Try Not To Embarrass Us

**Unchained** · March 15th, 2009, 07:46 PM

Tonight on ESPN2 now USA-Netherlands with the loser going home. How in the hizell do you get mercy-ruled 11-1 by Puerto Rico? Terrible

**imported_Guest** · March 15th, 2009, 09:56 PM

Why does their jersey's say Nederlands?
Is that how it's actually spelled?

By the way isn't Puerto Rico the favorite to win it?

**Unchained** · March 15th, 2009, 10:02 PM

Originally Posted by imported_Guest

Why does their jersey's say Nederlands?
Is that how it's actually spelled?

By the way isn't Puerto Rico the favorite to win it?

Japan is the favorite to win it according to most with the U.S. finishing #2

**Unchained** · March 18th, 2009, 06:14 AM

Redemption on a bigger stage-Goodbye Puerto Rico!

MIAMI -- Hobbled and humbled in the World Baseball Classic, Team USA is still swinging.

David Wright sliced a two-run single that capped a three-run rally in the bottom of the ninth inning Tuesday night, and the injury-plagued Americans qualified for this weekend's semifinals with a 6-5 victory against Puerto Rico.

Wright's hit with one out eliminated Puerto Rico from the tournament.

"That situation is what you dream about when you're a kid," he said.

The Americans advanced to the next round at Dodger Stadium. It was an especially sweet victory after an embarrassment Saturday against Puerto Rico that triggered the mercy rule when the Americans fell 10 runs behind, ending the game in the seventh inning.

"Getting a crack at a team that embarrassed us a few days earlier, to have the resiliency to bounce back in the ninth and steal one from them was pretty big," Wright said.

This time the teams played a full nine, and the Americans saved their best for last in the 3-hour, 54-minute drama.

"They kept on the heat, and they didn't give up," Puerto Rican manager Jose Oquendo said.

Trailing 5-3, Team USA began its rally when Shane Victorino and Brian Roberts singled to the start the ninth against J.C. Romero (1-1). Derek Jeter flied out, Roberts stole second and Jimmy Rollins walked on a 3-2 pitch.

"We just had to string them together, and we were able to do that," Rollins said.

Fernando Cabrera came on to pitch, and he issued a bases-loaded walk to Kevin Youkilis.

Wright then lined a 2-1 pitch just inside the right-field line, raising his fist when the ball dropped in. The New York Mets star called the hit the biggest of his career.

"You're talking about representing the United States of America," he said. "You've got that across the front of your chest. To be able to get that hit, that's got to be right up there at the top of the list."

Wright was mobbed by teammates near second base after two runs scored.

"You're celebrating a game," Youkilis said. "You're celebrating a nation."

The rally came after the Americans stranded seven runners in scoring position in the first eight innings.

"We're taking this very seriously," Wright said. "This isn't an exhibition to us."

Team USA will play Venezuela in Miami's final game of round two Wednesday night to determine seedings for the semifinals.

The Americans will advance despite a recent wave of injuries that has sidelined infielders Dustin Pedroia and Chipper Jones and reliever Matt Lindstrom for the rest of the tournament. Left fielder Ryan Braun was also unavailable Tuesday with a sore right side, but he hopes to return this weekend.

Alex Rios homered and then singled home the go-ahead run in the sixth for the Puerto Ricans. They totaled only five hits, but three walks led to runs, and U.S. starter Ted Lilly gave up three runs on two home runs.

Carlos Delgado hit a two-run homer for the Puerto Ricans, and they broke a 3-3 tie in the sixth. Ivan Rodriguez led off with his third walk, took second on a surprise sacrifice by Carlos Beltran and scored on Rios' single.

Ramon Vazquez singled home the Puerto Ricans' final run in the ninth. Youkilis homered for Team USA.

"We were practically on the plane to Los Angeles," Delgado said. "When you have an opportunity like this to bring a championship to Puerto Rico, it's frustrating and emotional. But that's baseball."

Lilly gave up only two hits, but both were home runs, and he departed after 3 1/3 innings with the score 3-3. Jonathan Broxton (1-0) earned the victory despite allowing a run in the ninth, his lone inning.

Puerto Rican starter Jonathan Sanchez lasted only 2 2/3 innings. He allowed five hits and three runs.

Nifty baserunning by Wright put Team USA on the scoreboard in the second. He singled, stole second and took third on a single by Mark DeRosa. When Brian McCann flied out to left field, Wright tagged up and scored by eluding the catcher's tag with a headfirst slide.

Victorino followed with a two-out RBI single to put the Americans ahead 2-1. Youkilis was 3-for-19 in the tournament before he homered with two outs in the third, but Lilly failed to hold a 3-1 lead.

**Unchained** · March 18th, 2009, 06:23 AM

MIAMI -- See, they do care.

