Right before the Hurricanes take the mound against rival Florida State Seminoles, Hurricanes head coach J.D. Arteaga shared what he’s seen from the Seminoles, an update on Cuvet, and more.
Check out what he had to say below:
J.D. Arteaga: So it's Florida State weekend, or week, exciting times, man. It's always a fun rivalry going to Tallahassee, ending the season that way. And it's a great opportunity. The way I see it, it's a great opportunity to go into a top-ranked team on the road, and we make a statement. It's our schedule in the ACC, we miss some of the top teams, but that's just the way the schedule worked out. But now we have an opportunity to show what we can do in Tallahassee against a rival, so just looking forward to it.
Q: What do you think of ending the season like this with a win, obviously knowing what's on the line for this team, but what can it do for the mentality moving into the postseason?
JD Arteaga: It's obviously a plus, right? Winning any time, it's always a plus, but you look at the way we ended last year, I think we lost seven or eight games, and then went in and played well in the regional, in the super regional. So, I mean, you take every win whenever you get them. The Importance of when and where, it's just, a win's a win. We go out there trying to win every game.
Q: Is seeding a big thing, is that something you guys are talking about, or is it just strictly just trying to win?
JD Arteaga: Oh, that'll take care of itself. We do our part. You know, I guess mathematically, we put ourselves ahead of three. That means we have to win all three games and I guess Boston College might have to lose all three games. But all the matter now is this Thursday, winning Thursday. You can't sleep unless you win Thursday. So Thursday's game is the only thing we're talking about, the only thing on our mind. Win Thursday and we'll worry about Friday then.
Q: Coach, you're facing one of the top pitchers in the ACC in West Memphis. How do you assess that matchup?
JD Arteaga: It's just another tough pitcher, man. We've got to do a good job. Be disciplined. These are games that we've been talking about all season. No matter how good your offense is, you've got to be able to manufacture runs. You're not going to sit there and just swing the bat and score runs off of good pitching, good defense, good teams. So we've got to be able to, yes, swing the bat, but we also have to be able to manufacture runs when that's what's called to do.
Q: You mentioned after Louis and Boches how AJ didn't have his stuff. How does he bounce back and is he still going to start again this year?
JD Arteaga: Definitely still starting, yeah. As far as how he's bounced back, we'll see when he takes the mound. I mean, it's just, all we can really control as a player, as a pitcher, is a routine between starts. And to me, routine is very important because it gives you the best chance to be successful on game day. But really, only the big man upstairs knows what game day is going to be like and how you're going to feel. We control what we do in between. So for sure, he did his regular day after routine yesterday. He's going about his business today and getting ready for his next start.
Q: Given the game that Alex had, are you willing to play him at first base?
JD Arteaga: Absolutely man, Anything is open right now. I mean, it's whatever the best lineup we can put, the best nine guys we can put out on the field in whatever position, whatever batting order, whatever we feel gives us the best chance to win, that's what you're going to see.
Q: Speaking of the last night, about the best nine guys, just how is Cuvet? How's he feeling?
JD: He's day-to-day. I mean, he's not here today. He's still seeing doctors and we're still trying to find out when we can get back into baseball activity. It's been a couple weeks now, maybe three weeks, where he's been no activity at all. So with the type of injury he has, it's just rest first is that much you can do other than that. And it's just a matter of when we can start moving forward into baseball activity, rotational, strength training, things like that. So the longer he's out, the longer it's going to take to get back once he starts those activities. So your guess is as good as mine.
Q: What's impressed you about Gabriel, just the way he's come in and obviously kind of thrown in at a tough position?
JD Arteaga: He's, like I said, I'm so happy for him because he's a guy that showed up to practice every day, worked hard, smile on his face, great attitude, and showed up to the park knowing he's behind Daniel Cuvet, an All-American. He knew he wasn't gonna play, so it would have been very easy for him to take a year off and just kind of show up when he wanted and do what he wanted, and that was not the case. So when he got his opportunity, he ran with it, and he's doing a great job offensively. Defensively, he's made some mistakes, but he's not the only one on our roster making mistakes defensively. We're really swinging the bat well. He's not been overmatched at all. He's facing tough lefties. Of course, this is going to be the biggest test at this point, but unfortunately, he has two tough lefties in the rotation. You know, we're going game one and two. So, but for now, I got to go off of what we've seen, and he's held his own and done a good job.
Q: On injuries?
It's expected, going into the season knowing that there are going to be injuries, the unknown is who it's going to be. The unknown is how it's going to affect the team in the lineup. Yes, you'd have to go through a season with no injuries, but it just shows a lot of perseverance and resilience on this team something I'm very high on and high quality. We gonna go through it, regards of who it is, when it is, you're gonna go through it.
