WBC: Lee's Korea Defeats Japan

I wouldn't be surprised if Korea does better than Japan in the 2nd round because of their MLB experienced pitchers. The Japanese pitchers are already having to deal with pitching with different baseballs. Now they are required to get acclimated with MLB mounds and may be required to tweak their pitching motions (to continuous).

That home run made me want to cry. I don't like this batting order at all. I think the Marines would be more effective at getting runs. Ichiro looked like a fool after all the trash talk. He might as well have called a home run to right ala Babe Ruth in that final at bat.

Well all I can say is that it serves them right for ignoring the Hanshin Tigers when they put together the lineup.

And could it be that Bobby Valentine had something to do with the success of the Marines last season? And without him the players lack a certain motivation? Just a thought.

Bobby's players lacking motivation without him? The Marine members have all played exceptionally well. That includes Lee.

The only question I've had has been putting Fukudome in center. He doesn't cover nearly the ground that Tamura or Ichiro can cover. I'm sure there were more players on the bench with better range as well.

Otherwise, the defense was very solid. And the pitching, overall, was much better than I had expected at this point in time.

It doesn't seem like Fukudome's new Yoshinobu batting form is doing much for him, either. He batted .328 with 28 homers and 103 RBIs last year. I don't know why you'd mess with that.

Why was Ishii on in the 8th? I thought Otsuka should have been there. In the 8th, Ishii gave up a walk, a hit, then a home run, while in the 9th Otsuka goes 1 2 3 by striking out the side. But in my opinion, Japan will do better in the 2nd round.

So in the 2nd round Japan will face either America or Dominican Republic?

As to whether Tigers players would have done better or not, that is a moot point. I personally would have liked to have seen Imaoka or Kanemoto, though, as I thought that Japan lacked someone who could bat in RBIs. The Marines contingent wasn't that impressive, but wasn't that bad.

My other main impression was how slow Ichiro was. He should have made third on the wild pitch but didn't seem to have the pace. However, he had a fantastic throw on him.

Imaoka would be interesting, but Kanemoto would be a bigger disappointment than Fukudome is right now. Plus, he wouldn't have the defense or arm. Kanemoto is an older guy and needs some time to get into his MVP shape.

Kanemoto would have been ready if he had been picked - you can rely on that. Defensively he's as good as Fukudome. This is a guy who will give 120% all the time.

Man, I loved every second of that game. Stayed up all night just to watch it. Lee was struggling at the plate before his home run. He had left 5 men on before his launch in the 8th.

Korea's pitching has been impressive. Chan Ho looks like a solid closer (best stuff I've seen him have in years). Park Min-Jae had some great defensive plays, and Lee Jeong-Beom is playing well.

Hopefully Korea can keep this up against the USA, Mexico/Canada, and Japan.

I am really looking forward to seeing the Japanese team in the second round in Anaheim. I have tickets for four of the games in the second round. I think Japan will rebound and beat Korea in the rematch on Thursday, March 16. One of the writers asked who Japan will play in the first round. That has yet to be determined.

Korea and Japan will be playing against the top two teams in Pool B. Pool B has USA, Mexico, Canada, and South Africa. My guess is that it will be USA and Mexico who advance, but you can't count the Canadians out. Pool B starts play on Tuesday.

Japan will be playing in the first game on Sunday against the number one team from Pool B. Will probably be USA, but remember, Mexico knocked the U.S. out of the Olympics two years ago, so you never know.

Why didn't Oh put Miyamoto in for a pinch hit when needed? I think he could of done a lot more then Wada or Kinjoh.

Did the Blue Devil say it would take 30 years or 30 hours for Korea to catch up with Japan? Korea did it in Japan, in the Tokyo Dome, against Japan's WBC team picked by Mr. Baseball of Japan. It doesn't matter about the mound, the ball. Korea had the same problems. And it doesn't matter what happens in the U.S.A. Korea has done it already.

There are only two true owners of the name, "Mr. Baseball," Shigeo Nagashima and Tom Selleck.

As much as Oh said he'd be true to Japanese baseball and practice "small ball," his order really doesn't reflect that. If he's going to get people on base, he needs to put Imae in for Iwamura and Aoki in for Fukudome. In a perfect world, Saburo would be batting #4 at center. Baseball is so much more than statistics, and I think Korea proved that.

