Wbc

[OregonDuck1989]

I said some of the biggest, not THE biggest. And The Dutch over DR is comparable to the USA over the USSR

Not in the slightest.

This USSR team vs. a bunch of US college kids they had beaten 10-0 that very same year?

Dutch over DR is not even close to US over USSR.

The USSR was the best hockey team in the world...the DR is a flawed team.

[RedsoxRockies]

Not in the slightest.

This USSR team vs. a bunch of US college kids they had beaten 10-0 that very same year?

Dutch over DR is not even close to US over USSR.

The USSR was the best hockey team in the world...the DR is a flawed team.

The US hockey team had more experience then the Dutch team.

[eggson27]

Bye-bye, Canada

[OregonDuck1989]

The US hockey team had more experience then the Dutch team.

IN what? The NHL...no they didn't. Olympic play? No they didn't. This USA team had no experience as a team, in the olympics, or anything past playing college hockey.

[OregonDuck1989]

South Africa is falling apart

[dps]

They kept it close a lot longer than I thought that they could.

[dps]

Got really ugly the last couple of innings didn't it.

[200tang]

If the WBC is teaching us anything then it would be that just because a team is full of major league players doesn't make it an unbeatable team (USA/DR/etc..). A lot of people just write teams off because they haven't heard of any of the players which seems pretty foolish. We all assume that the major league is the center of all good baseball talent, but I'm glad the WBC can let me watch good players who I won't be able to see on a regular basis.

[actionjackson]

Canada has to be disappointed with this performance

Oh yes, oh yes. However, I think the furthest this team could've been expected to go was Miami, where they would've been annihilated. The pitching on this team is just not good enough. The entire 13 man pitching staff has a little over 500 innings of major league experience and the man with the second most, Mike Johnson (218.0 IP), last pitched in the big leagues in 2001. I think the only one you could say is an absolute lock-down current 25-man roster pitcher is Jesse Crain and he has more than half of the big league innings on this roster at 262.1 and is a reliever.

Canada has the lowest number of big league innings in this pool at 515.1. Italy has 829.1 and the 3 pitchers that were made to look like Cy Young by our feeble bats last night have more combined big league innings than our entire roster (574.2 to 515.1). As for the other teams: 5 US pitchers have more big league innings than our entire roster (Oswalt, Lilly, Peavy, Hawkins, and Scot Shields) and 3 Venezuelan pitchers have more (Silva, Zambrano and Felix Hernandez). Are big league innings everything? No, but it certainly can't hurt to have some big league pitchers on a roster you're hoping to go deep into a tournament with.

Obviously, you hope your bats can steal you a game or two, but the lack of experience on the mound was bound to catch up with us sooner (unfortunately in this case) or later. You're not going to run the table in a tournament like this with that kind of weakness at that vital a position. Disappointed? Yes. Surprised to lose to Italy? Yes. Surprised not to make it out of the 1st round? Not really, especially after having a chance to look at how thin our pitching really was. However full marks to Italia for their great hustle and awesome defensive plays (3B Liddi and CF Denorfia in particular).

What really pisses me off about last night's game was the absolutely pathetic attendance. I did my part, I showed up for the USA/Canada and Italy/Canada games. I was pleased with Saturday's 42,314 attendance, but 12,411 for an elimination game involving your own country in a stadium that seats 49,539? WTF? The only other comparably sized stadium in this first round is the Tokyo Dome and they got crowds of 43,428, 45,640, and 42,879 when host Japan was playing and three crowds in the 12,000s when they were not. So, going into last night's game Torontonians had nothing to hang their heads about, but after last night's game I'm not sure the WBC should come back here. I don't think we've earned it. I suppose other Torontonians stayed home to watch their beloved Maple Leafs take on the Ottawa Senators in an epic battle...for the right to improve their lottery position so they can have a shot at drafting wunderkind John Tavares. Nothing like March hockey between two teams that have greater motivation to lose than to win. Pathetic f***n puckheads. This f***n town isn't a major f***n sports town it's a f***n Toronto f***n Maple Leafs town and just WTF have they done in the last 40 f***n years to warrant such f***n affection? Sweet f**k all. What a f***n embarassment. What a traveshamockery. Oh, and would somebody please remove that f***n catwalk before it plays havoc with the MLB season? Please? This is the first time I've seen it. Why the f**k was it even f***n put there in the first f***n place? This is the f***n major leagues for f***s sake. Ok...rant over...calming down...blood pressure returning to normal.

[OregonDuck1989]

Go Italy beat Venezuela

[RedsoxRockies]

Go Italy beat Venezuela

Not looking good at all..............

[DarthJaker]

Goodbye Italy and Canda!!!!!

[RedsoxRockies]

Dutch Win!!!

[OregonDuck1989]

Goodbye Dominican!

Go Aussie

[Pavelb1]

Assuming they get there...I'd love to see Cuba in Miami. What a circus that would be.