WBC Final: Post-Game Blurb

I missed the final game of the World Baseball Classic last night, but I didn't fret because I knew I could listen to the archived webcast of the game while I worked today (multitasking is a wonderful thing). The trick was to avoid hearing the results before hearing the game, which was surprisingly easy to do because sportscasters were more interested in reporting on Paul Tagliabue (his new title is Former NFL Commissioner), Terrell Owens (he's a Dallas problem now) and March Madness (an annual event involving brackets, betting and something called basketball).

• plan to listen to all four hours of the game on your own and don't want to read the results;
• don't want to read about baseball;
• need practice averting your eyes.

• curious to know the results;
• interested in reading about baseball;
• really, really bored;
• incapable of averting your eyes.

Where was I? Oh, yes. I'm elated that Japan won. I had an inkling they would, especially after Cuba made two pitching changes and Japan scored four runs in the top of the first inning. Cuba's starter threw 24 pitches, recorded one out and loaded the bases before the manager pulled him. Before the game ended, eight pitchers had taken the mound for Team Cuba.

Japan won by playing "small ball", a term I loathe for a style of baseball I love. "Small ball" refers to the offense overwhelming the opposition with a string of walks, bunts, singles, stolen bases, double steals, hit-and-runs, run-and-hits and squeeze plays to score runs.

While the small ball requires contributions from many players to succeed, the two that stand out most in my mind are Ichiro Suzuki and Nobuhiko Matsunaka. The two of them accounted for five of Japan's ten hits and six of the team's ten runs.

Just so I have it written somewhere, the final score was Japan 10, Cuba 6.

The next WBC (if there is a next one) will be in 2009. I hope more nations will participate. I also hope the organizers will improve the tournament and develop, amongst other things, a better round robin system that won't rely on complicated (and convoluted) rules to settle ties.

The regular season begins in less than twelve days. I'm looking forward to it.