Johan Santana's mid-game news conference.
How did you feel out there?
It was fine. I feel good. I was trying to throw my fastball, locate all my pitches. But those guys out there, they were aggressive, swinging right away, and then they put the ball in play. I felt good. I threw a couple of changeups. I felt they were good. A couple fastballs stayed up in the strike zone but they were coming along pretty good.
Did you have a lot of adrenaline?
I felt good, like I said. It was that kind of game where you want to get out there and also get it out of the way, so you can get everything going. That was about it. I prepared for the two innings that I threw like I prepare for a regular season game. But at the same time, I know there ‘s still along way to go and I have to take everything easy and not go crazy out there.
You threw a lot of strikes out there. Was that good for the first time?
Yeah, we threw a lot of first pitches for strikes. But those guys were swinging. They were aggressive. In the first inning we threw a lot of fastballs. We tried to command the fastball, locate the fastball. I threw some good pitches inside, so that’s what you’re looking for, you want to see where your pitches are and your release point. At the same time we figured out those guys were swinging right away so in the next inning we tried to throw changeups and sliders and fastballs, so we mixed everything. To be the first game in spring training and mix all my pitches, I feel good.
What’s the pitch that takes the longest to get a feel for?
It’s all about getting the feeling for all of your pitches. Not just one pitch. You have to get the feeling for everything. But the release point, the difficult thing with the changeup is you want to make it look like a fastball, and then you really work on your release point. That’s what I try to do. We still have another month to go. This is the first time and then we’re going to build everything up and then stay aggressive out there. That’s the way that I am. I don’t focus on just one pitch. I focus on all my pitches and my mechanics, because that’s the way I do my job.
Does Juan Gonzalez always give trouble?
He’s always been a great hitter, through my whole career, when I see him. But today, he was very aggressive. They were swinging right away. We tried to locate my fastball, try to throw fastballs in and out of the plate, but they were swinging right away and then he put a good swing and hit it out. That’s the way it is.
Hard to get your work in with that type of atmosphere?
Yeah, I’ve got to get adjusted to it. It’s part of the game. They’re going to be like that. They get you going and keep you in the game, so you always want to go out there and do good. But I know at the same time, I cannot just let everything go by my emotions. I’m just going to try and take everything easy. I know from the beginning that this is my first game in spring training, so I have to take everything easy today and do my job, and that was it. The fans were great and we’re looking forward to having more experience out there with them, and get together as a team because they’re part of what we do.
Comments (1)
Good,level headed comments by Johan Santana. Sometimes it is just good to get that fist outing out of the way. Especially when you come to a new team. He is working on location and release point. That is why spring training is six weeks in length. Johan was fine for his initialouting as a member of the New York Metropolitans.