Must be a big physiological blow to the Korean team. Last baseball Classics they beat Japan 2 games to 1 but Japan won the important one and went on to win the whole thing. This year it was 2-2 and they lost in extra innings in game 5. Most of the games they played against each other was separated by 2 or less runs.
You might want to read my entire post(it wasn't that long). In case you're not familiar with baseball these days, our roster to this event is hardly representative of "the very best" we have to offer. As for US vs Spain, first of all it's one game. Anything can happen in one game. Still does not change the fact that we've demolished everyone(scoring differential's very telling) until then. And also, how are the rules NOT affecting the game? That's like saying because Yao can hit 55% of his field goals, there's nothing wrong with refs allowing players to pummel him w/o allowing him to fight back. Just because you have success in less than optimal environment doesn't change the fact that it's a less than optimal environment.
Really? Compared to basketball? Where are the Cavs without James? Bulls without Jordan? One player in basketball can have more of an impact on a game, series and season than one player in baseball. No matter how dominating a pitcher may be in baseball, he only plays in 20-25% of their games. No matter how great a hitter that Pujols may be, he is only as good as his pitching staff. Perhaps we are talking semantics and the word "individualistic" is where we mainly disagree. Also, there are a lot of subtleties in baseball regarding familiarity and chemistry. For example, the pitcher expects the defense to be in certain positions for each batter he faces and most of the pitches he throws. The infielders know which player throws them the ball at what spot. The outfielders expect the cutoff men to line up properly. The catcher expects a fielder to be ready for pickoff throws. There is a lot that goes on and if players aren't where you expect, simple things can go awry.
that was a great game last night. i stayed up till 2am watching it and ended up oversleeping for class =P. it was awesome to see the fans so into it and have all the flags and drums banging. i definitely would have paid good money to have been in that stadium to experience the atmosphere.
