Truly a "Classic"
Japan 10, Cuba 6
And so, on the last day of the 1st annual World Baseball Classic, the Little Red Revolutionary Engine that Could, Cuba, lost to an incredible Japanese team that was stocked with fabulous talent.
While I may be disappointed with the loss, overall, I'm incredibly happy with the way this tournament turned out. For anyone who was paying attention the past few weeks, the WBC was an awesome tournament, and rivaled the buzz and excitement of March Madness (no easy feat, by any means, especially given the fact that most people think baseball is "boring"). Teams definitely "brought it" to this tournament. Even in the final game, despite being behind the whole game, Cuba came extremely close to staging an incredible rally to take the game from the Japanese. There was no giving up in this thing. The whole "national pride" thing...man, that's some powerful stuff, and makes for some incredible television.
At the end of it all, Cuba was still able to go back home with bragging rights; since 1951, Cuba has yet to finish below 2nd in any international baseball tournament, and even though the team had no MLB representation in a tournament that was rife with it, they were still able to make it to the championship game, proving to the world that Cuban National baseball is the real deal.
Don't cry, meng! Kick ass in 2009!
And Japan... man... what a kickass team. I don't even know how the hell they made to the final after losing to Korea twice. But, man, do they have talent. Hell, Korea had super talent, too. They won when it mattered, and that's what counts in this tournament. After watching them play, I can't complain too much that they won the WBC. They were awesome.
Ichiro called it, "the greatest moment of his career." And that's saying a lot.
At the end of the tournament, the WBC organizers announced the 2006 "All-Tournament Team," featuring the 12 best players of the event. Japan, Cuba, and Korea landed three players on this squad. Dominican Republic got one dude, and the good ol' US of A landed 2. (Ken Griffey Jr., despite being injured off and on for awhile, was awesome in this tournament. I hope he follows this with a monster MLB season in a couple of weeks. He deserves it.)
So, with all that said, congratulations, Japan, on winning the first WBC. Watch out, though. Cuba's gunning for you in 2008, when they get set to play in the Olympics as the defending gold medalists. :-)
And so, on the last day of the 1st annual World Baseball Classic, the Little Red Revolutionary Engine that Could, Cuba, lost to an incredible Japanese team that was stocked with fabulous talent.
While I may be disappointed with the loss, overall, I'm incredibly happy with the way this tournament turned out. For anyone who was paying attention the past few weeks, the WBC was an awesome tournament, and rivaled the buzz and excitement of March Madness (no easy feat, by any means, especially given the fact that most people think baseball is "boring"). Teams definitely "brought it" to this tournament. Even in the final game, despite being behind the whole game, Cuba came extremely close to staging an incredible rally to take the game from the Japanese. There was no giving up in this thing. The whole "national pride" thing...man, that's some powerful stuff, and makes for some incredible television.
At the end of it all, Cuba was still able to go back home with bragging rights; since 1951, Cuba has yet to finish below 2nd in any international baseball tournament, and even though the team had no MLB representation in a tournament that was rife with it, they were still able to make it to the championship game, proving to the world that Cuban National baseball is the real deal.
And Japan... man... what a kickass team. I don't even know how the hell they made to the final after losing to Korea twice. But, man, do they have talent. Hell, Korea had super talent, too. They won when it mattered, and that's what counts in this tournament. After watching them play, I can't complain too much that they won the WBC. They were awesome.
At the end of the tournament, the WBC organizers announced the 2006 "All-Tournament Team," featuring the 12 best players of the event. Japan, Cuba, and Korea landed three players on this squad. Dominican Republic got one dude, and the good ol' US of A landed 2. (Ken Griffey Jr., despite being injured off and on for awhile, was awesome in this tournament. I hope he follows this with a monster MLB season in a couple of weeks. He deserves it.)
So, with all that said, congratulations, Japan, on winning the first WBC. Watch out, though. Cuba's gunning for you in 2008, when they get set to play in the Olympics as the defending gold medalists. :-)
posted by djkibblesnbits at 10:29 AM
-->
3 Comments:
I didn't watch the game, but if you think it was well-deserved then it must be. Goes to show you that the Great American pastime may be past its prime . . . LOL.
L.
LOL. Yeah, much like what happened with England and soccer, the rest of the world has caught up with the US and baseball, and soon, (if not already) will surpass US talent. Can you believe that England freaking MADE soccer, and has only won the World Cup once?!
The same thing might just happen to the US, if they're not careful.
No wonder the Japanese team won. Based on that first picture, it looks like they've got Ultraman on their team.
Post a Comment
<< Home