1/18/23 Press confernce

Transcript. Published at 5:03pm EST.

Q: You are returning home after a long three-game road trip. What does it mean to your team to be back and playing in front of the fans again?

Long: It means everything. I know the team will be happy to be back on our home turf, and the local supporters certainly give the squad a boost. Against opposition in good form we'll take every advantage we can get.

Q: Are there any updates on the injury to Ben Joyce? If he is to miss the game, what are you expecting from Connor tonight?

Long: Joyce is day-to-day, we certainly hope he can suit up tonight, he's important to what we try to do defensively in the outfield, but if he can't go then it'll be next-man-up. Connor is a quality player and I'm confident he'll leave it all on the diamond for us tonight if he's called upon.

Q: Rumors are floating around that your third baseman, Austin Searight, has reached out to Hall of Famer Ryan Wilson for training advice. Given Ryan's PED accusations, do you have any concern about your player's use of performance-enhancing drugs?

Long: Absolutely not. No. Those accusations are completely baseless. The only PEDs Ryan Wilson is guilty of are a championship mentality and unrivaled work ethic. If he imparts that on Searight it'll only be good for the squad.

Q: Do you care to comment on Stephen A. Smith's remarks about Pitches Be Crazy being "pretenders"?

Long: We'll let our performance speak for itself.

Q: Very Good Coding's scouting report showed that Pitch Don't Kill My Vibe has the highest Dog In Them Percentage (1%) out of any opponents Pitches Be Crazy has faced this season. What are you doing to prepare your squad for a team that could have some dog in them?

Long: They're a quality opponent but will continue to approach this game like we do any other. We can only control what we do out there and we'll focus on our fundamentals, play our brand of kickball and look to get a result against an opponent we've got a lot of respect for.

End of Press Conference.