Edición 178 de El Infield Podcast. Carlos Valmore Rodríguez y Efraín Zavarce entrevistan a Víctor Gárate. El gerente general de los Leones promete nuevos importados en las fechas por venir, habla de las razones por las cuales cree el Caracas tendrá un mejor desempeño que el mostrado hasta, que lo mantiene en el último lugar.
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00:00This edition of Infil is brought to you by Apuestas Royal.
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00:20Welcome to a new edition of Infil Podcast.
00:24Today we have Víctor Garate with us, the sports manager for the Lions of Caracas.
00:33A team that hasn't started well in the 2024-2025 season.
00:39The reality of this club is very different from what the executives of the organization
00:48had in mind when the season began.
00:51And that's what we want to ask Víctor Garate.
00:55What is your diagnosis of what has happened in this first stage?
01:01And what are the corrective potentials,
01:05the decisions that can be taken to reverse this situation?
01:10Greetings, Víctor, and thank you very much for attending.
01:14Greetings, guys. Good morning.
01:16Yes, Carlos, as you say, it wasn't a good start for the team.
01:22It's a team that has built an excellent structure
01:26and we try to strengthen all the areas that this organization needed.
01:30The signing is not a secret that has not been answered in the best way,
01:36but we fully believe that all this is going to change.
01:41We continue to make progress, looking for a way to get out of this big problem.
01:46And we as an organization are not going to stop looking for the path to victory
01:52that is what this team was built for this season.
01:59Víctor, from the point of view of the management,
02:03what decisions do you think they can make to try to correct this start of the season
02:11that for the fans of the Lions has been disappointing?
02:15I'm talking to you in a concrete way.
02:18You talk about changes, about looking for players,
02:23but exactly what kind of players and in a concrete way,
02:27what do you think you can do from the office
02:30so that the situation on the field improves?
02:34As I was saying to you a moment ago,
02:36the signing is the weak part that the team is showing at the beginning of the season.
02:40We are focused on strengthening that area.
02:43We already made a previous move where we took out one importer and brought in another.
02:49We made a move with Magallanes where we brought in Yohander Méndez.
02:54We are still in contact with foreign players that we are going to bring to the team.
03:01All of that is in importers.
03:03And we will probably continue to look for other importers on the market
03:08that can help the team.
03:12Víctor, when you talk about going on the market,
03:17what are you going to look for?
03:18Are you going to look for openers? Are you going to look for relegation players?
03:21It is well known that it is difficult to find openers in LaLiga.
03:24They are scarce, really.
03:27Yes, since we had a dead season,
03:30we attacked the market when we brought in Eric Leal,
03:35who is an opener in LaLiga.
03:37During the season, we were also able to bring in Yohander Méndez,
03:41who came with a big receiver in LaLiga from Magallanes.
03:45All of that is in the interest of improving the signing.
03:49Right now, we are still in contact with the teams.
03:53We could be looking for the bullpen.
03:56Ben Breymer is already joining the team in Miami.
04:02He is an opener that is going to be with us.
04:04He is a foreigner who joins Dani Ortiz.
04:07And we continue to strengthen the signing.
04:09As I told you, we also had another signing in the Caribbean.
04:13We have a Dominican player.
04:15And he will be in the bullpen in the next few days as well.
04:18As I told you, we don't stop knocking on doors,
04:21looking for good options with the other teams
04:23to continue strengthening that area of the bullpen.
04:26In this case, you are referring to Ricky Ramírez, Victor.
04:31We hired Ricky Ramírez to come a little later in the season.
04:37And the other opener is a Dominican player
04:40that we already have a conversation with.
04:42He is almost ready to sign.
04:44I won't tell you his name because we still don't have
04:47a complete signing with the opener.
04:48But he is almost ready to come and accept the job.
04:55Victor, from your perspective as a manager,
04:57as a champion manager twice in the Major League,
05:01as a manager with experience in the LBP,
05:03from your perspective as a former opener,
05:08what is happening with Eric Leal?
05:12Look, I had a conversation with Roberto Espinoza,
05:17who was a pitching coach in Mexico.
05:21We all know what Eric went through in the season.
05:25I think it can also be influencing the limitations
05:30that his organization could put on him,
05:32since he played with the Yankees in New York.
05:34Suddenly he doesn't feel so confident when it comes to throwing
05:38because of the number of pitchers.
05:42We have talked about this with him.
05:45He has been talking to the pitching coach.
05:46But every team he has had,
05:48they have put him on more and more pitches.
05:50And he will be fine.
05:52He will be able to play between 75 and 80.
05:56And that is what we need for Gabriel.
05:59Things have not turned out the way he wants.
06:02Things have not turned out the way we want.
06:04I have full confidence in him.
06:05He has been failing his pitches with location.
