USA Baseball Press Conference Quotes

USA BASEBALL PRESS CONFERENCE QUOTES
Team USA to play China this evening in an exhibition at 6 pm


BEIJING, CHINA - Team USA held its opening press conference at the Main Press Center on Thursday morning. Manager Davey Johnson, general manager Bob Watson and players Matt LaPorta, Dexter Fowler and Brandon Knight answered questions from the media. The U.S. will play an exhibition game this evening at 6 pm vs. China at Wukesong Field. Olympic competition for the Red, White & Blue will begin on August 13 with the U.S. set to open against Korea.


GENERAL MANAGER - BOB WATSON
(Opening statement)
"On behalf of Team USA, we are pleased to be here to represent the United States in baseball. Our main objective is, of course, to win the gold medal. We understand the competition will probably be the best in any of the previous Olympics (in baseball). The countries that have qualified are very good and we think we have a very good team and we are going to play exciting baseball for you."


(On putting the team together)
"My philosophy is pitching and defense, then speed, power and try to blend all of that together. As you will notice, up and down our roster, we will have some youth, we will have some veteran guys, we will have some power arms and a couple of guys that have an assortment of pitches. We tried to put together a balanced team for Davey to go out and compete on a daily basis. As you and I know, hitting is not always going to be there. Good pitching stops good hitting, so we want to have another weapon for us to win a ball game."


(On baseball's future in the Olympics)
"I think the game of baseball and softball will be reinstated in the Olympic format. Baseball has been really put out around the world and we have raised the bar for baseball by making it a global sport, a world sport. As everybody in this room knows, we had the World Baseball Classic a few years back, and we didn't win. Who won? Japan won and Korea showed well, Cuba fared well. That shows you how the game has grown around the world."


MANAGER - DAVEY JOHNSON
(Opening statement)
"Well I'm really happy to be here. I know that China has recently taken up the sport (of baseball) and they have many great athletes here in China. I'm really looking forward to visiting China and seeing some of the sights and competing for the gold."


(On pitching rotation and pitchers Brett Anderson and Trevor Cahill)
"We do have a starting rotation figured out but in international play, I found out that nobody wants to tell us who they are pitching. So, I'm going to be mum on that subject. These two guys are outstanding arms; they pitched in Double-A this year. They have good stuff, they are young but they have showed good poise."


(On dealing with potential tie-format in extra innings)
"It is something we are all going to have to deal with. Hopefully, there won't be any ties going into the 10th inning. It's a format to try to shorten the games and I understand that. As far as, how we are going to play that, we haven't had any simulation of that yet. We still are going to play three or four (exhibition) games before we open up on the 13th and we'll probably try different scenarios with our players. Are we going to play for one run, or are we going to play for a bunch of runs? A lot of that will depend on what we hear from the scouts on run producing abilities of the other clubs."


(On the bullpen)
"It is shaping up really good. We do kind of divide the bullpens into two groups, that is a Marcel Lachemann (pitching coach) trait. It is also one that I had as a manager in the big leagues. A lot of times that A and B will go out the window, when certain match-ups come up. It's a strong pitching staff and I'm very pleased with it. Everybody got some work in against Canada and we'll have a game tonight and the 10th and 11th against China also, so you guys will get a good chance to see our pitchers in the next three or four nights."


(On managing for USA Baseball)
"I really love coaching young, talented players. I think I got a reputation in the big leagues, coaching veteran players and being successful in that. I really feel that I have had most of my success managing younger players. This is a format that I really like. These guys are all knocking (on the door) to the big leagues. The fact is that for every team that I have managed for USA, probably over half, maybe even 75 percent have gone from this venue into the big leagues. So, it is kind of a steppingstone for all of these players and it is a great honor to manage these young guys. I think it is a wonderful opportunity for me and I'm enjoying it a great deal."


OUTFIELDER - MATT LAPORTA
(Opening statement)
"I would like to thank China for hosting the Olympics and Beijing for doing such a great job to help us all out here and accommodate everyone. I look forward to playing and playing well for everyone watching."


(On the international experience)
"Coming over here and getting to play against international competition is a great experience for me to raise my game to another level because we are going to play in front of different fans, different people watching, it is just going to be a totally different venue."


(On the experience of playing Canada last week)
"Playing Canada (in four exhibition games in the U.S.) was a good chance for Team USA to get to know all the players and all the coaches a little better and see how everyone plays. We got to see how Canada plays and what they had and what their pitching is like. I think it is always an advantage to see people's pitching before the tournament starts."


(On the trip to China)
"The plane trip really wasn't that bad. I've been over to Japan, been to Australia, I don't mind flying or traveling. It's just something different."


OUTFIELDER - DEXTER FOWLER
(Opening statement)
"I just want to thank China for having us out here and I'm blessed to be here. I'm excited for the chance to playing in the Olympics."


PITCHER - BRANDON KNIGHT
(Opening statement)
"It goes with out saying that this is quite an honor to be here. We've been here about 16-17 hours but it already seems like a pretty amazing thing. I'm really looking forward to representing the U.S. in baseball and just as a nation, in general."


(On the Olympic experience)
"As I sit here right now, it's just been unbelievable. I was literally a phone call away from retiring last year. To just be in this position and get a chance to go to the big leagues (this year), to go the Olympics, all of the things, it is a whirlwind. My head spins sometimes just trying to think about it. It is an amazing thing and it is really one of those stories that I can always tell. The power of perseverance, what it means and this means the world to me. It means the world to my family and through them that this is really possible. If I was on my own, I would probably be coaching right now but a little pat on the butt and here I am. There is always a thank you to them."


(Question and answer regarding possibly final time that baseball will be in the Olympics)
"Certainly, it would be unfortunate if that is the case and I would like to be optimistic and hope that in 2016, we will have a chance again. It maybe carries a little more responsibility to really show how important baseball is not only to America but also to the Netherlands, to Cuba. It is a great sport and it's a great way for us to show some American pride, obviously with it being our pastime."