Buck Martinez Quotations

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.

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.

Obviously they got a wakeup call. One thing we have learned in the international format is that anything can happen.

Obviously, they got a wakeup call last night.

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.

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 has been through this before and he understands the importance of representing your country. I think Jason is one of the best players who's ever strapped on the catching mask. He understands the game, he loves to represent his team, whether it's the Red Sox or Team USA. I'll be very anxious to work with a guy like that.

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).

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.

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.

I think the spirit of the Mexican team will be dramatic. We saw a little bit of it in Tucson the other day.

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.

That's the way it is -- we created it ourselves. That's the unique aspect of this. Now, it's up to Korea and Japan.

That's the perils of pool play. You have to be conscious of not falling too far behind and having big run differentials. You have to continue to grind.

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.

I sensed it was a kind of a bitter moment for them both. I've known them both for a long time, and we really thought they would bring a lot to our team. Then we got down into the numbers of the things and it just didn't work out.

They are a little bit of a mystery because of the uncertainty of who they are going to bring. We hear that the roster that they have submitted has an average age of 24. That's a pretty young roster. It's kind of surprising, but everybody expects that they will have a very representative team.

The World Baseball Classic is going to have an extraordinary impact on the sport. The magnitude of the Classic is enormous. It's designed to further expand the international appeal of baseball, and I think its mission is very similar to XM, which has done an amazing job of adding to the growth and popularity of baseball by giving fans greater access to the game.

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.

This is big stuff for our team. There's no doubt about it. I have no hesitations to say that our team is really enthusiastic and that we know what the expectations are. We can't wait to get going.

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.

It's a very quiet locker room right now. I think everybody is feeling like they got kicked in the stomach.

It's unfortunate that we can't take more than 30 because there are a bunch of guys that were committed, just like Eric Chavez.

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.

I'm sure there are some disappointed people (in Tampa). . . . But at the same time, this might just be a little bit of a higher calling every four years to come and represent your country.

I have no hesitations to say that ... we know what the expectations are.

There were times last year when people looked at the scoreboard and thought my batting average was the temperature.

I think Barry Bonds was in a unique situation given his injuries from a year ago, the fact that he played in just 14 games. Even though I spoke to Barry in December and he was enthusiastic and excited about the possibility, I think the closer he got to the reality of spring training, and as he got himself in shape for the regular season and the San Francisco Giants, he felt like it may be too much of a challenge to try to push his body at this point in his career.

This has been such a special experience. We've all returned to the level of playing the game for joy in this thing. It's been a rebirth.