Tito’s pregame minutiae: May 16
Highlights from Indians manager Terry Francona’s Q&A with reporters prior to Wednesday afternoon’s game against the Tigers.
On Matt Belisle re-signing with the Indians on a Minor League deal:
TF: “I think he had a chance to maybe go out and look around, which is good. And then the fact that he was comfortable coming back, I think we were all happy about that. OK, it’s a guy that made our team out of Spring Training, so obviously we liked him. But, just the way he handles himself, the way he carries himself, being around some of those younger guys in Triple-A will be great for him. So we were really happy about that. Having guys in Triple-A, like Nap, man that is so valuable. You can’t quantify it, but it’s so valuable.”
On navigating through the bullpen issues:
TF: “We can’t over react after tough losses, because if you do, you’d have on team left. That’s why a lot of times, Chris [Antonetti] will say, ‘Let’s take a deep breath and talk about it in the morning.’ You know what, we’re not the first team to go through whether it’s bullpen issues or lack of hitting issues, and we won’t be the last. It’s not a lot of fun. But like we were talking about yesterday, trying to figure it out.”
On importance of a bullpen keeping a deficit small, not just holding a lead:
TF: “That was something that I thought we were so good at in the past. I think that’s part of the reason why sometimes our one- and two-run record wasn’t as good as maybe people would think, because we would stay in games and have a chance to win, even in the ones we were losing. The best thing I know to do is to fight through it together, try to find some consistency. It’s easy when everything is going perfect, but when it’s not, try to be consistent and show faith because that’s part of what it is. If it was always easy, everybody would do it.”
On Josh Tomlin’s start on Tuesday:
TF: “It wasn’t a step backward. It’s a little bit hard, because he’s been the one guy pitching on long rest, missing time, and I think the reasons are appropriate, but it’s still hard. We’re trying to figure out, not only when — well, I guess that’s the big question is when — because we have the two off days, so we’re trying to balance the other starters, him, we’re trying to accomplish multiple things and I don’t think we quite know yet what we’ll do.”
On factoring in heavy workload (increased pitch counts) of late for the rotation:
TF: “Definitely. I don’t want to look up in August and have guys on fumes. That’s never happened before, but we also have guys like Clev, who have never really done that before.”
On walking a fine line when extending a starter to win a game, but keeping big picture in mind:
TF: “I think that’s why we map it out before the game. And when I say map it out, [you] put parameters so you don’t get into a game [and decide on the fly], because it’s too easy to get into a game and go, ‘Eh, we could do this.’ … So we kind of put parameters before the game just so we stay inside those.”
On some fans blaming the revamped coaching staff for the pitching problems:
TF: “Oh boy. That would be a huge mistake. Fans… I used to yell at Lute Olson. He’s a [expletive] hall-of-fame basketball coach, but I was a fan. I am a fan. And that’s what fans do. But, we’re covered in that department. I couldn’t be happier with the way those guys go about their jobs. Standing next to Carl in the dugout every night, man, because that’s important when you’re with somebody every night. This has been hard on them. I know it has. He’s good. Atch, Sweeney, they’ve busted their [tails]. Sometimes when things are going like this, this is when the guys work the hardest. I have no issues. They’re solid people and solid coaches. I probably feel like that more now than I did before.”
On Francisco Lindor staying in the cleanup spot even with Edwin Encarnacion back in the lineup:
TF: “I’m just trying to, one, Raj swung the bat so well [in the leadoff spot Tuesday]. I’m just trying to give us a little bit of length to the lineup — more length than maybe we’ve been showing.”
On whether Francona feels he gets the most out of Rajai Davis by limiting his playing time to certain situations:
TF: “I think that if you play him the right amount, you can get a better player. That’s nothing taking away from him, but he’s got some age now. He does a great job, but you don’t want to reach for too much, because I don’t think that serves him or us well.”
On enjoying watching Lindor and Jose Ramirez blossom into two of the best hitters (and power hitters) in baseball:
TF: “Heck yeah. Frankie, especially, he was such a big prospect, so he was pushed at a young age. Like, he never stayed at one level for like a year and a half, so you weren’t going to see those numbers. But, he’s kind of growing up right in front of us at the Major League level. Hell yeah, that’s part of what’s really fun about the game. You don’t know what they’re going to grow into. I don’t even know if they do, but then you start doing things and you get confident and you start doing more things. And, [expletive], man, I mean Josey, he kind of started out as the utility guy that we all loved his swagger and his confidence. He got sent down a couple times and now he’s genuinely one of the better players in the game. It’s pretty cool. It’s fun to watch.”
On whether Lindor and Ramirez push each other:
TF: “I don’t know. I think they complement each other really well. Evverybody talks about Lindor for a good reason, but I think Josey is right in that conversation, man. He’s a good player.”
On Jason Kipnis’ struggles:
TF: “I think it’s been different at times. Like yesterday, God, sometimes you just need to catch a break. And I know it’s got to be more than that, but like yesterday, he hit that ball off the one lefty — I think it was his second at-bat to center field — that ball was like 414 feet. It was a gorgeous swing, and he got nothing for it. Sometimes, you need to have something to show for it. Then, he got the base hit to right field after that. It was like, OK. And then he came up with the bases loaded and he didn’t get extended and hit the double-play ball. This game is so much confidence, even for guys that have played it for years. Sometimes, your confidence takes a hit and, OK, it’s easy to say, ‘Well, be confident.’ That’s why we ask guys to work so hard, because then you have something to fall back on, or something to build from.”
— JB