Reaction from manager Fredi Gonzalez and several players to Tim Hudson's injury in Wednesday's victory over the Mets.
**FREDI GONZALEZ
On Hudson injury
“I had a real good vantage of the play. It’s a freak play, two guys going for the bag and EY just stepped on him, and Huddy had his foot on the bag. Freak play. You cover the bag thousands of times and that stuff never happens.
“But the reaction of the crowd when we were out there – I guess they showed the replay (on the video board) – wasn’t good. And talking to Timmy, you felt that it wasn’t good.”
On Hudson’s reaction
“He was tolerating the pain. He’s a tough guy. We’ll see what we’ve got. Let’s keep our fingers crossed.” (This was immediately after game, before Gonzalez found out extent of the injury.)
What a shame, Hudson was pitching one of best games he’s pitched in a long time
“Yeah, it’s just the way it goes sometimes. We’re talking about a guy that had a chance to complete and game and do the shutout and the whole thing, and now you don’t even hear music in the clubhouse. We got a win, a lot of good things happened, but now we’re just waiting around. One of our best teammates, one of our leaders on the team and in the community … we need to find out what the news is.”
Can you share any part of your conversation with Hudson on the field after he went down?
“I don’t want to share any of that. Other than, he was in a lot of pain.”
What was Eric Young saying to him?
“He kept telling Timmy, ‘I’m sorry, it wasn’t on purpose or anything.’ And Timmy was telling him, ‘No, I know, it’s just an accident.’”
On mood in clubhouse after game
“It was solemn. They’re worried about their teammate, they’re worried about a guy they enjoy being around and like, and there’s a lot of concern in the air.”
**DAN UGGLA
On Hudson’s injury
“It’s terrible. I haven’t heard anything on what it is yet, hopefully … I don’t know … hopefully it’s not broken or anything like that. But it looked bad, and I know he was in a lot of pain. That’s a big blow. If we do end up missing him for any period of time, Huddy is such a leader on the field and in the clubhouse, and in the dugout when he’s not pitching, so this is a tough one.”
On what he saw
“I saw them get tangled up. I was just hoping he Charley-horsed him or something. I didn’t see the extent of it. Once I saw Huddy’s reaction, I was like, Oh, no. This isn’t good.”
What was Hudson’s reaction when you got over there
“He was kind of in disbelief, obviously in a lot of pain. You could see, just the thoughts going through his head, ‘This can’t be happening…. This is unbelievable.’ That sort of thing. But I know he was in a lot of pain.”
On how Hudson was pitching before the injury
“He was rolling tonight, man. He was in and out, throwing his off-speed, he was nasty. That’s the Huddy that we all know and love. He’s fun to watch when he’s on like that.”
On Eric Young’s reaction when you came over to him
“He’s a great dude, man. He plays the game hard, in the right way. He’s just one of those guys, you love him. And you could see how upset he was and how devastated he was that he was the one who stepped on him. It was one of those freak-accident plays. I just told him, as much as you can, it’s just an accident and try not to beat yourself up over it. It’s an accident, and anybody could have been on the other side of it.
“He was really upset, though. I hope he’s not going to take it too hard. We’re all upset about it.”
On the offense finally re-awakening tonight
“I don’t know what it is about playing on the road, but we were finally able to get some runs early, and Huddy did the rest. It was definitely great to get out of the gates like that after not scoring any runs the first two games.”
**BRIAN McCANN
Did you know right away it was bad, from your vantage point?
“Yeah, I was watching the play and saw him cover. I basically saw the whole thing, and I ran down there as quick as I could. You could tell he was in pain. He’s one of the toughest guys that you’re ever going to meet, so if he’s laying down there, it’ll mean he’s hurt.”
Just a freak play, an accident….
“Yeah, you’ve got to make a bang-bang play and you’re just trying to hit the bag any way you can. The baserunner is trying to do the same. It’s unfortunate.”
Hudson has gone through a lot, the back surgery, Tommy John surgery….
“He’s going to be fine. I mean, this isn’t going to slow him down. He’s going to heal up. We don’t know what it is (this was before they found out) so it’s kind of hard to speculate. But he’s a warrior, and he’s going to be out there as soon as he can.”
On Hudson’s important in the clubhouse
“He’s huge. I mean, he’s the veteran presence around here that people go to. It’s Tim Hudson. The guy’s got 200 wins, and best teammate you’re ever going to have. Everybody in here feels bad for him.”
On how well Hudson was pitching Wednesday
“He was able to throw anything in any count. When he’s throwing front-door curveballs on 2-2 counts, he’s basically putting the ball wherever he wants. And that’s what he was doing. He came up to me and said, ‘Hey, I want to throw this front-door curveball to D. Wright when we get two strikes on him. And I said, ‘All right.’ And to be able to execute that, when that’s not something he normally does, that’s how good he was feeling tonight.”
What did you think after you saw the injury?
“I just hoped for the best. Hoped that, you know, make sure he stayed down, don’t try to walk off. Let them take care of. You don’t want to move if it’s broke.”
“It’s real tough, actually. That’s all that was on my mind the rest of the game, was how he was doing. You think about his family that was here in the stands, watching that. We won, but it’s a tough night.”
That’s all that was on my mind the rest of the game, was how he was doing. You think about his family that was here in the stands, watching that. We won, but it’s a tough night.”
**EVAN GATTIS
On the injury
“Nobody wants to see that.”
“We’ll see what the prognosis is, and go from there. But yeah, definitely, nobody ever wants to see that. Even EY was over there (concerned). Definitely a tough night. I hope it’s the least worst, and see how it is.”
On Hudson being a team leader
“Absolutely. Absolutely.”
Somber mood in clubhouse
“Yeah. It changes things, too. With the organization, we’ll see what we do, see what happens.”
**FREDDIE FREEMAN
On the play
“I didn’t see it. I flipped (the ball to Hudson) and spun. I’m not even going to look (at the replay).”
So he was already down when you turned back around?
“Yeah, once I turned around he was already on the ground. I didn’t see it, and I don’t want to see it. I heard the reaction from the crowd.”
“That just sucks. That was one of the best games I’ve ever seen him pitch. To have that happen, it’s terrible.”
Did you hear anything when the play happened?
“No, I didn’t see it, didn’t hear anything. And I’m not going to want to.”
When you saw him on the ground, you know it was bad?
“Yeah. He tried to get up and he couldn’t.”
On the play
“When I did spin and throw, I saw his foot, like, really on the base. Then I peeled off and looked back, and he was on the ground. I didn’t see Eric hit him or anything. It’s just one of those freak plays that happened. It’s baseball. And it sucks.”