Yakyu fans need to make a petition for Bobby or Hoshino to manage the next Japanese national team. Oh is just too predictable and going with a bad lineup. Momentum is everything in baseball, and by the time Iwamura and Fukudome whiff at an outside slider for the strike out, all the momentum is just drained. After that, Ogasawara will pop up, Kawasaki will get on base, and Ichiro will line out to second. This is how Japan was shut down.

There's a totally different dynamic once you make the changes to younger contact hitters. Imae hits a single, Matsunaka pops up, Tamura walks, Aoki slaps a single, and Ogasawara clears the bases with a double. That's impossible to pull off with Fukudome and Iwamura in the lineup. They're both trying to hit the ball off the Tokyo Dome wall.

Also, what was up with giving a bunt sign to Kawasaki when he's the tying run? There's small ball, and then there's just being stupid. They shouldn't underestimate the Korean team like that.

- Also, what was up with giving a bunt sign to Kawasaki when he's the tying run? There's small ball, and then there's just being stupid. They shouldn't underestimate the Korean team like that.

Thank you for bringing up this point. That had to be the stupidest call I have ever seen. It was like expecting a high schooler to do it at the Koshien Tournament! There was no purpose for it other than to try to catch the Koreans off guard and then try to get Ichiro to advance him, but at (what was it?) 3 for 13 and his confidence shot (as was apparent when he went for the Samurai threatening bat thingy which I have never liked), there was no way that was going to go anywhere. I personally blame over-confidence and poor management as two main factors for the loss. The other factors were Korea's insanely good pitching and obviously Lee's bat.

Congratulations, Korea. Well done.

Unless it was reported in the news somewhere, or someone saw something that I didn't, I think you're leaping to conclusions in criticizing the team for "giving a bunt sign to Kawasaki." It's possible that Kawasaki decided to do that himself.

Regardless of who decided on that play, if you find it difficult to understand why anyone would put on a bunt there, maybe that was the point of the play. It was certainly surprising. If it had resulted in a hit and eventually a tie game, everyone would be raving about the Japanese team's succesful use of small ball.

And, to JOE KALESNIK, I think that you are being a bit misleading in stating that "Korea had the same problems" with the mound and the ball. The Korean pitchers wouldn't have had many problems with the ball - most of their pitchers have been in the Majors (or an American Minor league team) for a year or more. So Japan definitely would've had more trouble with the ball.

That being said, the Korean staff may have had more problems with the pitcher's mound for exactly the same reasons.

Regardless, I'm tempted to say that getting used to a slicker baseball would be more of a problem than changing the pitcher's mound, but that's neither here nor there - I'm not an authority.

I'm not trying to make excuses for the Japanese team, as I'm not particularly concerned about the loss. Anyone can lose on any given day to a good team. Korea is a good team and they won that one. I'm happy for them. But that doesn't mean that fans of Korea can blow off the problematic equipment changes in the game, or that fans of Japan can pin the loss on a specific "bad" managerial decision.

- And it doesn't matter what happens in the U.S.A. Korea has done it already.

I wouldn't disagree with that. Japan took this game very seriously - but obviously they weren't hungry enough.

I think what Ichiro said was that he wanted to fashion a result that the Koreans would remember for 30 years. He certainly did that, but not in the way he meant. The real test will be the next game - a one off win means nothing (otherwise we would put Panama on the same level as the USA!).

That was a fantastic match. The great catch in right field totally reversed the momentum and Japan looked shaky from there on in.

The teams are well matched, so either team can win in a one off match.

Looking forward to the rematch in Anaheim which hopefully Japan will win.

Do you think it was the differant balls that caused Watanabe to hit three batters?

I have to admit that three seems a bit much to be pure pitching mistakes, and I don't mean to hint that Watanabe was going after them. I think that perhaps the ball did slip out of his hand. He has voiced his complaints before, and perhaps this is what he was talking about.

By the way, the comment about the absurdity of the bunt (it mentions Koshien in there), that was me. I don't want people to think that it was some newbie being rash. Instead it's a semi-regular who regularly gets his points proven wrong. But I still stand by it. It doesn't matter who called it, it was a stupid call. It caught us all off-guard, and it still didn't work. Furthermore, it was at the bottom of the order where speed isn't exactly in surplus.

Seems like more excuses like with the Australian baseball team. Why always blame the manager? Blame the players. Maybe the Japanese players aren't as good as you keep telling us.

- Seems like more excuses like with the Australian baseball team.

What excuses?

A one run game means that the two teams were equally matched. Korea doesn't have the depth of Japan, but the top level players match up nicely.

Who here has been touting that Team Japan is that much superior to Team Korea?

