Japan??????

[Cubano100%]

I am a fan of Japanese baseball but I always thought that Korea was underrated and Japan overrated. This tournament has proven me correct. I am still waiting for Japan to win a big tournament with its Professional players.

[aarond23]

I think Korea has just caught lightning in a bottle here...Chan Ho Park and Byung Hung Kim have both had some success in the majors until recently and they have a few other players on the fringes of the majors.....I think they have definitely played above expectations which is to be expected from a team in a short tournament like that.

But outside of a few players they haven't gotten much offense. The team they have scored the most runs on besides China has been the US with the shaky arm of Dontrelle Willis and the monster bat of Hee Seop Choi.

[laee3]

Yeah It was a good game.

[Cubano100%]

There are some teams that do not live to the expectations such as the Braves, Cubs with all the good young arms they have, Boston and Japan. They do not win when it counts.

[aarond23]

I agree laee3 the Koreans have been the best team in the tournament at 6-0 but most of their games have been close besides the China and US games. That was my only point is they haven't been 'dominant' in the WBC but they have been the best team.

Korea is a favorite to go to the finals definitely.

[Cubano100%]

I remember Ichiro talking a lot.:radio

[laee3]

yeah seriously... Being oriental, I really respected Ichiro as a baseball player and what he has acomplished, but I lost all my respect ever since he started talk big when the tournament started.... and go KOREA!

[Shoeless]

1 What did Ichiro say? I saw a Korean sign (in English) in the crowd, something about Ichiro and thirty years, and a reference to Korea's first-round win.

2 Congratulations to Korea for fighting out a tough game, especially when their long-term interest would be better served by letting Japan win that one (to remove U.S.A. from the finals).

3 Did you see that Japanese starter's arm angle? From center field camera, his hand actually disappeared behind the mound!!

4 No disrespect to Korea (see point #2), but this was a game decided by the pitch count rule. There's no way the Japanese starter Watanabe would have been taken out in a normal game. It was the relievers who coughed it up.


Oh well...all I can say now is "Go Mexico!"

[efin98]

I am a fan of Japanese baseball but I always thought that Korea was underrated and Japan overrated. This tournament has proven me correct. I am still waiting for Japan to win a big tournament with its Professional players.

Korea has one of the best pitchers in the tournament, the overall best slugger, biggest scoring average(I think), only undefeated team...all signs appear to point towards a championship!

[efin98]

1 What did Ichiro say? I saw a Korean sign (in English) in the crowd, something about Ichiro and thirty years, and a reference to Korea's first-round win.

The jist of it is that he said that Korea was at least that far behind the Japanese.

3 Did you see that Japanese starter's arm angle? From center field camera, his hand actually disappeared behind the mound!!

Was that one of the "double action"(I think) type of pitchers? What I mean by that is that they start, then stop, then throw the ball which in turn throws the hitters' timing off...

[AznInvasion]

I can't agree more that Korea has been the best team. Even though they don't have the same caliber of talent as some other teams. (DR, Venezuela, etc.) It really shows that teamwork can overcome just about anything. A lot of their teamwork has to be attributed to most of the korean players knowing one another from various teams and 5 of them attended the same high school.

P.S.
Cubano100% the braves statement is killing me...even though its mostly true.

[Shoeless]

Was that one of the "double action"(I think) type of pitchers? What I mean by that is that they start, then stop, then throw the ball which in turn throws the hitters' timing off...

Wouldn't that be illegal? Or does that part of the balk rule only apply to the pitcher's feet?

About the thirty years comment: if progress is measured by having a guy in the Majors, then Murakami (1965) vs. Chan Ho Park (1996? Don't quote me) is about right!

Uh oh...I'll never get kimchi in this town again!

[Williamsburg2599]

[QUOTE=efin98]The jist of it is that he said that Korea was at least that far behind the Japanese.


Does did he mean it as a country as a whole or baseball-wise?

[efin98]

[QUOTE=kckid2599]

The jist of it is that he said that Korea was at least that far behind the Japanese.


Does did he mean it as a country as a whole or baseball-wise?

Only baseball-wise.

[efin98]

Wouldn't that be illegal? Or does that part of the balk rule only apply to the pitcher's feet?

I am not sure how it was explained, but I believe as long as he is still in motion and doesn't stop, it's not a balk. The rule doesn't say that he can't slow down and then speed up, just that there has to be continual motion.