WBC: Japan Defeats Mexico

You're correct about the tie-breaker scenario, westbaystars.

Here is a fleshing out of possible scenarios:

If Korea wins, then Korea and the USA will advance, provided that Team USA beats Mexico on Thursday.

If Japan wins by no more than 7 runs, then Japan and Korea will advance.

If Japan wins by 8 runs or more, then Japan and the USA will advance, again provided that Team USA beats Mexico on Thursday.

Japan and Korea play today, the 15th, at 10:00.

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It's a tough situation for me. I'm an American, and I'm loyal to America and Team USA. But, on the other hand, I hate what happened to Team Japan on Sunday. And all along I wanted to see Japan go as far as possible.

It's really a stupid pooling system that's being used in the tournament - instead of random pooling the tournament has been set up so that it's impossible for Team USA to play Team Japan in the final. It's predetermined that the best North American or Asian team will play the best Caribbean or South American team.

Also, there are several ways in which a non-Team USA final could prove to be healthy for the tournament itself. It could assure the other nations that the tournament is fair, and not rigged so that Team USA will win. It could also encourage the tournament organizers to change the timing of the event - one possible reason for Team USA's struggles could be a lack of preparedness due to the tournament taking place during spring training. One proposed solution is to hold the tournament during an extended MLB All-Star break.

So, ultimately, I hope that Japan wins. Unfortunately this will mean that, more than likely, Team USA will be eliminated.

Please see my follow up here regarding the possible scenarios. I don't think that's quite right.

Regarding the structure, though, I'd have thought that the first and second place teams in the first round would have been seeded at separate ends of the tree in the second round rather than be lumped together. That would prevent at least one, possibly two, rematchs before the finals of the tournament. Let's get more variety of matchups. My guess is that this was done so that the South Americans could all stick together for the first two/three rounds.

And speaking of South Americans, I thought that holding this tournament during Spring in the Norther Hemisphere works to the advantage of the Southern Hemisphere teams who are coming off their "Winter League" seasons. I'm cheering for Japan all the way, but if I were a betting man, I'd put money down on which ever South American team(s) makes it out of this round.

Fortunately (or unfortunately, depending on the side you're on), in a short series like this, anything can happen. No preconceived notions (like those expounded by Mr. Morgan) are likely to survive the series.

Many people reckon that the tournament was designed so that the U.S. gets to avoid the Latin American powerhouses until the finals. Kind of understandable considering that this is the first time for this tournament, and popularity and financial success in the States may be critical for future editions of WBC. But the U.S. may not make it into the semi-finals, let alone the finals, anyways.

It would've been preferable to see the four first round groups represented in each second round group, and a crossover semi-finals.

Yeah, bunching the first round groups together in the second round allowed better attendance and interest in PR, but I think this was a side effect, not the main reason.

Matsuzaka didn't give up the home run it was Yabuta.

Thanks for the correction.

Of those of you who saw the game, what were your impressions? Who stood out?

Like I said, I was at work and couldn't give the game my full attention.

I only caught the tape delay version that cut a ton of action. Thanks for the indirect insult, ESPN.

Anyway, Matsuzaka was great. He got into a couple pinches, but he turned it on. Only gave up a single hit. Towards the end, he was really starting to get into it and brought his fastball into the mid-90s regularly. The Mexicans couldn't do anything with it. The Matsuzaka legend continues.

Yabuta gave up that homer on a fast ball, then EVERYTHING after that was a fork. Mexico couldn't hit his breaking ball. It was a very smart move on his part. If they can't hit it, keep using it.

Otsuka wasn't as sharp as before, but was still very solid. Also, Satozaki should play full games at catcher from now on. He called a great game, and he hit the crucial home run to turn the tide. His bat is worth a lot more than Tanishige's defense. We can't afford to strike out anymore.

Iwamura's speed and defense were on display, as he turned a double play and stole third base. He also almost got an infield hit out of a routine grounder to second.

I feel that with mental strength, Tamura and Nishioka are the weakest members of the team. They seem to get easily flustered. Fukudome still fails to impress me, as well. Ichiro seems to be coming around. He should do a lot better against Korea this time.

Wada was impressive. He gave up a hit, but after that, retired all of the next six batters in a row.

Matsuzaka took team Japan on his shoulder when Nishioka committed a fatal error to allowed a runner advanced to third on a wild throw during the run down with only one out. After that play, Matsuzaka blew the rest of the opposition away with mid-90 mph fast balls, only with great locations. He is by far the best player for the game and team Japan. He reminds me of Pedro Martinez with the breaking pitch and the way he goes after hitters.

Again, I believe they will beat team Korea and advace to the final round with ease. And with the determination like the team Japan has, they will move on the the final round and my prediction is Dominican Republic VS. Japan for the title.

I have no idea why players like Takahashi Yoshinabu (Giants), and Abe (Giants) didn't partcipate in this? This is the greatest time to showcase their talent to come to the Majors.

Both are coming off of injuries. Yoshinobu isn't even playing in games and Abe has been pretty rusty.

I wasn't able to watch the game, but I listened to the live call on XM satellite radio while watching the Dominicana/Venezuela game on ESPN2.

While Satozaki's HR was great, I think the real credit for the win should go to Ogasawara's timely single which scored the first two runs. He's really been having a great WBC, too. Good hitting and great defense at first. It sounded like Satozaki's HR must have just cleared the wall, because Charley Steiner didn't call it gone until the very last moment.

I will mention some fun stuff from Steiner's call of the game. For those in the USA, he's one of the major radio play-by-play guys. I think he's calling for the LA Dodgers now, but he used to call for the Yankees.

Since the game was basically over after that 4th inning outburst, they went into "blowout commentary" mode - talking less about the game itself and touching on some other issues. The nice thing was they did talk about how the NPB teams were named, including Steiner giving a nice explanation that it's not the Nippon - Ham Fighters but rather then Nippon Ham - Fighters.

Unfortunately Steiner did not seem able to call a Japanese player's name the same twice in a row. He was all over the place on his pronunciation. I think Matsuzaka became Matsuzuku, Matazaka and many other variants throughout the game. The funniest situation was Iwamura. Steiner was really impressed with his defensive play at third, constantly commenting about how well he was playing. He butchered his name a few times, but it seemed like after a few calls he did settle down on Iwamura. Kevin Kennedy, the color commentator, mentioned that they had talked about Iwamura so much that Steiner had his name down. Then, one or two innings later, he makes another play and Steiner calls him "Irahara." Classic!

I can't wait for this Japan/Korea rematch.

- Stevie