Buon giorno, Mr. Smith

I hope Castor native Lee Smith can speak a little Italian. If not, he better learn quickly.

Smith is adding to his growing international resume this month as he joins the staff of Major League Baseball's European Academy. Smith served as the pitching coach for the South Africa team in the inaugural World Baseball Classic in 2006.

Smith remains second in major league history in saves and previously served as a roving pitching instructor in the San Francisco Giants system.

Now he will be offering instruction to young European and African players as MLB attempts to build a pipeline into those continents the same way it did into South America and the Caribbean.

Under Smith, young pitchers will learn proper mechanics, improve their pitching and make their vocabulary a little more colorful.