Braves quotes from Matt Wisler, Michael Bourn, Ryan Lavarnway and Fredi Gonzalez after the a 2-0 win in Game 2 of Sunday’s doubleheader sweep against the Cardinals, and from Shelby Miller and Gonzalez after a 6-0 win in the first game.
GAME 2
** FREDI GONZALEZ
On finishing season with three-game series sweep
“You don’t beat the team with the best record three games in a row if you don’t pitch and pitch well, play good defense, added some runs late in games. Good. Those guys (players) out there deserve all the credit. They never gave up, even during that 10- or 12-game losing streak. We played real good baseball (beginning) right after that. In our game, if you pitch you’ve got a chance every single night.”
More on the pitching and how much it’s improved in the last couple of weeks
“It’s been great. These young guys, it takes them a little while. We were patient with them, kept running them out there. It’s nice to go into the offseason knowing, OK, we’ve got some guys who can really help us next year. Good for us. We saw a lot of good stuff. Jace Peterson. We keep talking about a lot of guys, Garcia and Castro and Vizcaino – there’s a lot of … I feel good going into this winter about our chances next year.”
On Wisler’s improvement after the terrible (Sept. 3) start at Washington
“Ever since that one game against the Nationals, where he didn’t get out of the second inning, he’s been a totally different guy. I think him and Roger have gotten together (and discussed) just trust your stuff, pitch to your strength. That (bad start) was on a Thursday, we brought him back on Sunday for a relief appearance, and from that point on he’s a different guy. And it’s 93-94 mph…. That’s a great last game for him. I think we took him as far as we could take him, and then Jax (Edwin Jackson), a guy who’s been around baseball for so many years, gets an opportunity to save the game, the first of his career if I’m not mistake. So a lot of good things this year – at the tail end, anyway.”
More on Wisler bouncing back so well in September and today
“There’s a confidence level, a comfort level, when you go out there – and he’s not even close to being a finished product — that you belong here, and your stuff plays. I think we’re seeing a little bit of that.
“I thought Lavarnway did a terrific job when he caught both ends of the doubleheader, both shutouts. And he did a nice job handling Miller in the first game. There was one time where the hamster fell off the wheel and he helped him get back on there. And he did a terrific job helping to maneuver Wisler through the lineup.”
On Bourn and what he’s meant to you and team
“He means everything to me. I was excited when we got him. He’s a guy that, what you see on the field, you guys don’t see what’s in the locker room, what a teammate he is, enthusiastic. And when we got him and – I didn’t know anything about Swish (Nick Swisher), I’m happy there too – Michael Bourn means a lot to me and this organization. He’s a tremendous player and maybe a better person.”
As bad as the season record is, how much better do you feel now than you did a couple of weeks ago?
“A lot. There’s a lot to look forward to in the offseason and, talking to John Hart and Coppy, they’re talking about getting better in our pitching department, our bullpen. There’s people out there that we can go get, because there’s always injuries around the corner, as we know. I think this last week, if we didn’t know already, this proves that if you pitch, you’ve got a chance to win ballgames.”
**MATT WISLER
On being happy with the way season ended for you, the improvement in recent weeks
“Yeah, I think for everyone, everyone’s month of September was a lot better. As a team I think we got better, starting pitching got sharper. So yeah, I feel good with the way I ended the year.”
Shelby talked about how nice it was to go into offseason with a strong outing; you feel same way?
“Yeah, to end on a positive note, to feel good going into next year is going to be nice. I mean, I know I can get guys out at this level. Confidence going into spring training will be a little better. Still got a long way to go. Take a couple of weeks off, enjoy the offseason, then get back to work.”
**RYAN LAVARNWAY
On catching two shutouts in one day
“That’s what I’d rather do, man, especially the way those guys threw the ball today. I’m really happy that both of them (Miller, Wisler) finished strong, and for the team to end on a good note.”
On Wisler’s late-season improvement after August woes
“He went through a couple of struggles, which you expect as a young pitcher. He’s learning on the go and it was a great opportunity for him this year, especially with the year that we had as a unit. To give him the opportunity to work through stuff at the big-league level without looking over his shoulder.”
On helping Miller get locked back in after a brief rough spot in the first game
“I think he started to think about, you know, the last 24 starts. You could see him start to think a little faster, move a little faster. I just reminded him, I said, ‘Hey, man, let it be today. Don’t worry about what’s happening. Go out there and slow it down. Just be you.’ Because he’s got great stuff.
“Wisler’s got great stuff, too. So it was fun.”
**MICHAEL BOURN
On finishing season on good note
“We had a good finish, man. Was able to take two from them. It’s always hard to beat the Cardinals. They’re a good team, good organization, they’re always going to come to fight. The last game they didn’t have their starters playing, but they still had good players out there. Either way, we were happy to get the win, two of them. End on a good note and see each other in spring training.”
On nearly hitting his first homer of the season, double high off the RF wall
(Laughs) “I tried to get rid of that goose egg. I’ve never had a goose egg (no homers) for a whole season. But I really wasn’t thinking about it. When I first hit it, I didn’t swing that hard. Just put the barrel to it, was able to get us started in the first game with a double.”
After hitting a leadoff single and scoring first run to give Wisler a 1-0 lead in nightcap
“That was cool. I was happy to get that done.”
