike. I think it's something that comes back to you very quickly. |
You go up there with the idea of being selective. This way, the guys who throw strikes have the advantage. . . . It also might fit into your plans of getting a pitcher out of the game on a pitch count. |
You know what, he threw pretty well (Sunday). He just didn't get the ball where he wanted. He made some bad pitch selections. |