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WORLD BASEBALL CLASSIC SEMIFINALS AND FINAL

March 21, 2009

LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA

THE MODERATOR: Ladies and gentlemen, we will go ahead and get started. Welcome to our formal interview session. We are joined by Team Venezuela manager, Luis Sojo. Manager Sojo, tell us your impression of tonight's game. What was the critical moment for your team?
LUIS SOJO: No doubt, first inning when this Korean team, they showed that they're here to win. We got the lead-off walk, and then we got the error, and two bloop singles. And the innings, you know, they got 5-run lead, and basically that was the game.

Q. Luis, what is more painful, to be losing, or the way you lost?
LUIS SOJO: I think the way we lost, most definitely. Because we were coming from a great job that we were doing. And as I just said in English, this was an inning, and all of a sudden, they are 5 ahead of you. Perhaps that first turn at bat was a very important turn at-bat.
I always said we needed to keep them off of the bases and do a good job of starting. And I'm not sure about Bob's error, we don't know how that happened. That was a routine fly.
Then we had pitching issues with -- they had the very important batting.
This was very painful. We did our job to obtain this objective. However, Korea did a better job than we did.

Q. Luis, a system in this World Classic where Venezuela is out and Korea is waiting for the next group, what would you expect for the next time around? Do you have any suggestions? Maybe we should do this differently?
LUIS SOJO: Unfortunately, right now, my head is not thinking that. It's plain and simple that the format that was done, it was a format that everybody accepted. But the reality is different. You said Korea is in, we are out. You just said it.
I am very happy with my ball players' performances. They did a professional job every single day that we came to the parks. They gave their all.
Unfortunately, today, it was not a good day for us, and that is the reality of baseball, and that is why we are out.
THE MODERATOR: We are now joined by Bobby Abreu and Carlos Guillen, thank you.

Q. Luis, what do you think happened with Carlos today? There were obviously some bloopers, but also some strong slugs. So I want to know, he seemed upset with himself, upset with himself or with the umpire.
LUIS SOJO: Undoubtedly, it was with the umpire. There were pitches that were there, nothing came. And the people from Korea were very aggressive at the plate.
Things happen in baseball, and there is always a big slugger afterwards. And all of the sudden, we're 5-0 at the first inning.
Carlos is characterized by throwing strikes, and today was not the exception. But the Korean players really took advantage of this.

Q. Luis, is this the most frustrating and saddest and disappointing time in your career?
LUIS SOJO: No, not at all. This was just another game, plain and simple. As a professional, you need to accept both defeat, as well as when you win.
We really wanted to provide and give this win to Venezuela. Unfortunately, it did not happen, but we need to continue to move forward and try to do things better for the future.

Q. Bobby, what happened with that fly? Tell us about that play in the first inning.
BOBBY ABREU: Well, I closed my glove too early, and when I saw that I did not have the ball, I grabbed it, and I tried not to throw all the way out, to not overthrow it. I saw Scutaro on second, I saw the runner would not make it, so I did what I had to do, plain and simply.
My throw was too short to Scutaro and we could not get that out. That was very important at that inning.

Q. Luis, this was a very important tournament for Venezuela. Regardless of the results today, are you regretting any of the decisions that you might have taken during this World Classic, and why?
LUIS SOJO: Not at all. We are here to make decisions, and we continue doing the things that we were doing throughout the tournament. So I actually do not have any regrets at all. Basically, baseball is this way. This is how it is.
So we were not able to do this, and we're talking about next time, and Korea goes into the finals.

Q. Carlos and Bobby, we want to ask you a question. Our starting pitcher in Korea, what do you think about our starting pitcher? What do you think about him? Can you evaluate our batters and also our starting pitcher?
BOBBY ABREU: Well, evaluating your starter, he really knows how to switch his pitches. He is very strong. I think that one of his best pitches is the "change," and he really gets on top of the hitters. He really has good control. I think that he is an excellent pitcher. He truly dominated the game very well. And the way that he throws his slider, he throws it in strike, and he throws it as a ball. I think that's what makes him a dominant pitcher.

Q. For Luis, we know that baseball is the way it is. You're outside of the tournament now, but Venezuela improved their performance from 2006. Venezuela was very on top of the national team. There were criticisms and victories, but what do you have to tell the world? What does Luis Sojo tell the players, this new roster that won over some of the best in the continent? And perhaps we will have to experiment a little bit and get to know Asian baseball.
LUIS SOJO: First of all, thank you. They were tremendous professionals. And I'm telling my players you can't have any regrets. You always gave your all.
This is how baseball is. We confronted a team such as Korea that was better than us, and we need to give them credit. Mr. Yoon, the opener for Korea, was the key, I believe. And when that happens for a pitcher, you know, with the first throw that he gave, they really have an advantage when they start the way he did.

