WORLD BASEBALL CLASSIC: POOL A - ITALY VS CUBA

March 9, 2023

Mike Piazza

Taichung Intercontinental Baseball Stadium

Team Italy

Postgame Press Conference

Italy 6, Cuba 3

MIKE PIAZZA: Well, first off, I really want to congratulate my team. The guys played extremely hard, together. They had some frustrations.

Obviously a few situations we could have picked up an incident run or two but we didn't. And we gave Cuba some hope there, any time they made great defensive play, it changed the momentum of the game, and I'm a big believer in momentum.

As far as Matt Harvey, I felt the way he pitched out of the jam, very effectively, was a positive way to end. I think he didn't ask to come out of the game. He still wanted to go back out there. I think he could have thrown another ten pitches or so. But we decided to just go with the order; a few little hiccups, Ben came in, that was a really hard-hit ball that turned into a triple.

So we made a few mistakes but we were fortunate enough that we battled on the mound and the guys just really did a great job. Valente, obviously with that great piece of hitting didn't try to kill the ball. Just hit the ball up the middle.

As far as the fans, we knew the energy, what it's going to be like here and we know what it's going to be like tomorrow. So we just have to block that out and play our game.

I was really impressed with our team. We did not get discouraged. We just kept battling and we really -- it was a big win. It's a big win. It's a big win for our federation and obviously we qualify for the next Classic; that's nothing we're really worried about now, but it is important.

Q. When Cuba tied it up in the eighth, and they seemed to have some momentum, everyone ran out to first base, the dugout poured out, the horn guy was blowing his horn going wild. Was there anything kind of -- anything kind of you said to the team or anybody kind of, like, let's go in the dugout or anybody be like, you know, let's get back on board and score some runs?

MIKE PIAZZA: As you mentioned, and I had mentioned earlier, there was a momentum shift there. But I think I was talking to Nikky Lopez in the playoffs in 2000 when I was with the Mets when J.T. Snow hit this big three-run home run to tie the game. The game is still tied. It's one thing if they go ahead, but now you're in a desperate situation.

I personally felt that after they got out of that big jam that that guy made -- that the third baseman made that great play on Nikky, I was like, that's not good; they felt it, and we gave them hope.

But that's baseball. You know, that's just part of the game, and so yeah, it was just fortunate. I mean, Sal obviously was swinging the bat well. He had a couple of good swings but he did a great heads up play there on the steal, and that was what we needed.

We were playing it kind of straight up in the beginning. I don't really want to take the bat out of these guy's hands. I want him to swing the bat but in that situation, you know, sometimes when you are getting a little, lack of a better word, not really getting that big hit, you've got to try to shuffle it up a little bit and change the momentum and do some things, and that was an instinct-driven play by him.

Q. You talked about how important it was on the trip to bond for every player and how the group spirit is important. Probably somebody has noticed how kind of like every player was wearing a mustache in today's game. Is this one more part of this special development of this group that it is, going forward?

MIKE PIAZZA: Yeah, it's true. They made me have a -- shape my goatee and make a mustache as well. They asked me to do it. It feels a little different.

But I brought it back old school, I told them, and they were -- you know, they are a great bunch of guys, as you can see, they have chemistry, they have fun, they have bonded extremely well. And that's important. And so I mean, what am I going to say, no, when they ask me to shave and make my mustache like the good old days? They wanted to see from '93, '94, '95. I was like, okay, I'll bring it back.

It's great, and yeah, I mean, we still know. Look, we have a lot of work. We know tomorrow is going to be a big game, a lot of energy and the fans are going to be into the game. But of course, it's good just to get that first win against a really tough team like Cuba. But we've got to go to bed, get our rest and we know it's going to be a tough game tomorrow.

Q. There was a first tiebreaker, first in this tournament, and then the first -- the runner, Frelick, got a steal. Was it based on his decision or his judgment or you told him?

MIKE PIAZZA: A little of both. I think he's that type of player who is an extremely exciting player, and I want these guys to play. I don't like to really make them, control them, you know, we say in English, micromanage them.

But I also said, use your instincts and be smart. But we needed something there to change the momentum because I think when we were swinging the bats, we were just getting a little bit pressing in those situations when we didn't score the runs with runners on second and third and less than two outs.

So it was great that he took that himself. But I trust these guys. I mean, I want them to think and I want them to be smart. So you know, of course the game situation could change, and we have to sort of just take it as it comes.

Q. Today, Matt Harvey is the starter. If maybe too early, but if we go to Tokyo Dome, quarterfinal, will Matt Harvey start, too?

MIKE PIAZZA: I will worry about the game tomorrow. Of course we would love to go to Tokyo but we have a lot of work ahead of us here. And you don't know how this series can change as far as pitching.

I think our pitches did a good job tonight. They threw the ball well, and tomorrow, we are always talking, we are always collaborating to see how we can make our team better but I was very impressed with the way he threw tonight, and as I said, he got out of that jam and so I decided, we decided collectively that we wanted to just give him a good ending. Obviously hopefully he'll be ready when we need him next.