June 10, 2010
Texas Press Conference Quotes
Head Coach Augie Garrido
Opening Statement: It is going to be an exciting weekend of exceptional college baseball. If the statistics have anything to say about it, and if they become consistent, the teams are pretty evenly matched. There are no pitching mismatches. The fielding is basically the same. You can argue that their hitting is better than ours but all in all, on any given day, any given weekend, when you have teams so evenly matched, with identical records, it's just going to be a lot of fun for everyone to see the games played out.
On the progress made in practice: Tuesday was to be expected, there was a lot of excitement the draft was going on, and we just won the regional championship. The downside of those events was pretty much expected, and I think the players did well as far as responding accordingly to how they needed to respond. When this team is good it doesn't just come from the elected leaders it comes from the job of all of the players managing themselves and making the right efforts at the right time.
On this being a repeat of the last Super Regional: It is a repeat between uniforms and some of the names are the same, but the players are different. Even the ones whose names and numbers might be the same, there are players in different positions, some have progressed greatly and are filled with confidence, while others have had a tough year and are struggling looking for their break out moment. We are all here because of the unexpected. The excitement lies in the unexpected. The only sure thing we can predict is that the unexpected is going to occur this weekend. And that unexpected element will probably decide the outcome of this super regional.
On what the team needs to get an edge: I like to refer to Casey Stengel when I'm confronted with that question. He says, "You give me a team that scores more runs than the other team, and I'll give you a winner." You only know in hindsight. If I could move forward by about an hour, an hour ahead of the game, it would make it a lot easier to manage.
On the improvements TCU has made: I've noticed a consistency in their pitching, and an added depth in their pitching. I also think that they hit well last year, and they hit just as well this year. They played good defense last year, and they play good defense this year. It will be about the little things, the intangibles, and things you can't control. The luck factor is going to play a large part in it for sure... well, nothing is for sure.
On the pitching order: We are probably going to put them back into the pitching order that they were with one exception. We will probably move Cole Green to the first spot. He has an extra day's rest on Jungmann, and we are not willing to pitch anyone on short rest. Jungmann will pitch second, and Brandon Workman will pitch third. That will be closer to the weeks that led up to this. You want consistency, you don't want the unexpected on your own team, don't want the shock value. We changed the order because in a four-team double-elimination tournament, seeding became a factor. You have matchups that you don't have in this situation. Now, we can go back to the regular routine that we had in the Big 12 for nine weekends.
On how TCU's lineup affects Texas': That really wasn't a factor because it would be a total contradiction from what I tell the team every day. We will not be concerned with what the other team is capable of doing. Let's play our best baseball, stay focused on the fundamentals both offensively and defensively, and if we've played our best game, and the opponent can beat us, then let's tip our hat and walk off proudly. If we start changing that now, then it becomes hypocritical.
On the rest of the bullpen: Rested and rusty start with the same letter. Rest doesn't tell you how they are going to perform. But they are healthy, and I think they will be ready to go.
On keeping the focus away from the draft: You want them to enjoy it. You can't ask them to keep it out of their minds. It is fulfilling a dream, and you want them to fulfill their dreams. The key is accept it, embrace, be thankful for it, but know that you are a still a ball player, furthermore, a ball player in a Longhorn uniform. In professional baseball, a player trades uniforms, and you play baseball as long as you can, in as many uniforms as you can, for as much money as you can, and when it is all over, it's completely over for you. But when you play baseball for the Longhorns, you are a Longhorn for life. So I simply want our players to get everything out of this that they possibly can, because the Longhorns will end up being your family.
OF Kevin Keyes
On TCU: We know they are good. They were good last year, they did really well this year, and they've received a lot of hype this year. We know that the quality of pitching is good. And the quality of hitting is equally as good
On what the team has focused on after Regionals: We've just been taking every week of practice just as hard. We continue to work on the fundamentals, drills, and I feel we are really prepared for this upcoming weekend.
On the support of the team: I think it all about picking the energy and moral up. We act like we are all 12-years-old out there. We have to continue to be excited to play with each other, and that develops into supporting one another.
OF Russell Moldenhauer
On TCU: We've seen nothing new. Of course we've faced them in the spring and know what they are capable of. Usually they bring their best stuff against us. And they do a pretty good job until we are able to fully figure them out. But seeing quality pitching is nothing we haven't seen before.
On the focus in practice: We are trying to take the same approach we have all year. We are trying to iron out the details, and repeat the success we've had.
On how the team maintains focus: In practice we remain upbeat, and supportive. We continue supporting each other in practice. I think that is one of the reasons we've been so successful. Everybody picks everyone else up. That positivity has a way of repeating itself in the game.
