Quotes from Braves manager Fredi Gonzalez and several players following Tuesday's 5-4 victory over the Minnesota Twins at Turner Field.
** FREDI GONZALEZ
On where to start with discussing this one
“Huddy. I think Huddy gave us great opportunity – for him to wait an hour and 16 minute-delay and for him to give us five innings was a tremendous feat, but that’s the competitor that he is. Varvaro did a terrific job those two innings. The eighth inning got a little sideways on us but we came back and tied it up with Gattis and then we battled and a bloop went in there with Freddie Freeman and we got the W.
“On a night that you’re going to get short rest, it’s nice to win it. We’ll come back out tomorrow and throw the B squad out there at them and try to get another win.”
Hudson looked like a man on a mission to stay in there
“That’s him. It was getting borderline. Roger (McDowell) and I were talking the whole time — he was coming up here and he was throwing in our cages because we’ve got mounds, until the lights go out. Now we can’t throw him in there. But he kept himself loose. We figured he threw 25 pitches in that delay so you add on those pitches, that’s why we didn’t want him to go any further than five.
“He wanted to go back out in the sixth. And I told him I didn’t feel comfortable and Roger backed me on that.”
You at all surprised not by Gattis’ pinch-hitting, three home runs in six pinch at-bats?
“For a young guy to do it, his swing is OK. His swing is better than OK. I keep saying there’s no toe tap or a lot of moving parts. It’s a short swing and he’s looking to do one thing, and just put the ball in play. And he’s just so darn strong that even if he doesn’t hit it right, it goes out of the ballpark. I don’t think he’s going up there trying to hit home runs. I really don’t. He’s just puts a good short swing at it and the ball gets out in a hurry.”
Does anything faze him?
“He spent three years living in a van, I don’t think a baseball game is going to faze him. We keep forgetting that he’s 26 years old. He’s lived a lot of stuff, so he’s probably just having fun. He thanked me in the dugout. Thank you. For pinch hitting you? I’d be crazy not to, but he’s just having fun.”
Gattis’ attitude or performance contagious?
“I think the guys love him. They love him and he’s got a lot of energy and there’s intensity there and it’s just a good story. Now we’ve got to try to figure out a way to either get to the American League so we can play him more or for me to figure out a way to play him some place.”
On if would have had to take Hudson’s right arm off to get him out
“No question. It would have had to be a fight. The umpire is telling me the lights are not – we have to wait another 15 minutes for the lights. And he’s on the mound, he’s ready to go. But there comes a time where we’ve got to make decisions as coaches and managers with what’s best for the health of a pitcher. He’s not 24 years old. He’s a guy with some history of injuries and back and the last thing you want to do is put him in a situation where he can hurt himself. I think we came out of it OK today.”
**FREDDIE FREEMAN
Walked J.Upton with first base open to face Freeman in 10th. You don’t mind facing lefties?
“No, not at all. That’s a tough lefty; I’ve never seen him before. So I just went in with the report from Fletch and Walk (assistant hitting coach Scott Fletcher and hitting coach Greg Walker), the two-seamer and slider. He threw me a 3-1 slider, so I was assuming he’s still got a base open at third and another lefty coming up, so he threw me another slider (full count). It wasn’t the prettiest swing, but it got it done.”
On Gattis’ clutch hitting
“It almost seems like it happens every time now. It’s unbelievable what he’s doing. I think that’s three or four times he’s either tied it or put us ahead with a pinch-hit. What he does, I’ve never seen it before.
“It’s almost like when I saw him walk up there, I knew we were going to be going a little longer tonight. Once he squats down in that box, it’s almost like you know it’s going to happen. But to come off the bench and be a pinch-hitter, it’s unbelievable. It’s a tough task, and to do what he’s been doing, it’s just … I don’t know how to explain it. It’s incomprehensible.”
**EVAN GATTIS
What did you know about Perkins before the at-bat in ninth?
“I knew he throws a lot of hard stuff in, and likes to live middle-in with the fastball and slider, likes to go back foot with the slider and likes to really bore in on guys, it looks like. And he’s firm, he throws hard. So I was looking for something middle-in, and I just reacted to the off-speed stuff.”
What were you thinking going up there?
“With him, I’m trying to think of the ways I can get myself out, and not to do that. Try to minimize that. If I try to get long (in swing) and try to do too much, that’s an easy out for a guy that can really get in there (inside).
“I reacted to the breaking stuff. I wasn’t looking for it, it just kind of happened.”
“I was trying to hit the ball hard. I don’t try to hit home runs, but sometimes they just happen.”
Fredi said he didn’t think any of this fazes you
“I kind of got used to it in Venezuela. There would be like three of these things (microphones). Here there’s a lot. But I don’t see most of the stuff (written and said). The job’s still the same, come to the park and all that stuff. The media’s just in your own country, and you can understand what they’re saying and stuff like that. So that helps.
“Like (in foreign language) they’d be talking about me sweating right now and stuff like that, you know?” (Reached for towel on floor and wipes his sweat, shaved head) “Yeah, it doesn’t faze me at all.” (laughter)
On staying ready as a pinch-hitter
“If you’re catching or something you’ve got different hitters that are about to come up, different pitchers and what matches up good with what. Pinch-hitter, all you’ve got to do is be ready. And that’s kind of an easy job, you know?”
On confidence building
“I didn’t really know what to expect coming in. I think it helps your confidence, for sure, any time you get a couple of pinch-hit home runs. You know? For anybody, that’s going to definitely affect your confidence. But I’ve been in these situations before. I’ve hit some other big home runs this winter, so I think that kind of helped too.”
On adrenaline as a pinch-hitter, compared to playing whole game
“Yeah, more adrenaline probably. First at-bat is always in kind of a clutch situation facing tough relievers, so yeah, adrenaline’s definitely high for me.”
** TIM HUDSON
On the long rain delay
“It’s not ideal, obviously. But you’ve just got to keep your motor going. You don’t know how long it’s going to take, the delay. Every 20 minutes or so play some catch, move around, spin the bike a little bit. Just keep your motor going until they tell you it’s time to go.”
Did you have to make it clear you weren’t coming out, to Fredi?
“No. It’s not like … I mean, our bullpen’s pretty thin right now, and we’ve got a day game tomorrow, quick turnaround. So, you know, I probably threw about three or four innings during that delay. But as long as you keep your motor going, keep things moving, and the blood flowing in your arm every 15-20 minutes or so, then you’re fine.
“It’s just if you sit down and don’t do anything during the delay, you can’t go back out there.”
Did you try to persuade the umpires that there was enough light to play the first time you were warming up on mound?
“Yeah, right? I mean, it was at least Double-A caliber lighting that we had going. Those kids down in the bushes can do it, why can’t we?” (laughter)
On Evan Gattis
“He’s great, man. It’s been awesome to see. He’s a clutch hitter and people around the league are scatching their heads trying to figure out how to keep him from putting balls in the seats. It’s fun for us to watch.”
On the game
“It’s a huge win. A huge win.”
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