In what will undoubtedly go down as the greatest upset in the HISTORY of the WBC, today Canada defeated the USA 8-6.
Canada had an 8-0 lead but Jason Varitek helped an American comeback with a Grand Slam in the fifth. Still, Canada managed to hold off that indomitable American spirit fueling the comeback.
There is massive joy in the streets-cars are honking, strangers are hugging each other, people are crying tears of joy.
Anyone else hoping for South Africa to tag Clemens for 7 in the 1st? And, Boston needs to cut Adam Stern immediately. If he hangs onto the blooper with 2 outs in the 9th, A-Rod would have made the last out in yet another ignominious defeat.
Any complaints about the preceding post can be directed at the time traveling aliens who edited it.
I wasn't THAT surprised by the upset. Canada does have two pretty great players in Morneau and Bay and some other major league talent like Stairs and Coskie. I was actually more surprised by Korea beating Japan, although I don't know that much about Korea, maybe they are just better than I thought but after Japan won 18 - 2 and 14 - 3 i didn't expect Korea to go out and beat them.
I'm going to blame you for starting this. Just a heads up.
Man...after years of watching baseball, you'd think I'd learn not to give up on a game after coming in from work, turning it on, and seeing the score is 7-0...sounds like I missed some excitement.
TO BILL BRASKY!
My LiveJournal, where you can read tons of stuff that you don't give a crap about.
"Doubt f***s everything. Take a foundation, no matter how strong, sprinkle generously with doubt, and watch it crumble. Me? I'm unf***withable. Not this knee, not bad weather, and certainly not the many men that wish bad intentions on me can stop me. I rise up, not like a phoenix, but like the zombie corpse of Dick Murdoch. This brainbuster is for you." - C.M. Punk
Ok, I don't want to crap on Canada's parade, but this tournament is officially a joke. It really warms my heart that the Orioles stud prospect Adam Loewen had a great start, but come on now. This lineup of all-stars was facing a guy who pitched in single-A last year and couldn't score until the sixth. Our first and second relievers were Al Leiter and Gary Majewski! I'm as big a baseball fan as there is, but even I couldn't have picked Gary Majewski out of a crowd if he were wearing a sign that said "I'm Gary Majewski!"
This could actually get really ugly when we get to the DR, Venezuela, Japan, and Cuba. Yikes.
He's got that hand-waving deal. He can become INVISIBLE! This means MONEY, Dawg! - AWARulz on Cena.
I don't know that this a huge suprise. I doubt that the players are all that interested. Millionaires want to make money and I think there's precious few of them that are playing for their sport or for their country.
Plus it's early in spring training, which means the pitchers are far ahead of the hitters, as a rule (although there was plenty of hitting in this game).
I am not surprised. I think Venezuala is the class of this tourney. The DR lost too many players. Korea (with my man Hee Sop Choi) might be 3rd. Oh is playing old school Japanese ball, which may not make it in this era. We'll see. I'd like to see Taipai do well, but have no confidence there.
We'll be back right after order has been restored here in the Omni Center.
I'm not surprised that the US lost. Baseball is too unpredictable on a "single game" basis - if the Pirates beat the Cardinals in the first game of a three game series you don't hear talk of "upset" and if the Cardinals win the next two things are considered "normal".
I also agree with the ESPN.com article that said fans won't root on a national basis, but on a player basis. As a Cardinal fan I care about Pujols playing well and staying healthy more than I care about A-Rod playing well and winning.
I think AWA is spot on as well. I'd think that most players just want to stay healthy and protect their wallets. I also doubt that a player would slide hard to break up a double play that is being turned by one of his MLB teammates.
University of Kentucky basketball isn't a matter of life and death, it's much more important than that.
Originally posted by The GoonIn what will undoubtedly go down as the greatest upset in the HISTORY of the WBC, today Canada defeated the USA 8-6.
Canada had an 8-0 lead but Jason Varitek helped an American comeback with a Grand Slam in the fifth. Still, Canada managed to hold off that indomitable American spirit fueling the comeback.
There is massive joy in the streets-cars are honking, strangers are hugging each other, people are crying tears of joy.
"Do you believe in miracles?" Yes. Yes, I do.
I swear I read these exact words in the Canada/US thread on Fark.
Canada's got a weird lineup though. What do they have, 5 lefties in the batting order? Dontrelle and Al Leiter were the only guys who could pitch really, with such a lefty-dominant lineup. And they did not pitch well.
In the real world, WWE believes that no matter what our race, religious creed or ethnic background in America, we all share the common bond of being Americans. American-Arabs are a part of the fabric of America, and they should be embraced by all of us.
Team USA owes Team Canada pitcher Paul Francis a thank you. He allows 6 runs in 1 1/3 innings. Canada goes on to lose to Mexico 9 - 1. That means Team USA advances as long as they can beat South Africa.
The next round will be as follows: Pool 1: Korea, Japan, Mexico, and the United States (with a win). Pool 2: Cuba, Puerto Rico, the Dominican Republic, and Venezuela.
No real surprises there.
In the real world, WWE believes that no matter what our race, religious creed or ethnic background in America, we all share the common bond of being Americans. American-Arabs are a part of the fabric of America, and they should be embraced by all of us.
smark/net attack Advisory System Status is: Elevated (Holds; July 5, 2005) It's good to see that the WWE isn't backing away from Batista or Cena. There's still some questions lingering over a few of the draft moves they either made or didn't make (Jericho being a prime example), but the stage is set for a solid run to Summerslam that may send the indicator down. The longer Triple H stays away is also a plus...
Either the US got really, really angry or South Africa was really awful.
Oh go easy on the South Africa kids. Hell they've got high schoolers playing for them! At least they had the guts to put together a team and give it a run. And they almost beat Canada even!
Enough already! Here is the official rule from Major League Baseball: SAVES FOR RELIEF PITCHERS 10.20 Credit a pitcher with a save when he meets all three of the following conditions: (1) He is the finishing pitcher in a game won by his club; and (2)...