Thank the Lord that Canada beat the United States. Nothing could have made me happier. Don't get me wrong, I have nothing against the American team.

This just shows that one win does not make the winning team "better" than the losing team. If there is anybody who argues that the Canadian team was superior to the American team, they are insane. Let USA play Canada in a 10 game series, and I'll put money on the Americans (even with their current team) winning 8 of the 10 games.

Same with the Japanese. Yes, the Korean team won, but that does not make them the better team. In a 10 game series, Japan would probably beat Korea 7 or 8 times out of 10.

The only thing that people can do (and rightfully so) is to criticize Ichiro for trash talking the way he did. To me, it was unprofessional and uncalled for (something you would never hear from Japan's favorite son, Hideki Matsui).

I was surprised by the bunt decision, but it is a thing that a lot of Japanese managers favour. I myself have never thought it is that useful and wastes an out. However, it is usually a manager's decision to bunt.

Interestingly, the victory record in Japan/Korea clashes is very much in the favour of Korea - I believe they lead Japan 8 victories to 3, suggesting that they are better able to fashion a team at a national level.

I also don't see that discussing the reasons for the defeat is making excuses. If people want to do so that is fine. However, it is good to maintain a sense of perspective about things and the Australian victories were due to a better team playing like a third rate team against a second rate team. This variability cannot be planned for but is what makes sport so exciting.

I wonder what Joe Morgan thinks of Korea beating USA.

Team Korea outplayed both offensively and defensively against the guys that are payed at least 20 times more. I wouldn't be surprised if Team Korea wins the tournament now. They face Japan tomorrow. Interesting to see if they repeat what they have done in Tokyo Dome.

So according to Ichiro's logic, does this make Japan 60 years behind Korea? Hahaha. j/k

I knew Korea was going to suprise some people in the WBC, but never thought this much!

DAEHANMINGGUK!

It's nice that the Korean fans were so into it, but I couldn't help thinking they care less about baseball and more about showing up Japan. Talk about some bandwagon jumpers after Korea beat the USA.

Talk about sweet revenge. How ironic was it that Lee Jong-Beom, a complete bust in Japan, gets the game-winning hit against Japan in the WBC? He must've loved handing Japan their butts on a silver platter yesterday.

Japan beat themselves. They allowed 2 middle-of-the-road Korean pitchers, Chan Ho Park and B.K. Kim, to completely shut them down. Japan's offense was truly offensive. I couldn't bear to watch the game.

Now it's more evident than ever that Japan needed guys like H. Matsui and K. Johjima in their lineup.

Bandwagon jumpers? Koreans are just very nationalistic. They have supported Korea throughout the whole WBC. Just as they support their soccer team in the World Cup, the fans are very passionate.

Now, if this game was held in, say, Oklahoma City, there would be less fans. But the fact that the games have been held in LA (next to Koreatown), that explains why there have been 20,000 plus fans at all the games Korea plays in. Bitter huh? DAEHANMINGGUK!

I think it's more about supporting a Korean team on an international level with large media exposure. I don't know how you can call them bandwagon jumpers when this is the first tournament of its kind, and even prior to the defeat of the USA team there were a lot of Korean supporters in the stands. Luckily Anaheim has a large population of them.

I found this Ichiro picture. [Enjoy Japan] ^^

There's a huge Korean population in Los Angeles, so it's no surprise that an undefeated Korean team would bring out a lot of supporters.

As a Korean, I can vouch for the fact that we'll cheer for anything Korean at a world-class level: baseball, marathon running, archery, whatever. It's not like we get that many chances to play with the big boys. When we win, it's definitely something to celebrate.

Even with the 2 wins over Japan, I know intellectually that Japanese Yakyu is still superior overall. But winning over superior teams like Japan and the United States still feels good.

Korea's having an amazing tournament, congratulations. And interestingly, the Korean players who played in Japan are playing a big part. Would be interesting to see a Korea-DR or Korea-Cuba final (though, Japan's hopes are barely alive right now as Mexico leads the U.S. in the final round 2 game).

Japan has one more shot at Korea, and they are going down. It's as simple as that.

Korea is hot, no doubt about it. But Japan lost both games to South Korea by 1 run each so far. And one run games are unpredictable, often dependent upon luck, a lucky bounce here, etc. So, I see the teams as being evenly matched. Oh better not use Fukudome though, he's ice cold.

A-O-KI! I'd like to see either him or Kinjoh get the nod ahead of Fukudome. Fukudome's proven that he is nowhere near his peak condition. Aoki has the speed over Kinjoh, but Kinjoh's defense and lack of Ks should give him the start.