Q. Bobby, what impact did that misplay in right field have on the game? How much of an impact did that have on the way things turned out?
BOBBY ABREU: Well, I made a mistake in the first inning. It was too early in the game. I didn't close the glove -- I closed the glove too early. And I kept the ball in front of me, and I was just trying to throw it back to second, and I saw the run, and I knew I had a chance to get an out at second. But I throw the ball, but it was a short bounce to Scutaro. He couldn't catch the ball to make the out at second.
I think that play early in the first inning, it caused the rally. They got a blooper after that, and they hit a homer after the blooper. But I think that out means a lot for Carlos, because he was looking for -- to get the first out and try to stay in the game.

Q. Luis, after watching this game and the way they played in 2006, how come there aren't more Korean's in the major leagues?
LUIS SOJO: There will be. To see the way this kid threw the ball opened a lot of eyes. The bullpen was outstanding. I don't know. Surprises me that there aren't that many Koreans in the big leagues, but I think from now on there will be.

Q. Question for Luis and a question for Carlos. Luis, at what point in the game did you decide that the game was lost? Was it on the first? Was it in the fourth inning? And in regards to Carlos, today you hit a home run, unfortunately, when the game was already gone. And I wanted to ask you, what does it feel like under the circumstances, somehow frustrating, where you slug the ball that way and it made no difference?
LUIS SOJO: I never -- when you see the lineup in Venezuela, if you give up, forget it. I think that you should stay home. Because with the lineup that we have, at anytime we could have opened a rally.
However, I saw the doubting, and these guys continued to motivate themselves, and among themselves, to score those runs.
But we need to give a lot of credit to Korea's pitching because they were amazing, absolutely.
CARLOS GUILLEN: In regards to home runs, when you don't win, it doesn't feel the same way than when you lose. Yes, I did connect the ball really well. The ball went outside of the park, but unfortunately we did not win.
We tried to give our best. Each and every one of us was trying to make the best out of our opportunities, our turns at-bat. But when you don't win, you know, what you hit doesn't count.

Q. Mr. Sojo, good evening. Are you regretting not using Felix Hernandez instead of Carlos Silva for this game?
LUIS SOJO: Not at all. We always said that we were keeping up a schedule. And with all due respect, Carlos is a really good pitcher. To take away the ball from him would be a lack of respect on my part.
So unfortunately, things did not happen the way they are. I put all of my trust in him and he deserved it.

Q. Bobby and Carlos, was this the best team that you played against during this classic?
BOBBY ABREU: You see all of the teams were very good, all of them were hard to play against. And we need to -- I share with what Luis just said, Korea really played extremely well. They were aggressive. We saw the results in all of their previous games. They scored a lot, their pitching was outstanding, the opener -- the intermediate pitchers, as well as the closers, are the ones that really contributed to make the Team Korea win. And this is a team that really deserves the credit to be in the final.
CARLOS GUILLEN: I think that this was one of the strongest teams at this tournament. They had an outstanding starting pitcher tonight. The bullpen really worked well. I think that their key was that everybody was throwing strikes. This is a team that puts the ball in play, they don't strike out, and they have excellent defense.

Q. For Manager Sojo. The majority of fans tonight were Korean's fans. Do you think that affected the players in the game?
LUIS SOJO: Affect the Venezuelan players? I don't think so. But I think it helped the Korean players a lot, because when you have support from your fans. And for a moment, I feel like we were in Korea because we had a lot, too many Korean people here. They support the players. They are all over every moment, and it was great for them.
Players, you know, sometimes you don't know how important it is to support your team, and tonight they showed that, the Korean people showed that.

Q. Luis, at any time during the game, after Carlos, did it cross your mind to bring Felix in as a relief pitcher today? Obviously, you didn't do it. I would like to ask you why you didn't do it.
LUIS SOJO: No, at no time did it cross my mind. We had a conversation. Everything was planned out for Carlos to pitch today. And looking at the way Enrique Gonzalez was pitching during the tournament, we really had the bullpen covered.

Q. Could you tell me what was different this time around and what you might suggest for the tournament the next time around?
BOBBY ABREU: We feel good about it. This is a nice tournament. Even if it's a short tournament, but it's good. I think it put the whole countries together, and put all the fans together, and see the best player for the country, fighting. And I feel so proud to represent the country and to give everything, you know, just to win the championship.
I think it's a very important tournament. Everybody enjoys it. Everybody feels happy about it. Well, I know it takes a long time, four years, but it's something they are working on and they know why they do it. And there is a reason for it, you know? And I think all the players need to sometimes refresh to get to the tournament again.

Q. Luis, was this your last experience as a manager for Venezuela at a World Classic, or are you available for another appointment?
LUIS SOJO: I'm sorry. I am a professional, and this is just a decision that I do not make. But as long as it is to represent my country, I am always available. The next world tournament will be in four years. There is a lot of things that can happen in the meantime.
We need to get prepared, not more than now, because obviously our ballplayers, the way they performed, I have no regrets. Everything they did, they did with a lot of love.
But we do need to get prepared for a world tournament, because it's a very strong tournament. It's a hard tournament to play. We need to do it well.
THE MODERATOR: Thank you very much.

End of FastScripts

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