On major improvement by pitchers in last couple of weeks
“Pitching and defense, to me, always wins the game. There’s no other way around it in baseball. I mean, you can slug throughout the regular season, but if you want to win, win, you’re going to have to pitch and play defense. The World Series last year, both teams, San Francisco and Kansas City, were built on pitching and defense. I mean, that’s the only goal that every team should have, is to win.”
On the progress of the young pitchers in particular
“Yes, lot of progress. I always know there’s a learning curve in playing baseball, no matter what. You’re young, you go out there and have success, you’re still going to have a learning curve at some point.”
Game 1
**SHELBY MILLER
On how nice it felt to get a win in his last start of season, snapping 24-start drought
“Oh, man, absolutely. You don’t really expect to finish quite that well. I’ve been struggling with my mechanics a little bit for a couple of games, and this one felt good. That’s the best I’ve felt in a while. Good way to end the season, for sure.”
Nice to do it against your former team, as well?
“Yeah, like I said earlier, I’m trying to go out there, whether it’s the Cardinals or whoever it is, my goal is to go out there and just get a win. Whoever my opponent is between the lines, that’s the team I’m trying to beat that day. Sometimes you have a little connection with other teams like I do with the Cardinals, and sometimes it’s rivalries, but at the end of the day you put that behind you and you go out there and try to put up some zeroes. And everything kind of worked out well today – so far, we’ve got another game.”
Did you go out there with attitude of nothing to lose, kind of lay it all on the line today?
“No, not necessarily that. More just trying to go out there and finish the season strong, finish with something going into spring training with a little bit more of an idea where I’m trying to go. I threw some splits today, which I haven’t really done in a while. That worked out well for us. Stuff like that. I’m just trying to go out there and not look at it like it was my last. Every start’s the same with me. My goal is to go out there and go as deep as I can in the game, be as efficient as possible, and try to get a win. And that’s what we did today.”
Would you have liked to pitch the ninth?
“Yeah, obviously you always want to go out there in those kind of situations, but our manager is the one who calls the shots and I’m on his side. The bullpen came in and finished the game pretty well.”
Was it nice to end that streak so you could go into offseason without it hanging over you?
“Absolutely. I know it’s kind of been…you obviously know what’s going on. I had a stretch where I didn’t win for a while. Like I said, it would have been different if we were going out there and not playing good baseball, not showing up ready to go. But every day we’re ready to go. It’s fine when that kind of stuff happens. And it’s fine to put that behind us, absolutely. I’m glad we got a win today, I got a win today, and we have some positive vibes going into the offseason.”
Can you remember the last time you were this happy after a start – the hugs and all that
“That’s more of a, I’m obviously excited about a win, but at the same time the last start of the season I’m just hugging my teammates, we had a hell of a year. We played hard. Obviously it didn’t go the way wanted to, but a lot of these faces are probably going to be back next year, and these are your teammates. I know that’s probably my last time I’m going to get in a game this year, so I was just hugging it out and telling them great year.”
On his performance this season
“I had some ups and downs. I had some good games and some bad ones. I’m a guy who’s trying to take all the positives from a season, take those into the offseason, work on those things, realize what didn’t go so right in some games and wasn’t really going my way, and get those out of the way and just try to continue to get better – as a player, as a person, as a teammate. And that’s what I’m going to do during the offseason.”
** FREDI GONZALEZ
Shelby seemed like the happiest guy in the ballpark
“I think a lot of guys were (happy). His old teammates, the coaching staff… I explained to Vizcaino, that was a save – you didn’t want Shelby going into the winter thinking about this. Everybody did their parts, we swung the bats, scored runs. He did one heck of a job, eight scoreless innings. He’s pitched some of the best baseball I’ve ever seen pitched and not gotten credit for it, and I’m glad we got him a W today, and he doesn’t have to worry about it, answering all those questions in spring training, that kind of stuff.”
Nice to get that aspect of a poor season out of the way, end his streak
“Yeah. You’ve got to believe, sometimes these guys talk about wins are not important (in judging a pitcher) and he proved it this year. What great makeup. He’s human, and we saw some (frustration) here and there, but for the most part this guy came in every single day after tough losses, after tough no-decisions, and was the same guy, same work ethic, and it was nice (to end the streak). I think as a team we haven’t been this excited in a long time.”
Has that surprised you, how well he’s handled it
“Yeah, it is surprising. A moral lesson. This guy, I really have gained some respect for him, because I was frustrated for him, and other than a couple of incidences, this guy kept putting his nose to the grindstone and kept working. And we got a W for him.”
On Adonis Garcia showing both sides of his game – the error, but then two homers
“That’s a bat, and we’ve talked about it going forward, going into next year. He’s a guy that, OK, you can scratch it off the list, this guy can at the very least give you an option against left-handed pitching. He can play third, he can play the outfield, come spring training we’ll give him a first-base glove, just to give Free a day off against a tough left-hander. And a guy off the bench, formidable guy off the bench.”
On Castro’s strong relay throw to the play for double play on fly out to CF wall
“Having Simmons and Castro in the middle of the Diamond is like having two point guards. They know what’s going on. They’ve got great clocks. The play’s never over. And it’s nice to watch them.”