Also, is Iwamura's hamstring still keeping him from playing? If so, I guess that means Imae is starting. Hopefully if he does start, he'll have his act together and stop swinging at garbage pitches.

I don't mind Koreans being happy for their team's excellent play, but there was some of the really bad-spirited super-b.s.-patriotism at the second game by the Korean fans there; too many of them wanted to win rather than enjoy the game. Feelings of inferiority, I do believe; Japanese fans (and players) were like that, by all accounts, twenty (even fewer) years ago.

The man-on-street interviews in Korea and Japan show the same contrast (although the commentaters in Japan do not), with Koreans espousing patriotic drivel ("Japan couldn't beat us in 100 games!" "We'll beat Japan 10-0 this time!) compared to enthusiatic but mild "Go Japan!" comments ("I think Uehara will win it for us." "We won't to lose three in a row.")

Even a dash of nationalistic hatred (the World Cup Korea fans were kind of scary in their nationalistic fervor) spoils any event. It will be nice when that misguided type of Korean fans don't feel inferior, since neither they nor their team are - not at all.

It's a very Korean thing. I've heard some crazy things about Korean music fans and even video game fans. They just take it way too far sometimes. The good thing is that they can be very fickle, hence the small burst of Korean "guests" on the site who replied to my post. Personally, I don't think my post was offensive at all. It was the truth. I don't think anyone, other than a Korean in denial, thinks that most people in the stands for Korea vs. Japan are true baseball fans.

You just don't boo Ichiro like that. He is a living legend, and even if he said what he said, it really doesn't give them the right to boo him like that. It just ruins Japan-Korea relations even further, because those idiots in the stands don't realize their booing is broadcast to millions of Japanese people.

I'd actually call Korean reaction to the two wins straight up arrogance. The bottom line is that they won both contests by a combined total of two runs due to Japan's bats not nearly hitting to their full potential. Also, their legends in Koo Dae Sung and Lee Seung Yeop were pretty average in NPB and probably will be mediocre in MLB. The announcers on ESPN are all over Lee's jock, but as a Lotte fan, I know what he's capable of. He'd hit a couple homers in his first week, then the pitchers will start pitching him down and away like they did to Norihiro Nakamura. He'd be lucky to stay on the top team. He's just not a complete strike zone batter like Johjima, Matsunaka, Godzilla, Ogasawara, etc.

Japan's bats need to come through on Saturday and shut these people up until the next time with a convincing win. I love how they hate Ichiro for being arrogant, but yet they come back 10 times more arrogant after winning. Karma came back to bite the USA, and it needs to do the same for Korea.

Speaking of karma, a Korean pitcher was just busted for doping and has been suspended from international competition for two years. Let's see how many more come out positive.

I just wanted to add, if Japan's MLB'ers would have played, they most likely would have beaten Korea.

Yeah, and I've heard some crazy things about Japanese fans <rolls eyes>. Assumptions from hearsay are wonderful.

You don't boo Ichiro? It's a game. You can boo whoever you want. Bonds gets boo'ed everytime he walks up to bat.

Arrogance? No more arrogant than saying Japanese baseball is 30 years ahead of Korea and Taiwan?

- Yeah, and I've heard some crazy things about Japanese fans <rolls eyes>.

What are they? And please provide the source.

Actually, they (Korean fans) were not just booing Ichiro, but the Japanese flag as well. If you were at the game you would know that everytime the Japanese flag was shown on the big monitor thousands of Koreans would be booing. Just a game? I think they took it a little beyond just a game.

- I don't mind Koreans being happy for their team's excellent play, but there was some of the really bad-spirited super-b.s.-patriotism at the second game by the Korean fans there; too many of them wanted to win rather than enjoy the game.

So you do mind when koreans are happy?

Yeah, I hate when fans want their team to win. What are they thinking?

- It's nice that the Korean fans were so into it, but I couldn't help thinking they care less about baseball and more about showing up Japan.

This is a matchup with a lot of history involved, you should have known the fans were going to be in to it the way they were, it was expected. As for the overall fan attitude, I find nothing wrong with the Korean fans.

- You just don't boo Ichiro like that. He is a living legend, and even if he said what he said, it really doesn't give them the right to boo him like that. It just ruins Japan-Korea relations even further, because those idiots in the stands don't realize their booing is broadcast to millions of Japanese people.