06:09Let's not say that it was the selection of pitches,
06:13but it was probably the location in his pitches.
06:18You can't adjust because of the number of pitches he has.
06:21But things will get better.
06:23I know they will get better.
06:24He is a thrower who works very well.
06:26He prepares himself very well.
06:27He is an excellent professional.
06:29And I know that I fully trust him.
06:33The organization fully trusts him.
06:35And I know that he is going to get out of all of this.
06:40A similar case, Victor, is that of John Jairo Romero.
06:47An imported thrower who seemed to enter the profile to work well as a finalist in LaLiga.
07:00He has not been able to respond in that role.
07:05I understand that you have had conversations with him from pitcher to pitcher.
07:10Not from manager to player, but from pitcher to pitcher.
07:13And I wanted to ask you if you have noticed any improvement in that case.
07:21Look, I have talked to him.
07:24The expectations we had were very high.
07:28Because of all his reports, everything he had shown, all his pitches,
07:33the speed in his pitches, they have not been as effective in this league.
07:38We all know that this is a very offensive league.
07:41This year we tried to bring the best possible pitchers to the team that was eligible to bring.
07:49And look, things don't work out.
07:52I talked to him, I talked to the pitching coach.
07:55We saw his reports, we talked.
07:57The fault in the locations is what is happening.
08:01They have put you below the court.
08:04Then you have to enter looking for the area, a lot of tickets.
08:08All that is what has brought the problem in the pitching.
08:11John Jairo is also going to go to the sixth inning, to the fifth inning,
08:15to gain that confidence in the first team of LaLiga.
08:19He has been making adjustments, he has been throwing his last game a little better.
08:24Let's hope he doesn't end up making these adjustments.
08:27That he goes to Miami and finishes adjusting his pitches.
08:32To make those adjustments that he needs so that he can get in shape for this part that we have on Tuesday.
08:39We are talking to Victor Garate, sports manager for the Lions of Caracas.
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09:12We are talking to Victor Garate, sports manager for the Lions of Caracas.
09:18Former Grand League pitcher.
09:22Someone who has been part of the organization in practically all possible facets.
09:32Someone who certainly knows the Lions of Caracas very well.
09:38And from that, Victor, I ask you about your assessment of the action of the coaching staff.
09:49In this type of situation, of course, the manager, the coaches,
09:54become observed with a magnifying glass.
09:58It is normal in this type of start-up that Caracas has had.
10:04So, I wanted to ask you about that.
10:08From the multiple optics that you have had within the club,
10:12as a manager, as a player, as a coach, as a manager,
10:16how are you seeing the work of the coaching staff?
10:22Look, Carlos, so far we have also focused on bringing a luxury coaching staff.
10:29We have three coaches who belong to an organization of the Grand League
10:33that is currently in a team of the Grand League, which is the best baseball in the world.
10:37We have a manager who works with the Reals of Kansas City.
10:41We have a bench coach who works with the Rockies of Colorado.
10:45We have a pitching coach who works with the team of Tampa Bay.
10:49That's what we focused on.
10:51That's what we wanted to bring.
10:53That's what we feel confident that they will be with us doing the work.
10:58Most of the things don't go to the coaching staff.
11:04We also have to execute in the field of play.
11:08I have confidence in them.
11:11I know we have a high-level competition staff.
11:16I know all this is going to change.
11:18It was just a bad start.
11:20As an organization, we are supporting 100% the staff we have.
11:26I know we are going to get out of this.
11:28We are always looking for the best way to get out of this.
11:32We are a team that is always going to try to win.
11:36We are always looking for the best way to solve things.
11:42We are always looking for the fastest in the market.
11:44We are always looking for the Caribbean.
11:46We are not a team that is dissatisfied with what is happening.
11:51We know we have an excellent team in general.
11:55With the coaches and the players.
11:58I know this is not going to be the same for the rest of the season.
12:02I know the team is going to get out of this.
12:06We trust them completely.
12:09We have a quality group.
12:11Everything is going to be fine.
12:15We want the team to be successful.
12:18We want them to have what we have created.
12:22We want them to be successful with this great group.
12:48Jorge is a great professional.
12:57He has a wide and successful career.
13:01I have confidence that he is going to make the adjustments with the players we have.
13:08He doesn't stop working.
13:10He doesn't stop being on top of the pitch.
13:14He is on the computer watching videos.
13:17Watching the mechanics of what is happening.
13:19Why are we failing the pitches?
13:21Why do we have problems with localizations?
13:23He has meetings with the coaches.
13:26We are all on the same page.
13:28Why are we failing so much?
13:31I fully trust him.
13:33He is an excellent pitching coach.
13:35He is an excellent professional.
13:37He is in the best baseball team in the world.
13:40He has developed excellent pitchers.
13:44He has been successful in pitching.
13:46I have 100% confidence in him.
