Media Day: Tony Franklin

On Pat Venditte: “He pitched well for us.  The organization felt a little more time was needed before he comes up, but if the way he pitched in spring training is any indication, you might see him pretty shortly.  That was my first opportunity to see him pitch.  I was as interested as anyone else was.”

On Lance Pendleton and Wilkin De La Rosa: “They’re where they are at this time, and that’s subject to change at any moment.  A lot depends on injuries and a lot depends on who’s pitching well and who isn’t pitching well.  There’s no concrete answer I can give you as to why they’re in the bullpen.”

On Ryan Pope: “I think Popey found out a lot about himself and about having the opportunity to pitch at this level.  He’s had the opportunity to see it and I think he’s going to do some pretty good things for us.”

On cutting the roster from 26 to 24: “I think all that’s going to be worked out in a week or so, we’re going to see where everybody fits and where the playing time is.  There are a lot of things that happen in the first week or two of the season, and no decision has been made yet.  We’ve talked about a lot of scenarios and players and what roles they’ll be playing in.”

On if he expects anyone to come down from Scranton: “It’s too early to ask me that.  I really don’t know.  I hope everybody in Scranton stays healthy and New York stays healthy, as well as here.”

On Jeremy Bleich: “Each level is a challenge, but having an opportunity to meet that challenge is important for each of these guys to go through.  Very few of these guys go to the next level and just eat it up, tear it up.  There are setbacks.”

On his Opening Day lineup: “I’ve got a fairly good idea.  I’m still wrestling with a couple things, but it’s basically the batting order.  I’ve got an idea, but it’s just where they’re going to hit…”

On Austin Romine: “He’s a very good player.  I suspect that he’s going to have a pretty good season.  He’ll probably have to make some adjustments, as most young guys do.  This is a league that’s known for some pretty good pitching.  This is their first introduction as to what they may face when they get to the big league level.  Austin is a good enough to make those adjustments.  His ability to hit is good, his ability to catch and receive and call a game and throw runners out is good.  It’s just a matter of how consistent is he going to be.  The biggest thing he has, and what’s impressed me, is that he’s pretty aware of what it takes to be a pretty good player.”

On Josh Schmidt: “Rosters have a lot to do with where guys pitch.  There’s no room.  Schmitty pitched well for us last year, he pitched well in the Winter Leagues…there’s not a spot for him in Scranton.  He understands that.  Wherever he pitches, he’s going to pitch well.  If he gets a chance to go to Scranton, he’ll be ready to go.”

On the emotions of players happy to be up from A-Ball or upset they didn’t make Triple-A: “When your heart is set on going one place, and you don’t get there, there’s always a bit of a letdown.  They’re human.  They want that opportunity to go up there to show everyone what they’re capable of doing, and if they don’t do it, it’s a little bit of a letdown.  But they all handle it pretty well.  Likewise, guys coming from Tampa to here, I’m sure they’re looking forward to this challenge.  You have to remember where you want to go, and that’s the big league level.”

Mike Ashmore, mashmore98 AT gmail.com