Players are going to get booed, regardless of who they are, it's just a fact of baseball. It doesn't neccessarily mean they think he's a bad player, it's just normal baseball attitude at a game. Even I boo other players who are good at baseball games, it's part of the game attitude. I don't think they're a bad player, it's part of the game.

- I'd actually call Korean reaction to the two wins straight up arrogance. The bottom line is that they won both contests by a combined total of two runs due to Japan's bats not nearly hitting to their full potential. Also, their legends in Koo Dae Sung and Lee Seung Yeop were pretty average in NPB and probably will be mediocre in MLB.

I call this tidbit, arrogant. It doesn't matter how they won the game, my goodness. How hard is it to say Korea has played well and recogonize this? Why must there be so much complaining over Korea's good play?

We don't need to say that this player is going to be mediocore when Korea wins a game, I say the same thing about Japan, too. Plus, Seung Yeop Lee has never played in the majors yet, so it's completely unfair to say what he would do there. I mean he has hit major league pitching very well in this tournament, so who knows? I prefer not to try and judge Lee until he plays in the majors.

So far in the game, it's a rain delay and Japan is leading 6-0. Just totally destroyed BK Kim.

Must give my props to Japan for having such an up and down tourney, then coming back to finally take out their frustration on Korea. Despite, the fact that it's not looking so good for Korea, I'm still happy about their showing in the WBC. I think Korea has proven that they have caught up to Japanese baseball. May not have the individual players, but as a team.

I thought the Korean players went WAY overboard when Jae Seo planted the Korean flag on the mound after the second Korean win. Could you imagine the uproar if an American team did that if the WBC were held in Japan or Korea? I'm sorry but that is nationalism on steroids. They really, really wanted to rub it in. Of course, the Korean soccer team did the same type of action against the Americans when they mocked Apollo Ohno who they thought had cheated to win the gold.

I knew once Fukudome's blast cleared the right field wall, it was over. Japan had finally cracked the code, so to speak. BJ Kim is a major league punk (both literally and figuratively). I knew the second he gave up the homer that Kim - the same guy who flipped the bird to Boston fans - would nail Ogasawara. In a 2-0 game, that is really, really stupid.

Also, Joe Morgan got in a crack at the back-up third baseman who rolled the ball at Ichiro at the end of the inning with Japan up 6-0. Morgan said "it's kind of like the guy in football who really hits a receiver and celebrates and the receiver's team is up 31-0."

Congratulations to Korea for playing error-free baseball in some very intense games. However, some of their antics were a bit sophmoric in my opinion.

- However, some of their antics were a bit sophmoric in my opinion.

I would say about sophmoric as Ichiro's comments about Japanese baseball being 30 years ahead of the other Asian countries (Taiwan/Korea).

But it's the truth, and until Korea produces a guy who can get the single season record in hits or pitch a perfect game at Coors Field, Korea can't claim to be at Japan's level.

Sample size is simply too small to make that claim.

If given a chance Choi and Seo can be great players. It's unfortunate that they're always mismanaged and riding the bench. But maybe they'll merely be productive, like Godzilla and Iguchi, instead of spectacular.

None of the Koreans who made it to the majors so far have captivated the audience and set records like Nomo and Ichiro.

- But it's the truth, and until Korea produces a guy who can get the single season record in hits or pitch a perfect game at Coors Field, Korea can't claim to be at Japan's level.

Again, the sample size is still way too small to make that claim. Plus, Jae Seo has been pretty good, and Chan Ho Park was pretty good in the '90s. Yes, while no Korean major leaguer has make an impact like Ichiro or Nomo, there really haven't been enought either.

Let's congratulate Korea on a well done WBC, and let this go. In the words of the Beatles, "let it be."

- But it's the truth, and until Korea produces a guy who can get the single season record in hits or pitch a perfect game at Coors Field, Korea can't claim to be at Japan's level.

So that qualifies as "having made it"? So until Japanese baseball has a player that can outlast Cal Ripken, bat .400, etc., it can not claim to be at the USA's level?

Well, Kinugasa already made it to Ripken level, and Ichiro batted almost .390 in his last year in Japan.

- Well, Kinugasa already made it to Ripken level, and Ichiro batted almost .390 in his last year in Japan.

But not in the MLB, in which your original quote was about. I don't think Japanese baseball is 30 years ahead of Korean baseball, or even Taiepi.

Like I explained earlier the Koreans did not just boo Ichiro, but the Japanese flag as well. Everytime the Japanese flag was shown on the monitor in Anaheim, you would hear thousands of Korean fans booing.