Following are the highlights from Joe Torre’s pre-game media session. A casual day with lots of discussion about two-sport athletes (like Dodgers first round draft pick Zach Lee), but not too much news to report:
On George Sherrill Starting Fresh Now that He’s Back from the DL:
“You’re certainly not going to be able to change the stats. You’re just going to have to go out there, and I’m sure he’s going to be in that mindset anyway. He’s not much to concern himself about how pretty it is, it’s just about getting it done.”
On Carlos Monasterios:
“Last night was good for us. We’ve had all those one run games. It was a good opportunity to rest our bullpen for one. Monasterios gave us a heck of a job. A heck of a job. He got himself in a bit of a jam there in the fifth inning, and then got himself out of it in a hurry.”
“To me, the fact that he’s pitched this well, I think he could do the job out of the bullpen too. I think all this stuff has done nothing but increase his confidence, and increased our confidence in him. He doesn’t seem to be bothered by who he pitches against, and that’s a big get for me, is just to watch his demeanor out there. After the first few times, he’s been pretty good.”
On Rafael Furcal:
“There’s a lot of life in his body right now. He was sort of fooled on that ground-rule double that he hit, but he kept his bat in the zone a long time. He’s staying back a lot better. I thought a few days ago he was swinging out of his shoes, but he had much more controlled at bats, I felt, last night.”
On Washington Nationals Pitcher Stephen Strasburg’s Debut Today:
I’ll tell you one thing, from what I’ve seen in the inning and two thirds I watched him pitch, the ball comes out of his hand pretty good. He’s got that one that sinks a little bit, and with that arm speed, he’s got a great curveball…so quick. You have to be more than perfect to live up to the expectations…he certainly appears to be pretty special. I don’t think there’s any question.”
On Who Strasburg Reminds Him of:
“When you think of someone young, coming up and pitching, I think of Doc Gooden. He’d cross your eyes with that breaking ball and throw that fastball. He’d say ‘Here, I dare you.’ And that’s what you’re seeing with this kid.”
On Possibly Being Asked to Talk to Zach Lee:
“Whatever they ask me to do…I’m only here to serve.”
Photo Credit: Chris Volk/2010 dodgerfan.net
Also, I’ll have a bit more in a future post on Joe Torre’s thoughts about draft pick Zach Lee and being a two-sport athlete. Stay tuned!