Until the start of the Baseball World Cup next week we would like to run a series of Q&As on the European participants. We started with Spain, Croatia and the Netherlands. Today we got answers from the manager of the Italian team, Marco Mazzieri.
Mister-Baseball: What do you expect from your team during the Baseball World Cup?
Marco Mazzieri: I expect the team to play hard every day and compete. As long as pitchers keep us in the game and we do not make mistakes, we can have a successful campaign
MRBB: Is Baseball getting more attention in the media and in the public due to the World Cup?
MM: There’s been definitely unusual attention, especially in the Rome area. It motivates us.
MRBB: Is it difficult to plan for pool-play without knowing your opponents until September 12th?
MM: Well, we will be ready to face everybody because we will be scouting all of the 5 pools
MRBB: What do you think are the keys to success during the tournament?
MM: The mental game is a factor. We are physically ready to play every day, but we have to show we are also mentally ready to do it
MRBB: Any injury concerns with the current team? Everybody healthy?
MM: We lost Peppe Mazzanti of Nettuno, one of the best hitters in Europe, and this is a major loss. During the Italian Baseball Week Andrea De Santis suffered an injury and he will be day to day
MRBB: Is the regular starting lineup already set or will you go with the hot hand?
MM: If De Santis cannot play, I may have to move Infante to the outfield and put Imperiali at third. So I believe you will have to wait to know the starting line up of September 13th
MRBB: Which pitchers are going to start for you?
MM: Marco Grifantini and Tiago Da Silva are going to be 2 of our 4 starters. I will be looking in the next few days at how Luca Panerati and Matteo D’Angelo look. We haven’t seen much of Junior Oberto, who needed some rest, but he is also taken into consideration.
Mister-Baseball would like to thank Marco Mazzieri for answering the questions and wishes the Italian National Team good luck in the Baseball World Cup.