as an american, it's disappointing that USA lost, but as a fan of baseball, I am excited to see round 3 of the Korea/Japan battle. This USA team looked too fat and slow the entire tournament. They looked as though they were either A)unwilling or B)uncapable of doing the little things required to win. maybe they were too egotistical, or maybe they were not in midseason form, or maybe they did'nt hit enough homeruns, blahblahblahblah. the fact of the matter, is that 20 years from, when the WBC is a legitimate classic, peolple will only remember that this team just could not get it done. it is sad that they are out, but at least we dont have to watch them get beat by a more disciplined/less talented team, again.
The US losing has to be the best thing for the World Cup of Baseball, it has to draw more interest now that there is clearly not a dominate team. That is the beauty of soccer, any of the top teams can win it. DD
I'd say that baseball is even more unpredictable than soccer if one game decides all. Your team is only as good as your starting pitcher on any given day. That's why baseball season is 162 games along and the championship is determined by a "series", not one game.
I couldn't agree more, DD. Parity is good for sports. Folks might have a problem seeing beyond the benefit/detriment to the United States. But for the sport of baseball, this was a very good thing.
I don't care what you guys say, but just like with the Dream Team, we don't put our best product out there. Add to that the fact that MLB team owners were lamenting having some of their players compete for the USA team, and you have your reason as to why they lost. We're STILL the best in basketball AND baseball...but you can't show it unless your best players play all out for you. Yah well...
I couldnt follow the tournement. Their process is stupid. How hard is to do this. 16 teams, four pools. play the teams in your pool twice. six games. best records go to the next round eight teams remaining, seed them however. best of three series for the first and second round. then best of five for the final series. That's what, three weeks maybe? thats a maximum of 17 games.
We have the greatest number of players, but I would sayt the Domincan's have the best hitters in baseball. Pujols, Man Ram, Tejada, and Ortiz. I'm watching the Domincan v Cuba game right now, and boy is it confusing. Tavares just threw a pitch to Ramirez, who hit the ball to Taveras in CF, that scored Taveras from 3rd.
Which players were missing? How much better would the team have been if these other guys were there? That's nothing, have you caught any of Korea's games? 80% of their roster are Lee's!
People here in Japan went crazy after the national team won the game. It was the lead-in news for basically all the news stations/papers. Very big deal here. What's the general reception of the games in the US especially after Team USA lost?
I think most people treated the WBC like a preseason scrimmage. Doesn't mean anything. Maybe in the distant future it'll have more meaning. However, Japan played two great final games. I think half the Japanese team had long dyed hair. The catcher looked like a fat woman.
that was my problem. we didn't seem to have the passion the other teams did. i enjoyed the tournament though. congrats japan.
i never really followed the wbc even when the us was still in but i watched the final. it was a well-played game even with the errors, the japanese hitters are very disciplined and really know how to hit holes in the field instead of mashing the ball 400 ft. it was refreshing to watch a game taht wasnt centered around the long ball and more about stringing hits together and defense. no doubt those guys in japan/cuba can play the sport with anyone. they played with a lot of passion and determination. i read a quote where ichiro was saying he wasnt even thinking about injuries or the regular season, he just wanted to win the wbc so badly. i doubt we'd hear any of the american players say that. i still think the best baseball players are american, but japan are deserving champions. watching the game last night really opened my eyes on the quality of baseball being played in other parts of the country.
There are reasons that the U.S. did not field their best team. They either made bad decisions (c'mon - Al Leiter?) or had players needing to get healthier (Bonds, Torii Hunter, Berkman) or had players decide they needed to be with their teams (Wagner). There was also questionable strategy. Why start Clemens against South Africa? Why hold him off until the 3rd game each series? Had they gotten to the semi-finals and finals he would not have been able to even throw one pitch due to the the funky rules (if you throw X number of pitches, you cannot pitch for 4 days) The problem was the timing. The U.S. had to treat this somewhat as spring training so everyone got to play, otherwise, why not have Veritek catch every game? While Willis and Peavy have good stats, Oswalt has done it longer and has also performed well in International competition. Wouldn't this lineup have been better every game: 1B - Lee 2B - Kent SS - Jeter 3B - Rodriguez DH - Bonds/Helton C - Veritek CF - Griffey LF - Berkman RF - Sheffield SP - Oswalt, Clemens, Smoltz, Buehrle BP - Lidge, Wagner, Hoffman, Nathan, Gagne, etc. That being said, there was nothing wrong with another country winning. It just goes to show how it was ridiculous that Ichiro was considered a "rookie" in his first year in MLB.
that team is better but only marginally. the team that the us fielded was good enough talent-wise to win it. the problem was like you said, the players treated it like it was spring training, while players from other countries played like it was the world series. teams like cuba and japan had something to prove and they played with heart. im not saying the american players didnt try or didnt want to win, but there was a considerable difference in the energy/passion level.