Check out what he had to say below:
J.D. Arteaga: So it's Florida State weekend, or week, exciting times, man. It's always a fun rivalry going to Tallahassee, ending the season that way. And it's a great opportunity. The way I see it, it's a great opportunity to go into a top-ranked team on the road, and we make a statement. It's our schedule in the ACC, we miss some of the top teams, but that's just the way the schedule worked out. But now we have an opportunity to show what we can do in Tallahassee against a rival, so just looking forward to it.
Q: What do you think of ending the season like this with a win, obviously knowing what's on the line for this team, but what can it do for the mentality moving into the postseason?
JD Arteaga: It's obviously a plus, right? Winning any time, it's always a plus, but you look at the way we ended last year, I think we lost seven or eight games, and then went in and played well in the regional, in the super regional. So, I mean, you take every win whenever you get them. The Importance of when and where, it's just, a win's a win. We go out there trying to win every game.
Q: Is seeding a big thing, is that something you guys are talking about, or is it just strictly just trying to win?
JD Arteaga: Oh, that'll take care of itself. We do our part. You know, I guess mathematically, we put ourselves ahead of three. That means we have to win all three games and I guess Boston College might have to lose all three games. But all the matter now is this Thursday, winning Thursday. You can't sleep unless you win Thursday. So Thursday's game is the only thing we're talking about, the only thing on our mind. Win Thursday and we'll worry about Friday then.
Q: Coach, you're facing one of the top pitchers in the ACC in West Memphis. How do you assess that matchup?
JD Arteaga: It's just another tough pitcher, man. We've got to do a good job. Be disciplined. These are games that we've been talking about all season. No matter how good your offense is, you've got to be able to manufacture runs. You're not going to sit there and just swing the bat and score runs off of good pitching, good defense, good teams. So we've got to be able to, yes, swing the bat, but we also have to be able to manufacture runs when that's what's called to do.
Q: You mentioned after Louis and Boches how AJ didn't have his stuff. How does he bounce back and is he still going to start again this year?
JD Arteaga: Definitely still starting, yeah. As far as how he's bounced back, we'll see when he takes the mound. I mean, it's just, all we can really control as a player, as a pitcher, is a routine between starts. And to me, routine is very important because it gives you the best chance to be successful on game day. But really, only the big man upstairs knows what game day is going to be like and how you're going to feel. We control what we do in between. So for sure, he did his regular day after routine yesterday. He's going about his business today and getting ready for his next start.
Q: Given the game that Alex had, are you willing to play him at first base?
JD Arteaga: Absolutely man, Anything is open right now. I mean, it's whatever the best lineup we can put, the best nine guys we can put out on the field in whatever position, whatever batting order, whatever we feel gives us the best chance to win, that's what you're going to see.
Q: Speaking of the last night, about the best nine guys, just how is Cuvet? How's he feeling?
JD: He's day-to-day. I mean, he's not here today. He's still seeing doctors and we're still trying to find out when we can get back into baseball activity. It's been a couple weeks now, maybe three weeks, where he's been no activity at all. So with the type of injury he has, it's just rest first is that much you can do other than that. And it's just a matter of when we can start moving forward into baseball activity, rotational, strength training, things like that. So the longer he's out, the longer it's going to take to get back once he starts those activities. So your guess is as good as mine.
Q: What's impressed you about Gabriel, just the way he's come in and obviously kind of thrown in at a tough position?
JD Arteaga: He's, like I said, I'm so happy for him because he's a guy that showed up to practice every day, worked hard, smile on his face, great attitude, and showed up to the park knowing he's behind Daniel Cuvet, an All-American. He knew he wasn't gonna play, so it would have been very easy for him to take a year off and just kind of show up when he wanted and do what he wanted, and that was not the case. So when he got his opportunity, he ran with it, and he's doing a great job offensively. Defensively, he's made some mistakes, but he's not the only one on our roster making mistakes defensively. We're really swinging the bat well. He's not been overmatched at all. He's facing tough lefties. Of course, this is going to be the biggest test at this point, but unfortunately, he has two tough lefties in the rotation. You know, we're going game one and two. So, but for now, I got to go off of what we've seen, and he's held his own and done a good job.
Q: On injuries?
It's expected, going into the season knowing that there are going to be injuries, the unknown is who it's going to be. The unknown is how it's going to affect the team in the lineup. Yes, you'd have to go through a season with no injuries, but it just shows a lot of perseverance and resilience on this team something I'm very high on and high quality. We gonna go through it, regards of who it is, when it is, you're gonna go through it.