13:49As I told you earlier, we haven't been successful.
13:53That is why we are looking for pitchers in the Caribbean.
13:56We are in the same league so we can make adjustments.
13:58So we can get into the baseball game.
14:01Victor, since we have focused on Jorge Cordoba's case,
14:07I wanted to ask you...
14:09Moncada.
14:11Jorge Moncada.
14:13Jorge Cordoba is the pitching coach for Venezuela in the Premier League.
14:19We have already talked about that.
14:22I wanted to ask you about the manager, Al Guacil.
14:26You are what we have seen in the time you have been with the team.
14:35You have a very frank relationship with the team.
14:40You are very open to discussions and debates about the team.
14:45What have you talked about with Al Guacil about the way to lead the team and get him out of trouble?
14:55Every day we have conversations.
14:57Every day, before and after the game, we talk about what happened in that meeting.
15:03Al Guacil has been with us for four years.
15:06Al Guacil has been very successful with the team.
15:09He knows very well the guys that he has on his roster.
15:14As I told you earlier, things are not working out for us.
15:18The batting has done an excellent job.
15:21We have done a lot of races.
15:23We know where the problem is with the execution of the shipments, with the location and all those things.
15:29With Al Guacil, I have very good confidence.
15:33We talk very well.
15:35He has all my support.
15:37As I told you, we know that this is going to change at some point.
15:44We hope that from Tuesday, things will change for the better for us.
15:49We are talking with Victor Garaz, the sports manager for the Lions of Caracas.
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16:25We continue this conversation with Victor Garaz, sports manager for the Lions of Caracas,
16:31in the Infil podcast.
16:34Victor, we have already talked about imported incorporations.
16:40And the next question has to do with the Creole additions that come from now on
16:46to improve the Lions of Caracas.
16:49We would like you to do it again.
16:52You have already done it on other occasions.
16:54But yes, a new review, perhaps more up-to-date,
16:57of those incorporations of Creole players
17:02that can contribute to the rise of the Caracas in the rest of the campaign.
17:11Look, Carlitos, until now, when the team arrives from Miami,
17:16on Tuesday he would be with us,
17:19Yoli Chassin, Carlos Hernandez,
17:22Livan Soto is already with the team.
17:25Until now, Eugenio will be playing in Miami.
17:29And he promised that he would come to play with the team here in Venezuela
17:33at the end of November and the beginning of December.
17:37Moise Ballesteros is also with us
17:42and he will be with us.
17:51That's what we have so far.
17:53I'm sure Mujica is already training with us too.
17:57And apart from the players who went to the Premier League 12
18:01that would be joining the team when this event ends.
18:06Victor, I ask you this as not only a sports manager,
18:11but also as a former footballer.
18:13When you saw the Lions' calendar for this 2024-2025,
18:18which contemplates a period that goes from the 28th of last month
18:25until Tuesday 12 of this month,
18:28always playing as a visitor, with a single meeting,
18:32in front of La Guaira.
18:34What did you think? What was your reaction?
18:38Look, it was pretty hard.
18:40It was a pretty difficult calendar for us.
18:44We also started playing 7 or 8 games at home, running.
18:48It was something that we couldn't take advantage of as locals.
18:52We knew that this was coming and that we had to take out
18:56the most games we could in the house.
18:59It has been hard, the trips have been hard.
19:02Getting up at 4 or 5 in the morning to catch a flight,
19:06spending these days on the road and sleeping in a bus.
19:10But it's part of the calendar, it's part of the job.
19:14It's not an excuse.
19:16Venezuelan football is like that.
19:20We were able to get out of this tour.
19:24And now it's time to get home, get to the Monumental,
19:29and finish those adjustments, and execute,
19:32and do the things we have to do on the pitch.
19:35Victor, having less games played than the others,
19:40and therefore more games ahead,
19:45in the current situation in Caracas,
19:49does it benefit or harm?
19:52Look, it's difficult.
19:54It's difficult because we have to play at least three double games.
20:00We have to look at some games in the calendar that were suspended.
20:04There's a city we're not going back to,
20:07and we have to adjust to that.
20:09It's a little difficult because we have to play a lot of games in a row,
20:13and the double game is also in the way.
20:16We're going to play those games with a much more complete team.
20:20We're going to have all those incorporations with us,
20:24who are going to be playing in those games that don't come.
20:27So we're going to have most of those players playing with the team
20:32when everyone joins us.
20:34Victor, thank you very much for your time.
20:37Thank you very much.
20:39We'll always be here to talk about the team,
20:43and all the doubts you have as a fan of this organization.
20:48And with Victor Garate,
20:51we end this new edition of the Infield Podcast.
20:57We hope you enjoyed it.
20:59Greetings.
21:00This episode of the Infield Podcast was presented by Apuestas Royal.
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