The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
02.19.2014 | Baseball
Quotes from head coach Augie Garrido
Head coach Augie Garrido
On if he could have scripted the home opener any better: I hadn't thought about it that way. It was what it was. I think that defensively there were a lot of situations that we contributed to by not getting our outs on time, but I thought that was really beneficial because it created a real adversity, and our pitchers had to pitch under more pressure than they would have if everything would have just been smooth and every out on time. So, I think with this young pitching staff, this is a pitching staff with [Josh] Sawyer and those guys that need to pitch this year to help us through all this, but this is the pitching staff that probably is going to start next year. [Blake] Goins, Sawyer and so on. So, you are going to see a lot of them. In the home opener, first time out here, they have had some experience in scrimmages to get ready for this, but I thought they handled it really well. I was really happy to see the adversity present itself and how they fought their way out. The pitchers had trust in their teammates behind them to throw to the mitt, and they made the plays behind them, so it was very good.
On if the ten runs scored gives them confidence in the box, even though four of the runs were unearned: Well, bless the [Texas A&M-CC] shortstop's heart, and I mean that, he dropped a couple of balls and it cost them four runs. So, that was extremely difficult for them. However, the inning we got the five, that all started with two outs, and we did get some runs before the pop fly added some extra runs on. I felt very good about that part of it, we had two outs and nobody on, and then the rally started. Several of the hitters had two strikes on them, found a way to put it in play, and keep the rally going. That's as good as it gets.
On the performances of the young pitchers tonight: Yes, I think they trusted the team behind them.... So, all of that happened tonight, and a lot of it I think started with Mark Payton throwing out the guy in the first. If the defense is going to play behind them like that, and we are able to have three runs by the third inning, that is a big help to the pitching staff. The whole game is about protecting the pitcher. The runs are about helping them relax, the outs on time are about making sure he doesn't have to overwork; it's all about the pitcher.
On being aggressive early in the count in certain situations: We need to be aggressive; we are not going to steal our way to any championship. We are going to have to play total offense, make productive outs, and have those quality at bats. It's going to be about quality at bats; we don't run well enough to steal, we can take some extra bases, but we are not going to run our way to the championship. We are going to have to play total offense and take quality at bats and swing the bats. We don't have all the experience with all of the freshmen in there to say, ok, this guy is this kind of pitcher, so today we are going to take two strikes the first two times around, then we are going to make an adjustment. You take them out of the comfort zone they are in and the whole card house can come falling down. We are trying to develop one game we can play, and play it consistently. Play the game that we can play, that is what we are trying to do. It is not very big, it does not have a very big scope, but if you can play one game consistently you have a much better chance than if you are just out there scuffling around trying to figure out what you are going to do. Too much information in this game is worse than simplifying it, learning what you can do, and being consistent doing it.
