WORLD BASEBALL CLASSIC: POOL A - ITALY VS CHINESE TAIPEI

March 10, 2023

Mike Piazza

Taichung Intercontinental Baseball Stadium

Team Italy

Postgame Press Conference

Chinese Taipei 11, Italy 7

Q. Italy's infield made a lot of aggressive saves, I think it was effective. Was it due to coaching?

MIKE PIAZZA: I didn't quite understand the premise of the question.

Q. Infielder. I think it was very effective. Is that due to scouting or is that kind of sensitive?

MIKE PIAZZA: Yeah, sure, in this day and age you have a lot of data where they hit the ball location-wise and the infielders are privy to that data. Of course it changes sometimes during the count; it changes with baserunners.

So -- about you look, I mean, we have in my opinion an amazing coaching staff, and these -- my coaches are amazingly engaged and put -- we put the guys in a position where we feel is the most effective.

And of course, you're not -- you can't cover the entire field. But we just -- we have to be in a situation where we are basically putting them in a position for the most -- where we feel at that time that they are going to -- they are going to put the ball but as I mentioned there some other variables involved. As I said sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn't but that's just baseball.

Q. (No translation.)

MIKE PIAZZA: Well, look, it was in a very difficult environment to play, very unique. I still don't know what to think of it. I thought it was a little bit of a shock. But look, I mean, we calmed down, and Woods, aside that home run, he pitched very well.

You have to give Taipei the credit there. They battled extremely hard. They were very difficult in those at-bats. We just couldn't seem to get that strikeout pitch. Look, they were obviously feel the energy from the fans, and we gave up those home runs.

Those were difficult to swallow because this field, I feel, was playing big, but it was what it was. I mean, we just couldn't seem to make the right pitch when we needed it, and we battled back, so I have to give my team credit. We gave them a definitely game but unfortunately we just couldn't seem to get that big out when we needed like we did last night last night.

We have to come back tomorrow. It's not going to be easy so we have two more games and we have to buckle down to get past this bracket.

Q. (No translation.)

MIKE PIAZZA: No, I don't mean shocked as in surprised. The environment, I was very surprised with, with the cheerleaders and the noise throughout their offensive at-bats. So I think maybe you could even see on TV but when you're in the stadium, it's a whole different experience.

But look, as I said before the game, I mean, it's something we'll remember. It was something interesting and our guys, we made a few mistake. Obviously we made a few errors which were unfortunate because it just the momentum. You know, it changes the momentum of the game, and I think it gave Taipei obviously an opportunity to score and they took advantage of them. So that was just something I think in the beginning, maybe it was just because of the communication and the noise.

But we settled down and battled, so it was a good ballgame. Unfortunate as I said, we didn't seem to make the big pitch when we needed it but they battled hard and this is this tournament, we have to put our pitchers in a position to succeed. It's not always about matchups. It's about pitch counts and so when you get to this point in the tournament now, it gets difficult. We have to try to put people in the position to -- to succeed and that's not always easy.

Q. (No translation.)

MIKE PIAZZA: Yeah, I think he hit the ball hard three times, if I'm not mistaken. He was very skilled hitter. Yeah, and you big a mistake to a hitter like that, he's going to take advantage.

So yeah, I mean, that's just the way it is. As I said, Woods, I think that home run in the middle of the game really kind of changed the momentum of the game and kind of put us a little bit on the defensive. So we were just trying to get to the later innings and hopefully stay close and get an opportunity to -- to at least tie but that wasn't the case.

So we have to get our rest, comeback tomorrow. It's going to being difficult because we have a day game. Because you these guys play hard and they are battling hard, and it was just a tough game tonight in a tough environment, so we'll turn the page.

Q. For tomorrow, any thoughts on Panama, matchup-wise?

MIKE PIAZZA: They played well obviously first game. I think they struggled today. It's going to be interesting to see which team can respond and bounce back.

I think, again, if we were able to do what we did last night and just not -- cut down on the mistakes and make some quality pitches in those big situations, you know, I like our chances.

But again, this tournament is unpredictable as you can see. It's getting to the point now, you're two games now, third game, so it's early in the year, a lot of these guys, it's a conditioning thing, too, so the team that has the most mental fortitude to push through the fatigue because we're not in the middle of the season, is going to have an advantage.