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WORLD BASEBALL CLASSIC: 1ST ROUND POOL DMarch 13, 2017Marco MazzieriZapopan, Jalisco, México Venezuela - 4, Italy - 3 Q. Obviously you guys didn't get the results you wanted, but can you tell us a little bit about your team's performance this entire tournament? And then the second part of that is John Andreoli really seemed to have a breakout tournament and I wanted to get your perspective what you saw from him. MARCO MAZZIERI: Well, we talked about our performances more than one time already, so I'm just going to repeat what I've been saying for the last four days. We give all out. We go out there with a great attitude, great effort, determination, courage, heart. It's hard to ask for more. You just hate to come up short the way we did tonight, and even though we knew it was going to be a tough game, it's just the way it is. It's just sport. Just right now I'm sure you understand that my mouth is low spirit because we thought we could win this game. But we came up short. That team out there is pretty good. It's an All-Star team. Miguel Cabrera has been known to us. He's been doing it for 15 years now. It's all right. We'll take it. We've got to swallow it. It's not going to be easy, but eventually we have to. About Andreoli, that kid is just to me incredible. He's so prepared, so much detail. He hustles all the time. Just a leader. But even though it's hard for me to call out any individual because all these guys give it all out, and at different times they've been doing it, like Liddi tonight, as well, in the ninth. He found something to get back on the board for us with that huge home run. But Descalso, Liddi, so many guys --- and at the end, I would just say that team Italy showed a lot and should be proud of what we put on that field these last four or five days. Q. Yesterday you reflected on your career in what was a really moving moment for all of us. Is it harder one day later to have that same moment again in an even more disappointing game? MARCO MAZZIERI: From some point of view, actually not. I think I let it all out yesterday, so tonight it's a little different. But as I told my guys before the game, I've got to make an official announcement that I'm coming back from retirement just for that game or going into San Diego. So we had a laugh all together. But no, actually yesterday was a lot harder from my point of view. Q. How do you feel about your participation? Do you feel satisfied with the team? MARCO MAZZIERI: If I answer now, of course I'm not going to be too satisfied because of the outcome. We came out ready. We came out prepared, and we came out with a purpose. Obviously we came up short, and as I was telling you, right now it's a little bitter to swallow. We really wanted to go to San Diego. We just came up short. Q. I ask you if you think the result is a little bit unjust in view of there were more than five innings with no hits, and before you had one against the host México. Do you think that maybe it would have been fair for Italy to get -- MARCO MAZZIERI: This was the conversation at the end of the game. We need to take what we're looking at, and we're outside. The final result is 4-2. It's not just or unjust, it's difficult, because if you say that, if I tell you it is not just for Italy, then I believe that just for Venezuela who fought until the end. I believe it was an incredible baseball game from both teams, and they won because they have much more -- we did everything, and even though we lost the game, I believe we should be proud about today's game, as well, because they played very well. They weren't perfect, and in order to win this game, in order to beat a team like this, like every team in this pool, you need to be almost perfect. Q. What's next for the Italian team, and what would you need in order for you to take the next step to the next level, being so close even with participation in the second round and proving that you can compete with anybody? MARCO MAZZIERI: We need the Major League pitchers that I called before. I put the team together. I called about 15 Major League pitchers, and they said no, for different reasons, and so then I found four relievers, high-quality. We're talking about a different game tonight. So I think they played very good defense, very good offense. We knew that our pitchers didn't have the quality of the other team's pitchers, and we tried to fight every pitch because that's what we could do. We fought and fought, but when the quality of the player is lacking, it's difficult. The difference, I always say that the levels is not the case. If you have Major League pitching, I expect good motivation. The only Major League pitcher that we have is Liddi. But if you look at all the pitchers of all the teams, México, Venezuela and Puerto Rico, the quality is a lot, and that's what we lacked. Q. (No microphone)? MARCO MAZZIERI: I don't know what to answer to that because this is over for me, so I don't know what's going to happen with another manager. And there is a new president of the Italian Federation since November, so I don't know. I cannot answer what's going to happen. Q. Do you feel that reward is enough, the fact that you have a direct ticket to the next event, going back from the last Classic? You're saying you're fighting for the love of baseball to grow in Italy. Do you think you stepped back, or do you think you're in the same place? MARCO MAZZIERI: I don't think I understood it very well, but if you can ask it a little more slowly, please. Q. You have a ticket to the next exhibition. Do you think that's enough of a reward for the effort that you showed here, or do you think it's a step backwards? MARCO MAZZIERI: I believe that we played, if it is possible, better than we played four years ago. You know that the games sometimes are decided by episodes, and then if you think about the first inning, the line was held with two men on base, if that line goes through, we score two more. It would have been 3-0 in the first inning. No, I don't think this is anything backwards from what we did four years ago in the Classic in 2013. I'm sorry if I repeat myself, but I think we should be proud of what we showed on the field. Q. How did you leave last night not knowing whether it's Venezuela or México? MARCO MAZZIERI: You know, I think there was no one who didn't finish watching the game because I couldn't look at it with the bases loaded for Venezuela. All the guys were looking at the game. I'm going to go to sleep because I cannot keep it -- it's a lot of emotion. I said, tomorrow we'll see who we're going to play, and then we'll decide what we're going to do in the game. But I knew this morning that we were going to play Venezuela, and the plan was not going to change if it was Venezuela or México. Morris was going to start. The plan didn't change. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports   |
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