Talking With: Takashi Saito and Jonathan Broxton

AK: Was there anything with the transition that was easier than you might have expected?

TS: I didn't really know how Major League baseball works, so I didn't really come here prepared (for something specific). I didn't really have anything in mind, so it was easier for me to adjust to being here for the first time. And my teammates tried to talk to me and they really about me, how I feel and stuff.

AK: Did having a bunch of other rookies around who were in a similar boat make it any easier?

TS: Yeah, exactly. It was easier.

AK: Being a non-roster invitee coming into spring training, did you allow yourself any expectations? How optimistic were you?

TS: Like I said before, I just wanted to come here to be on the mound. Just one time. I wasn't expecting this at all. But now, every time someone asks me that question, I just want to appreciate all the people in the Dodgers organization. My teammates. The people in the pen. Everyone that supports me. I just want to appreciate them.

AK: What have you learned from being in a clubhouse with so many accomplished veterans? Guys like Greg Maddux, Kenny Lofton, Jeff Kent?

TS: Everybody knows the kind of players that Jeff Kent and Kenny Lofton are, but Greg Maddux, he's a pitcher like I am. I don't think I will ever be able to pitch like Greg Maddux, but I do learn a lot from him. How he spends time between pitches. I watch every pitch he makes. I just learn a lot of things and I'm fortunate to be in the same locker room as him. I can't believe it.

AK: How hard has it been to be away from your family this much?

TS: Because I was a non-roster invitee, I wasn't able to take my with me, so it's been very hard. It's been the hardest thing to be away from my family. We had a problem with schooling at the time (for his two daughters), so I wasn't able to bring them with me. I told them, "Just give me one year." I really appreciate them supporting me.

AK: Did you get any advice from Eric Gagne about the closer role once it was confirmed that he would be out for the season?

TS: I didn't really talk about it (early on), because (Grady Little) never told me that I would be the closer. I was just closing the game until Gagne came back. But after Gagne had surgery on his back, (Little) asked me to be the closer. I cannot be Eric Gagne, but as a member of the bullpen, I wanted to do as much as I can.

AK: Do you ever think you'll hear the song "Hey Jude" the same way again?

TS: "Hey Jude" was not really "my" theme song, because I didn't really ask them to have it as my theme song. But next year, if I'm able to play with the Dodgers, I will choose another song. Something cool, like "Low Rider."

AK: Have you ever heard about how much fans love your signature fist pump at the end of games and just how popular you've become with them in general?

TS: At first, I was in the bullpen and nobody knew about me, so I didn't hear any cheering. But now, I'm the closer and I started getting successful, I hearing it more and more. And now they talk in talking to me in broken Japanese. "Takashi... Saito!" It's been really great. I really appreciate it.



JONATHAN BROXTON

Andrew Kamenetzky: It's your first full season with the big team. What's that experience been like?

Jonathan Broxton: It's good being up here with a lot of veteran guys who know a lot of stuff. Everybody's out here trying to do the best that they can.

(At this point, the interview was briefly interrupted by Derek Lowe throwing towels at Broxton)

AK: Stuff like Derek Lowe occasionally throwing towels at you, how long does it take to get used to?

JB: (Totally unfazed) He was doing that last year, too.

AK: So at this point, it doesn't throw you?

JB: No.

AK: Was the transition made any easier for you by having so many other rookies up at the same time?

JB: It was great having a bunch of rookies coming up and developing together. We've been trying to play hard and learn the in's and out's of everything.

AK: Have you guys provided each other a sort of support system for each other?

JB: Just about everybody that's up and young has come up together, so you know what works and what doesn't. If one of them is struggling, you always tell them, "Hey, such and such. You've done this and you've done that." Help each other out, basically.

AK: What part of the transition has been easiest for you, if anything?

JB: Just being comfortable up here with everybody. Everybody's accepted us all well. Just being comfortable.

AK: What's taken the most time when it comes to finding a comfort zone?

JB: The stadium, probably. Mostly young guys coming up, the stadium is so much bigger, you start clenching up.

AK: When you say "bigger," you mean...

JB: More fans. Stuff like that.

AK: Is it still crazy sometimes looking around and thinking, "Wow! There's a lot of people here."

JB: Yeah. Especially coming in late in the game or for a key at-bat. The crowd starts going crazy and you can get in your head sometimes if you don't know what you're doing.

AK: You spent a little time up last season. Going into this one, did you have any expectations at all about spending more time up or what your role might be?

JB: No, I just went out and did the best I could.

AK: Yourself, Andre Ethier, Russell Martin, Matt Kemp, Chad Billingsley, etc. have been talked about quite a bit as a "core" group of guys that could be playing together as Dodgers for years to come. What does it feel like at such a young stage of your career to be thought of that way?

JB: You can never think about it like that. You never know what your career's gonna be or what the team's gonna do. You just go out and take it one pitch at a time. One at-bat at a time. One inning at a time. One game at a time.

AK: How much do you think you've learned from some of these veterans?

(And right on cue, Lowe walks past again and starts shelling us with more towels)

JB: (Again, unfazed by Lowe's tomfoolery) A good bit. It's always nice to have Greg Maddux right here beside me. He knows the tricks and trades about baseball and baseball.

AK: Have you asked him about any of those tricks?

JB: I've talked with him a little bit about a changeup and just going about how you take care of yourself. Stuff like that.

AK: Coming down to the wire, what's it been like for you to be such a big part of this playoff push?

JB: You always gotta take it one game at a time and whatever happens at the end of the game happens. But you gotta stay focused for nine innings at a time and go out and get them.