Team USA stays alive to fight another day with a 9-3 win over The Netherlands, but in the process they lost Ryan Braun due to a sore left side.
Chipper Jones, Dustin Pedroia and now Ryan Braun. Dare we ask what's in the water?
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Showing posts with label Netherlands. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Netherlands. Show all posts
Sunday, March 15, 2009
Wednesday, March 11, 2009
WBC roundup - 3/10/09
What a night for The Netherlands and baseball world wide. Not only did the Honkballers advance to Pool 2, they bounced the heavily favored Major League-laden Dominican Republic 2-1 in come-from-behind fashion. A two-run rally against Dominican closer Carlos Marmol (I can hear Cubs fans trembling about the back end of their bullpen already) left DR standing and staring while the Dutch partied in San Juan, Puerto Rico. What a scene.
You can chalk this win up there with some of the better upsets of all time. The 1980 USA hockey team defeating the Soviets is still bigger (it led the USA to the gold medal game against the best team in hockey), but this is not too far off. The Dominican Republic is probably the second best collection of talent in baseball after Team USA. The soccer upset equivalent is possibly Senegal defeating defending champion France in the 2002 World Cup.
If the first Dutch upset of the DR was a fluke, this was at least a better fluke. Upsets do happen more often in baseball. Teams that win 100 games in MLB still lose 62, but The Netherlands' win only helps build interest and intrigue for future World Baseball Classic tournaments. It's huge.
In other action, Venezuela smoked Italy, 10-1. Venezuela is on to face the Americans for seeding purposes out of Pool C. Cuba struggled to get past Australia, which is another surprising team in this year's classic. The Cubans rallied with three late runs to squeeze by, 5-4. They're qualified for Pool 1 while Australia faces Mexico in order to move on.
You can chalk this win up there with some of the better upsets of all time. The 1980 USA hockey team defeating the Soviets is still bigger (it led the USA to the gold medal game against the best team in hockey), but this is not too far off. The Dominican Republic is probably the second best collection of talent in baseball after Team USA. The soccer upset equivalent is possibly Senegal defeating defending champion France in the 2002 World Cup.
If the first Dutch upset of the DR was a fluke, this was at least a better fluke. Upsets do happen more often in baseball. Teams that win 100 games in MLB still lose 62, but The Netherlands' win only helps build interest and intrigue for future World Baseball Classic tournaments. It's huge.
In other action, Venezuela smoked Italy, 10-1. Venezuela is on to face the Americans for seeding purposes out of Pool C. Cuba struggled to get past Australia, which is another surprising team in this year's classic. The Cubans rallied with three late runs to squeeze by, 5-4. They're qualified for Pool 1 while Australia faces Mexico in order to move on.
Saturday, March 7, 2009
Dutch Treat even with Dominican dominance on the hill
Quite the shocker in the WBC. The Dominican Republic fell to the Netherlands, 3-2, despite DR pitching staff holding the Netherlands to three hits. In fact, the Dutch team struggled to make solid contact, failing to record an extra base hit. Two first-inning errors led to a three-run first from which the Dominicans never recovered.
With Randall Simon and Gene Kingsale the only Dutch players in the starting lineup with significant MLB experience, DR pitchers mostly had their way. Edinson Volquez struggled with the strike zone at times, missing the zone with 21 of his 58 pitches. He still managed three strike outs in three innings.
Pedro Martinez looked better than Volquez, zipping 32 strikes on 40 pitches. He struck out four in three innings, giving up just one hit. There was no gun available in the telecast, but here's guessing this outing turned the heads of several scouts regardless of the velocity.
With Randall Simon and Gene Kingsale the only Dutch players in the starting lineup with significant MLB experience, DR pitchers mostly had their way. Edinson Volquez struggled with the strike zone at times, missing the zone with 21 of his 58 pitches. He still managed three strike outs in three innings.
Pedro Martinez looked better than Volquez, zipping 32 strikes on 40 pitches. He struck out four in three innings, giving up just one hit. There was no gun available in the telecast, but here's guessing this outing turned the heads of several scouts regardless of the velocity.
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