作者sulicon (驾驾莲)
看板Dodgers
标题[扯蛋] Talking with: Andy LaRoche
时间Fri May 18 18:24:33 2007
With Wilson Betemit struggling mightily, the Dodgers promoted prized
prospect Andy LaRoche from Triple A Las Vegas on the last roadie. Given
the organization's strong desire to make sure the kids get plenty of PT
(which goes a long way to explaining why Matt Kemp is still a 51), LaRoche
is presumably here to stay, or at least to play. And, most likely because
he understands the ability of Blue Notes to crush even the most promising
careers before they really start*, LaRoche took some time to speak with me
before a game earlier this week.
*not actually true
Brian Kamenetzky: Given that you weren't knocking the cover off the ball
in Vegas, were you surprised to get called up?
Andy LaRoche: Absolutely. Because it's a shock when I was called into
the room (with Triple-A manager Lorenzo Bundy) and told me
I was going up. I was like, "You're not messing around with
me, right?" He's like, "No, wouldn't mess around with
something like that." But I was a little surprised, because
my numbers weren't all that great down there. I felt good,
and I was swinging the bat well. It was kind of like spring
training, was going. I just couldn't catch the breaks. I'm
just going to try and take advantage of the opportunity, and
come up here and keep playing the same game I've been playing,
and work my butt off.
BK: Were you more worried they were going to send you back to Double-A
rather than bring you here?
AL: (laughs) No, I was pretty sure they weren't going to send me back,
but it was a shock when they told me I was going to come up here.
BK: How much does it help you to have your first week or two in the Major
Leagues with your background? The things you've been able to learn from
your dad (former pitcher Dave LaRoche) and brother (Pirates first baseman
Adam LaRoche) about the culture in the bigs?
AL: It helps a ton, because you know the way everybody goes about their
business. Listening to my brother talk about and tell me about his rookie
season, which was just recently- go about your business, be quiet, try to
do what everyone else says and respect the veterans. Listen a lot. And
then advice my dad has given me helps out a ton, as far as the way I carry
myself in the clubhouse.
BK: But even with all that, is it really possible to be truly prepared for
your first day in the majors, or is it still kind of overwhelming?
AL: It helps. You know what to do, and you try to go about your business,
but still, it's your first day and you try to soak it all in. You're on
a cloud. Everything's so surreal. It's just a great feeling. I don't
know. But like I said, having them did help a little bit, but also
there's some nervousness because it's like, "Okay, it's my first day,
I'm the rookie now. I've got to learn the ropes and listen to the
veterans tell me what to do."
BK: Did not knowing that you'd get promoted, having to fly all night, and
all that other stuff- did that make it any easier to just go play?
Rather than having a lot of time to think about it?
AL: At first, I thought it wasn't very good, not being able to go to sleep
the night before (my debut). But it was better just to show up and go,
because I didn't sit there and think about my first pitch or the first
ground ball hit to me. I didn't have any time to think about that.
Just show up to the field and play the game. That made it pretty easy.
BK: Would you have slept anyway?
AL: No, probably not.
BK: What was the first thing that really hit you when you walked into the
clubhouse or on the field in Atlanta?
AL: I think it was just stepping on the field and seeing the crowd and all
the reporters and everything like that. Looking around there in Atlanta
at the stadium and everything. I've been there a lot (LaRoche's brother
played with the Braves), in the clubhouse, too. But never out on the
field when it was my turn to play. So that's when it really soaked in
and hit me. "Wow, this is what I'm working for, and I'm finally here."
BK: Did Grady talk to you when you arrived?
AL: Yeah. He just told me welcome, congratulations you're here. We need you
up here, So just go out and have fun. Play hard and have fun. Try not
to worry about anything too much or let anything get to you. Just go out
and play like you've been playing.
BK: Were you aware of how much the offense had been struggling? Do you guys
keep up with that sort of thing in Vegas?
AL: Not really. We kind of keep up with some of the guys up here, like Russ
and Ethier who we had played with, but other than that we pretty much
just see if (the Dodgers) win or lose. We don't really see that this
guy had this many home runs or is hitting with this average, or that
the pitching has a certain ERA. Or at least as far as I'm concerned,
I don't really look at that. I just look at their win and loss record
up here.
BK: Did you feel some pressure to help pick up the offense?
AL: No. I'd feel similar pressure if we were six games back. Every at bat,
I'm just trying to do my job, whether it's move a runner over or drive
a runner in. Every at bat I'm going to take it the same and do what the
situation calls for, and I'm going to try and make every play at third
base. So I'm not going to try and play the game any differently, or
have any more pressure on me than there already is. I just have to just
stay within myself and try not to do to much.
BK: Other than having guys move your luggage around and a better per diem,
what's the biggest difference between Triple-A and the majors?
AL: Besides the crowd and the TV crews and everything, and in the clubhouse
that everyone caters to everything you need, which is a lot different,
it's just the way everyone carries themselves up here. It's all about
winning up here. Everybody on this team would rather go 0-4 in a win
than 2-4 and lose. When you get up here, winning is all that matters,
so that's pretty much the biggest difference. Down there, obviously
winning matters, but you're trying to get to the show, you're trying
to get your numbers good. Up here, it's all about winning and losing.
BK: What is the biggest difference you see on the field that lets you know
you've made the leap?
AL: The pitchers up here don't necessarily have better stuff than pitchers
in Triple-A or Double-A, but they're more consistent. Same as the
hitters. As a hitter coming up here, if a hitter here gets a pitch over
the plate, they're not going to miss it as much as the guys in Triple-A
or Double-A. And the pitchers are more consistent about throwing strikes. We've got guys that I've played with that have just as good of stuff as
a lot of the guys up here, but it's being consistent, hitting their spots
more consistently, knowing how pitch to batters better. A lot of the
veterans, they've learned and know how to pitch as opposed to just knowing
how to throw. So that's the biggest difference.
BK: I know you haven't had a lot of time with the Dodgers, but do you have
to adjust your approach at the plate knowing that you probably won't
see the same number of really hittable pitches as you did before?
AL: My approach has been the same for as long as I can remember I'm just
looking for my pitch to hit whether it's 98 down the middle or a 78 mile
and hour curveball. I'm just looking for something in the zone that I
can drive. That's not going to change. Obviously if a guy has a
knuckleball or something, that's a little different and your approach
has to change a little bit. But for the most part, it's just going to
be looking for something in your zone that you can drive and if you get
that pitch, go for it, and if you don't, tip your hat to the pitcher if
they get you out. Or take your walk. But I try to keep the same
approach at the plate.
BK: What are your expectations for yourself this year?
AL: To go out, and like I said, just be consistent. Try to stay on an even
plane and go out there and make the routine plays and do my job at the
plate. Move a guy over or drive him in, just try to play my role on the
team, whatever it is that day
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