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Written by Maury Brown
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Sunday, 13 April 2008 13:55 |
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The following are quotes from Buck Martinez during today's Cubs v. Phillies game on TBS. Chicago Cubs (6) @ Philadelphia Phillies (5) (10 innings)
Announcers Chip Caray and Buck Martinez
Martinez on Phillies second baseman Chase Utley: “(Chase Utley) is just a hitting machine, getting better and better with each year…When you are hot like Chase Utley you can see the ball well and you can do just about anything you want to do at the plate.”
Martinez on the differences in American and Japanese pitching: “One thing that doesn’t come across the Pacific (Ocean from America to Japan) is the two-seam fastball. In Japan, they throw what they call a “shuuto” that goes along the plane of the bat. Even Hideki Matsui in New York had trouble because he couldn’t understand what (a fastball) pitch was. He would ask Joe Torre, “What is that pitch?” It was a two-seam fastball and they hadn’t seen many of those in Japan.”
Martinez on Japanese power-hitters transitioning to American baseball: “(Kosuke) Fukudome averaged about 20 homeruns a season in his nine years in Japan, but one thing that we’ve seen over the years is that the power numbers don’t convert one-for-one. Hideki Matsui was a 50-homerun hitter in Japan but he has not approached that number (in American baseball). The reason is that the Japanese ballparks are smaller and when you get over there…the ball doesn’t travel as well and it takes a little bit more power to hit a homerun in the major leagues.”
Martinez on at-bat strategy: “There is nothing like ‘strike one,’ it really changes the entire at-bat. When you go ‘strike one’ the batter has to regroup and becomes more of a defensive hitter. As the count continues to go in the hitter’s favor then he has more and more confidence with each pitch.”
Martinez on Phillies pitcher Jamie Moyer facing Cubs catcher Henry Blanco: “I love watching veteran pitchers like Jamie Moyer work because their ego never gets them in trouble. He doesn’t have a problem with that sharp line drive down the left field line, its just part of his whole set-up. And he’ll keep giving up contact, he just changes the speed to make sure (Henry) Blanco doesn’t hit the ball fair.”
Martinez on baseball becoming an international game: “(Baseball) is becoming truly a worldwide game and you’ve forced organizations that were (initially) reluctant to develop international scouting programs and to set up academies in Latin America and scout the Pacific Rim.”
Martinez on the controversial homerun hit by Cubs second baseman Mark DeRosa in the sixth inning: “A problem in these ballparks around baseball is that over the years the foul poles haven’t gotten any taller but the players have gotten stronger. They need to extend (the poles) higher.”
Martinez on Phillies bench coach Jimy Williams developing the bench players: “Jimy Williams deserves all the credit in the world for keeping the extra (players) ready because he makes them work every single day as if they were playing a game before the game starts. He says, ‘You guys gotta get your nine innings in before the game starts because you never know how long it’s going to be before you get game action.’ He manages those extra guys as if they were regular players and it really has paid off.” Source: TBS Don't forget to leave your comments
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