Buck Martinez Quotes
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That's one of the things I'm most proud of is the character of the guys on this roster. They're anxious to step up and play for their country.
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The starters are just going to go three innings at the beginning of the tournament. But we think the strength of our team is the relievers.
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I expect them to be very supportive, and I think that will fuel the USA fans once they get into this atmosphere. From my understanding in Tucson, they had sombreros and their faces painted and a lot of Mexican flags. It was a bullfight-kind-of-atmosphere, so that will be beautiful in this tournament.
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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.
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Nathan is a guy that has been in pennant races, and we have a lot of confidence in him. He's a hard thrower, throws lots of strikes and has the ability to close out games, so we think he will fit in well with this bullpen.
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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.
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He made his decision and we respect that, given his history of injuries from a year ago and the fact that he only played in 14 games in 2005.
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The players have been aware that they were going to be involved with this for a while now. But we're taking three catchers for a reason. You can't expect to catch this much this early without getting sore. Fourteen pitchers is another obvious thing. As for the players, we'll take things on an individual basis. For example, Ken Griffey told me he'd be ready to go.
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Luis Gonzalez has the respect of everybody in baseball, and his opinion is very valued. He's always been a character guy that we respect a lot. We felt that he brings everything we want on this team.
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I think the spirit of the Mexican team will be dramatic. We saw a little bit of it in Tucson the other day.
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We talked about the talent in the room, the fact that we represent the United States of America, and just making sure they understood how everybody is coming after us. . . . They're all aware of doing whatever it takes.
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It's not that much different than what the White Sox have done, what the Angels did in 2002. It's execution, it's fundamentals. They do not make any mistakes.
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There were times last year when people looked at the scoreboard and thought my batting average was the temperature.