Texas Press Conference Quotes
Head Coach Augie Garrido
Opening Statement: It is going to be an exciting weekend of exceptional college baseball. If the statistics have anything to say about it, and if they become consistent, the teams are pretty evenly matched. There are no pitching mismatches. The fielding is basically the same. You can argue that their hitting is better than ours but all in all, on any given day, any given weekend, when you have teams so evenly matched, with identical records, it's just going to be a lot of fun for everyone to see the games played out.
On the progress made in practice: Tuesday was to be expected, there was a lot of excitement the draft was going on, and we just won the regional championship. The downside of those events was pretty much expected, and I think the players did well as far as responding accordingly to how they needed to respond. When this team is good it doesn't just come from the elected leaders it comes from the job of all of the players managing themselves and making the right efforts at the right time.
On this being a repeat of the last Super Regional: It is a repeat between uniforms and some of the names are the same, but the players are different. Even the ones whose names and numbers might be the same, there are players in different positions, some have progressed greatly and are filled with confidence, while others have had a tough year and are struggling looking for their break out moment. We are all here because of the unexpected. The excitement lies in the unexpected. The only sure thing we can predict is that the unexpected is going to occur this weekend. And that unexpected element will probably decide the outcome of this super regional.
On what the team needs to get an edge: I like to refer to Casey Stengel when I'm confronted with that question. He says, "You give me a team that scores more runs than the other team, and I'll give you a winner." You only know in hindsight. If I could move forward by about an hour, an hour ahead of the game, it would make it a lot easier to manage.
On the improvements TCU has made: I've noticed a consistency in their pitching, and an added depth in their pitching. I also think that they hit well last year, and they hit just as well this year. They played good defense last year, and they play good defense this year. It will be about the little things, the intangibles, and things you can't control. The luck factor is going to play a large part in it for sure... well, nothing is for sure.
On the pitching order: We are probably going to put them back into the pitching order that they were with one exception. We will probably move Cole Green to the first spot. He has an extra day's rest on Jungmann, and we are not willing to pitch anyone on short rest. Jungmann will pitch second, and Brandon Workman will pitch third. That will be closer to the weeks that led up to this. You want consistency, you don't want the unexpected on your own team, don't want the shock value. We changed the order because in a four-team double-elimination tournament, seeding became a factor. You have matchups that you don't have in this situation. Now, we can go back to the regular routine that we had in the Big 12 for nine weekends.
On how TCU's lineup affects Texas': That really wasn't a factor because it would be a total contradiction from what I tell the team every day. We will not be concerned with what the other team is capable of doing. Let's play our best baseball, stay focused on the fundamentals both offensively and defensively, and if we've played our best game, and the opponent can beat us, then let's tip our hat and walk off proudly. If we start changing that now, then it becomes hypocritical.
On the rest of the bullpen: Rested and rusty start with the same letter. Rest doesn't tell you how they are going to perform. But they are healthy, and I think they will be ready to go.
On keeping the focus away from the draft: You want them to enjoy it. You can't ask them to keep it out of their minds. It is fulfilling a dream, and you want them to fulfill their dreams. The key is accept it, embrace, be thankful for it, but know that you are a still a ball player, furthermore, a ball player in a Longhorn uniform. In professional baseball, a player trades uniforms, and you play baseball as long as you can, in as many uniforms as you can, for as much money as you can, and when it is all over, it's completely over for you. But when you play baseball for the Longhorns, you are a Longhorn for life. So I simply want our players to get everything out of this that they possibly can, because the Longhorns will end up being your family.
OF Kevin Keyes
On TCU: We know they are good. They were good last year, they did really well this year, and they've received a lot of hype this year. We know that the quality of pitching is good. And the quality of hitting is equally as good
On what the team has focused on after Regionals: We've just been taking every week of practice just as hard. We continue to work on the fundamentals, drills, and I feel we are really prepared for this upcoming weekend.
On the support of the team: I think it all about picking the energy and moral up. We act like we are all 12-years-old out there. We have to continue to be excited to play with each other, and that develops into supporting one another.
OF Russell Moldenhauer
On TCU: We've seen nothing new. Of course we've faced them in the spring and know what they are capable of. Usually they bring their best stuff against us. And they do a pretty good job until we are able to fully figure them out. But seeing quality pitching is nothing we haven't seen before.
On the focus in practice: We are trying to take the same approach we have all year. We are trying to iron out the details, and repeat the success we've had.
On how the team maintains focus: In practice we remain upbeat, and supportive. We continue supporting each other in practice. I think that is one of the reasons we've been so successful. Everybody picks everyone else up. That positivity has a way of repeating itself in the game.
