Korea's Win in Pool A Highlights Weekend of Upsets in WBC
During the inaugural World Baseball Classic three years ago, one of the biggest problems I had with the tournament was the near-complete lack of upsets in the early rounds of the tournament. Korea winning the first two rounds of pool play over Japan was mildly surprising, but since the Japanese kept advancing it didn't seem to matter. The same went for Canada's upset over the U.S.; the Americans advanced and the Canadians didn't, so the upset felt kind of hollow. It was fun to watch, but it was clear that half of the field was very overmatched
This year, however, the tournament's off to a different start. The first weekend of the tournament was full of really surprising upsets, spear-headed this morning by Korea bouncing back from a 14-2 trouncing at the hands of Japan to pull out a 1-0 win in Tokyo to win Pool A. After the jump,
hollister outlet, I'll recap all of the action from the weekend, in case you missed any of it.
Pool A
Actually, this pool featured two surprises. The first was China's first international victory, a 4-1 statement win over political rivals Chinese Taipei. After getting embarrassed on their home baseball field in the Olympics this summer, it seemed like China would be the worst club in this tournament by a long shot. That wasn't the case, though, as they held strong with Japan in their opener before losing. With scouts starting to comb the country for talent and baseball academies popping up, China's only going to get better.
The pool concluded this morning with Korea avenging an embarrassing 14-2 drubbing at the hands of Japan earlier in the tournament with a thrilling 1-0 win in front of a packed Tokyo Dome that finished up just as the East Coast of America was eating their Cheerios. You might have guessed that Japan was going to take a breather game since they had already clinched a second-round spot and they were playing mostly for seeding purposes, but when Yu Darvish took the mound for an inning, it put all those thoughts to rest. Jung Bong spearheaded the seven-hit shutout for the Koreans with 5 1/3 scoreless innings,
sennheiser bluetooth headphones, and seeing the Koreans run out to left field to celebrate with their fans after the win was a perfect illustration of the point Prez made this morning. This game mattered to them, even if it was just for seeding and bragging rights. If Japan and Korea play again, it'll be in the States and at an hour normal humans should be awake. If you're a baseball fan, you need to watch.
Pool B
Everything started out according to plan in Pool B yesterday when Cuba crushed South Africa, but things took a crazy turn last night when Australia took on the home Mexico team in Mexico City. At 10,
tods website,000 feet above sea level, Foro Sol Stadium in Mexico City is located at almost twice the elevation of Coors Field. With left field at only 319 feet and right field at 325, it's a home run hitter's haven.
Australia took advantage of the park last night with two homers in the first inning last night to take a 3-0 lead. They didn't stop hitting all night before the mercy rule finally put an end to Mexico's misery in the eighth inning after a 17-7 walloping. Chris Snelling hit two homers and the Australian bullpen held Mexico scoreless after the third inning, while Mexico was forced to use eight pitchers. I thought before the tournament that the Australian team was too young to advance this year, but this team can mash in the thin air and I wouldn't count them out.
Pool C
We've got a clear favorite after one weekend, and it's the United States. Their 15-6 win over Venezuela last night showed a different kind of team than the one that wandered disinterestedly through the tournament three years ago. Assuming Canada can beat Italy tonight at 6:30 PM ET (and I guess nothing is a given in this tournament anymore),
tory burch flip flop clearance, it also sets up one of the most intriguing games of the first round when Venezuela plays the home Canadian team with a spot in the second round on the line. The Canadians showed up en masse for their opener against the U.S., and the Venezuelan fans made a great showing for their game against the U.S. last night. If Canada does beat Italy and the matchup holds,
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Pool D
After starting with maybe the biggest upset of the tournament (Netherlands beating the Dominican Republic in a 3-2 shocker), things are starting to fall more to form in this pool. The Dominican team crushed Panama yesterday to stay alive and now only needs one more win to advance. They'll almost certainly have a chance to get that win in a rematch with the Dutch team, as Puerto Rico looked impressive their opening shutout win over Panama. If Netherlands really wants its first upset to have a lasting impression, it is going to need one more upset. I don't think they can get it.
Luis Gonzalez + Young Marlins = Uh Oh_7854
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Today I am leaving for a two week vacation to Europe. My long lost college roommate and I are going to be hitting up Spain and Italy and in Italy Vlad will be meeting up with us for a Gondola ride or two! I am super excited for this vacation and this time will actually be vacationing. We are lucky enough to have someone who will write posts for me while I am gone, Nerdphanie! You all remember her as a guest blogger! Now she is signed on as a two week blogger to fill my spot. She will bring you lots of new bags and goodies to look at. I will be posting sporadically, but not my usual four or five posts a day
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Hybrid Mode