And maybe we care just a little bit, too.

Not only that, but maybe it's time to concede that this World Baseball Classic idea is worth hanging onto. Maybe it's time to work on fixing the parts of it that don't work, just so we can preserve the parts that do.

This is what works: A dogpile in the middle of the Dolphin Stadium infield, in the middle of March. A loser-goes-home game filled with great plays, and most of all, filled with passion.

Red, white and blue passion, for once.

"This game, it answered the question," Team USA catcher Brian McCann said, with the glow of Tuesday's dramatic 6-5 win over Puerto Rico still showing in his eyes. "This is special."

If USA continues to show it cares about the WBC, then maybe others will care, too. (AP)
It was a rough weekend for Team USA, and it was a rough weekend for the WBC. But all those problems that seemed to doom the team and the tournament sure seemed a little more fixable at about 11 o'clock Tuesday night.

No one who experienced this game was talking about strained obliques. No one who watched this celebration was thinking about "getting his work in."

No one at Dolphin Stadium Tuesday was thinking that baseball passion exists only for the Latin American countries.

"People who say it doesn't matter, I wish they would have seen our dugout," second baseman Brian Roberts said. "And we haven't even won it all yet."

They haven't won it all, but Tuesday's win put Team USA into the semifinals. The way they won could well put the tournament itself on another level.

The WBC won't succeed if the American public continues not to care. The WBC won't go on if American players continue to find reasons not to play.

But anyone who watched Tuesday night, or anyone who watches what are sure to be many replays, will have a little harder time not caring. Any player who saw it -- and many are sure to see replays on clubhouse televisions Wednesday morning -- couldn't help but want to be part of this event the next time.

"If you're a baseball fan, you had to enjoy this game," Derek Jeter said.

He's right. It was a great game, and it would have been great even without that three-run rally that won it for the Americans in the ninth.

The difference is that without the rally, it's a great game that gets forgotten in this country. The few who really care about the WBC would gripe about manager Davey Johnson's questionable decisions, and the rest of us would head back to spring training or on to the NCAA tournament.

What happened in the ninth inning might help change that. What happened in the ninth inning might help convince a skeptical public -- and a skeptical baseball establishment -- that the WBC is worth saving.

It probably should be noted that what happened in the ninth inning happened in large part because the island of Puerto Rico hasn't produced a true closer in recent years. Among pitchers born in Puerto Rico, the active pitcher with the most career saves is Kiko Calero -- and he only has seven.

So what? Let them dissect that in Puerto Rico. Let us recall the most important rally in Team USA history.

It began with a Shane Victorino single. Then a Roberts single. Then a Jeter fly ball that moved Victorino to third base.

Tying runs at first and third with Jimmy Rollins at the plate, and Johnson put the hold sign on for Roberts at first. Roberts, who had joined the team just two days before as an injury replacement, misread the sign and took off for second.

"From home plate, I was like, 'Oh my goodness!'" Rollins said. "He was so out. But [catcher Yadier] Molina handcuffed the second baseman, and he couldn't get the tag down. That was the difference between safe and out."

Was that the difference between winning and losing, between moving on and going home, between saving the WBC or letting it die?

Rollins thinks not.

"I guess at that point, I would have had to hit a home run," he said with a grin.

Instead, he battled J.C. Romero for an impressive walk. Fernando Cabrera walked Kevin Youkilis to force in a run. And then the David Wright single that won it, and the dogpile that defined it.

"You had Derek Jeter, who has won everything it's possible to win, dogpiling in March," McCann said.

You had Jeter on one side of Wright, and Youkilis on the other side. It was the Yankees, the Mets and the Red Sox, all together, just the way the marketing guys would have dreamed it up.

Incidentally, this tournament probably needs fewer marketing guys and more baseball guys. It needs a new schedule, one that looks more like a baseball schedule, with fewer off days. It needs to dump the meaningless games, like the useless seeding game that Team USA has to play against Venezuela Wednesday night.

What it needs most is nights like Tuesday, nights where we can all get the idea that it's going to be worth overcoming the obstacles.

On this night, at least, it felt worth it.

"That was the greatest game I've ever been a part of," McCann said.

The greatest game -- in March.

No, he certainly wasn't just getting his work in.

**R0cketer** · March 18th, 2009, 09:51 PM

I wasn't watching, but I was online and kept clicking refresh, because my internet hung up. When I refreshed and saw the score, I literally whooped out loud. Its not that great of a team but I do like that they battled and won that game. Shows some heart at least.

**1inStripes** · March 18th, 2009, 10:09 PM

Its not like they are playing Austria or something either though. PR has some quality ball players on that team. The US was hamstrung with only 2 position players healthy on the bench. Heck McCann played some leftfield the other night.