March 16 Tony Pena, Fernando Rodney and Robinson Cano Postgame interview
Q. Robinson, I saw you sitting there listening to Edwin Rodriguez. Tell me how it feels for a person that has been for so long in baseball to view you as an elite player representing all Latinos.
ROBINSON CANO: (From Spanish) First of all, it's for me a pride for a person like that to express himself like that about me and for my teammates in the Dominican Republic. Well, we have to thank our manager that gave a great deal of energy to our team, as he not only manages but also enjoys, shares this with us, and really that's something, a motivation to play, to give 100 percent when you are on the field.
Q. Tony, the players looked very relaxed on the field. We watched Robinson in that seventh inning as if they were practicing in the back yard. Is it true that Tony Peña does not establish rules in the clubhouse because everybody plays so relaxed or is it part of the rules that everybody does something in his own way and that makes them at ease?
TONY PEÑA: (From Spanish) You cannot play baseball without freedom. You have to have freedom to do whatever you want on the field, provided you don't break the rules of the game. My players, none of them are breaking the rules of the game. What they are simply doing is enjoying what they love, what they like to do and the way they work, and I'm not going to stop it. This is meant to be enjoyed; they are enjoying it. And I feel very proud of each of these players. They have approached this seriously. They have given it everything they have. But we don't see a team that is oppressed or anything but rather relaxed, and that's what we are seeing.
Q. Robinson, you won the most valuable player in this round and you also did the first round. Talk about that individual aspect of the tournament and tell me about what that meant to receive that trophy instead of Fernando Rodney, who has pitched six games.
ROBINSON CANO: (From Spanish) Let me tell you, it's an individual thing. But first of all, Puerto Rico didn't know that we had the most valuable players. What I wanted was to go to the second round. Once we are in the second round, we want to go to the third round. You have to view it game by game, not only because of me but also because of my players.
Also, with Rodney, seems I'm the one who won (laughter) ‑‑ no, I'm kidding. It is not disputed; what he has done with this team is something that motivates me because of that speech. Every game he has played ‑‑ he also said I have a job with Tampa Bay. I cannot pitch. So everybody is available for any time.
So what you want as a player is to win the game, but they forget about their job because they're emotional just like we are.
Q. Now you have to collect on the outstanding debt you have to Holland.
ROBINSON CANO: (From Spanish) I wouldn't call it a debt. You have to forget what happened in the past and play hard because just like our fans believe it's a debt, they also think in the same way. But it's a matter of winning each game to remain in the fight.
TONY PEÑA: What is in the past is in the past. We are not thinking of the past, we are thinking of the present. Whatever happened happened, and many of these boys who are now here were not there then. All games are important, and all teams have gotten as far as they have for a reason. I don't see any difference or any of that. We have to keep playing this game, and the players are not going to think about that. I don't want anybody to think about that. Play ball, there is no doubt, let's keep playing the way we are playing.
FERNANDO RODNEY: (From Spanish) I think that we are not thinking of the past. That was an experience we went through. The important thing is to go to San Francisco just like we have done here and to play there and to thank God because we got to the next round.