Late Night at the WBC

[bhss89]

Anyone else here staying up late for the tape delay CT-Korea game? First pitch will be at 1:30a here in southern IN. Guess I should skip the Miller High Life Light and opt for coffee instead . . . or I could take a power nap and wake up for the game.
Decisions, decisions, . . . to tape or not to tape? I suppose that since it's already tape delayed that taping it wouldn't break any cardinal rules about being baseball-obsessed?

[Gamingboy]

I'm probably simply gonna go to bed early, wake up, catch the tail end of the CT-SK game and then catch as much of the LIVE Japan-China game until I have to go.

[bhss89]

I'm probably simply gonna go to bed early, wake up, catch the tail end of the CT-SK game and then catch as much of the LIVE Japan-China game until I have to go.

Oh yeah, I forgot to factor in the ET listed. That means that CT-Korea is at 12:30 and Japan-China is at 3:30a. It's gonna be a marathon, but I think I can do it.

[efin98]

The good thing is it's only for a few days that the "late night" games will be put on, thankfully they move east after the 5th(6th here).

[Gamingboy]

I ended up not watching the first game (CT v. SK), but I did see a good portion of the Sino-Japanese Game. Although the crowd wasn't that big (15,000+ since it was a school night in Tokyo and, quite frankly, everybody could've guessed the outcome before going), you would've thought it was full house with some of the chanting when Ichiro came up.

[bhss89]

I enjoyed the CT-SK game. China has a loooong way to go. Their pitchers (very young) were topping out at 78, 79, 80 max. I'm curious if their government will stick with it long enough to develop any players? Goodness knows they've the $ to put into a sport if they choose to.

The guy they were calling the "Chinese Ichiro" was at about a JuCo or DIII level! Not even close to Suzuki. You could tell that he and his less experienced teammates are truly still learning the game.

I agree with a post in another thread - this should be a tournament with fewer teams. There is simply no need for China, SA, Netherlands, or Italy to participate. I know, it's for the good of the game; we're "growing" the game on an international level. Whatever. Let's see some decent ball being played. The aforementioned teams need to have established domestic leagues that are worth something before they can field a team that even hopes to compete. And . . . the bottom line is . . . baseball just may not be a game that transfers globally the wall the football (soccer) and basketball do . . . and there's no crime in that. Americans don't really spend a lot of time/money trying to get into the world cricket scene, yet it is enjoyed by more people on the planet than any sport other than football (soccer).

Here's hoping tonight's Nippon-CT game is a good one.

[efin98]

Here's hoping tonight's Nippon-CT game is a good one.

They are playing for something now compared to the other two games, the winner gets the higher seed in the next round. This will be the first true test for the WBC...

[Gamingboy]

They are playing for something now compared to the other two games, the winner gets the higher seed in the next round. This will be the first true test for the WBC...

What it is this:

The No. 1 seed from this pool will, in the next pool, automatically have home field advantage whenever it is playing a number 2 seed. When a No. 1 faces a no.1, they have already have had coin flips.

[efin98]

What it is this:

The No. 1 seed from this pool will, in the next pool, automatically have home field advantage whenever it is playing a number 2 seed. When a No. 1 faces a no.1, they have already have had coin flips.

That's what I figured. Basically just who bats first.

[Redondos]

I agree with a post in another thread - this should be a tournament with fewer teams. There is simply no need for China, SA, Netherlands, or Italy to participate. I know, it's for the good of the game; we're "growing" the game on an international level. Whatever. Let's see some decent ball being played. The aforementioned teams need to have established domestic leagues that are worth something before they can field a team that even hopes to compete. And . . . the bottom line is . . . baseball just may not be a game that transfers globally the wall the football (soccer) and basketball do . . . and there's no crime in that. Americans don't really spend a lot of time/money trying to get into the world cricket scene, yet it is enjoyed by more people on the planet than any sport other than football (soccer).

Well, if someone said the WBC should have fewer teams, I'm going to play the devil's advocate on that one.

So what if some of the early round games are less than competitive? The same is true of the World Cup. It doesn't diminish from the tournament in any way.

As far as the argument that the WBC should have fewer teams for the sake of being able to see "decent ball being played," well, how in the world do you expect to see any kind of improvement from the countries with fledgling programs if they are not given the opportunity to compete with the best? Improvement does not occur in a vacuum. These teams will get better at a faster rate the more they are exposed to a higher level of play. Anyone who doesn't understand that has probably never played in any form of competitive athletics.

True, it may never equal the international popularity of football/soccer. But just because it may never be the world's #1 sport doesn't mean that baseball shouldn't make an effort to promote itself globally and to go beyond its established territories. I'm glad that we have people (like Tom Lasorda) who is able to see the bigger picture.

[efin98]

Well, if someone said the WBC should have fewer teams, I'm going to play the devil's advocate on that one.

So what if some of the early round games are less than competitive? The same is true of the World Cup. It doesn't diminish from the tournament in any way.

Even if they are "less than competitive" they are still competitive. There isn't anything better than real game workouts for the "good" teams and something to play for for "bubble" teams. The more the teams play they better they acually get- they build unity and strength, they get to know each other's abilities and work around their weaknesses.

As far as the argument that the WBC should have fewer teams for the sake of being able to see "decent ball being played," well, how in the world do you expect to see any kind of improvement from the countries with fledgling programs if they are not given the opportunity to compete with the best? Improvement does not occur in a vacuum. These teams will get better at a faster rate the more they are exposed to a higher level of play. Anyone who doesn't understand that has probably never played in any form of competitive athletics.

A look at the China-Chinese Taipei game, two teams with nothing to play for except pride, makes that point. China was getting their butts kicked yet played hard until the last pitch, trying to get at least a nonmercy-ruled game or even a victory. Same for the Taipei team, they piled on despite knowing they were eliminated just to make a point. Playing is the only way to improve, every team out there knows that and every team showed that.

[MudvilleMike]

I agree with a post in another thread - this should be a tournament with fewer teams. There is simply no need for China, SA, Netherlands, or Italy to participate.

You can always just skip those games while those of us who want to see teams like the Netherlands can enjoy ourselves.