By:Dick Cooke
Both we and Japan have clinched spots in the medal round going into tonight's game, so we'll be playing for the No. 3 and 4 seeds. Tonight's winner plays Cuba; the loser gets Korea, who is undefeated.
3 p.m. - Scout meeting to review Japan. They have great pitching, great defense, speed in every spot in the order, but have not swung the bats very well in this tourney. They were the favorites coming in.
No one knows who will pitch, as both clubs will most likely throw a number of guys to prepare for the medal round. The dilemma we face is trying to win the game, but also not overextend pitchers so they are all available Friday.
We will start Trevor Cahill, and we decide to limit him to three innings or a 45 pitch maximum. Japan's best arm is a right-handed pitcher named Darvish, but the scouts doubt he will pitch tonight and will go in the medal round opener.
Laporta is still not 100 percent, nor is Nix, but both will take BP today. Once again we have 10 available positional players. Everyone is asking who we would rather play - Cuba or Korea, and it truly doesn't matter. We played both close in this tourney, so we'll take them as they come.
3:45 p.m. - Van to Wukesong. Later departure today, as we are the visitors so there will be less down time before the game.
5:20 - BP. We think they may throw a lefty, so I throw to the first group. We only have two groups of five hitting, since we're down two positional players.
After BP we spend time with Bob Costas, who has joined the NBC president, who is throwing out the first pitch. Costas is a great baseball fan and knows a lot about our team as minor leaguers in addition as to how we've done thus far.
7 p.m. - Surprise. Japan starts their ace Darvish, but he only goes two innings as a tune up. 94 mph fastball, 86 mph slider, change-up, split finger, strike thrower.
Their next two pitchers shut us down holding us to just two hits through 10, both of which are by Dexter Fowler. Cahill goes three scoreless for us and is followed by Cummings for two, Duensing for one, and Neal and Stevens for two.
We enter the 11th scoreless with five hits total between the teams. Here comes the dreaded IBAF tie breaker.
We start the 11th with, as expected, Donald and Fowler at first and second, and Barden at the plate - the same set-up we used against Cuba.
Everyone in the ballpark waits for the bunt by Barden. Davey lets him swing, and he drives a fastball up the middle to score Donald and move Fowler to third. Guts of a burglar.
By the time the inning ends, we have scored four and effectively taken away Japan's ability to bunt in the bottom half. Casey Weathers comes on for the 11th and strikes out the first hitter.
First and second, one out. Fly ball to center for the second out, as the runner advances to third. Base hit, and it's 4-1, runners on the corner.
Single to left, 4-2, runners at first and second, winning run at the plate. Passed ball, then an intentional walk to load the bases, tying run at second, winning run at first. Weathers throws an 0-1 86 mph slider and gets a pop-up to end it.
Good result, but still no one cares for the new format. It has come into play in at least five games in this tourney.
We're 5-2, we're tired, we're glad we won and now have Cuba at 6 p.m. Friday. Steven Strasburg on the mound.
Off day tomorrow and, with rain expected, Davey cancels our workout. It will be a long wait until Friday.
Thursday, August 21, 2008
Tuesday, August 19, 2008
With Victory over Chinese -Taipei, Team USA Clinches Medal Round Appearance
By: Dick Cooke
There is still a great deal of conversation regarding last night's game with China. Questions about Schierholtz's play at the plate, which replays show to be a good baseball play, and concern about Laporta. He has suffered a mild concussion from the pitch to the head and will be held out of today's game. China's pitcher was suspended for four games, and the team was fined a significant amount. China's catcher, who collided with Laporta earlier in the game, had ACL surgery today.
With Nix and Laporta both out, we will only have 10 positional players available tonight. No pinch-hitting, no pinch runners, no defensive moves.
2 p.m. - Scout meeting regarding Chinese-Taipei. A veteran club with speed at the top and bottom of the order and power in the 3-6 spots in the lineup. We will see a crafty four-pitch right-hander who will pound the strike zone.
3:15 p.m. - Van leaves for Wukesong.
4:35 p.m. - BP
After our BP and while Chinese-Taipei hits, Davey, Reggie and I talk about the different approach mechanically the Asian teams take to hitting. They both played in Japan near the end of their careers, and have been through the Asian approach of thousands and thousands of repetitions in everything they do.
Davey calls it a "quality control approach" and, while they both think it's too rigid at times, they feel there is some benefit. Davey says because they they have changed their diets and train different physically (more strength training), they are producing bigger/stronger hitters who have a disciplined swing with added power.
This is why more and more Asian players are showing up in the big leagues. They are difficult to pitch to, as they all appear to bail out, but they somehow do a great job fighting off pitches. Even the poor hitters do this. They do a wonderful job of using their hands and not opening their hips too soon.
Davey says they have begun to allow more individuality in their hitters, which he thinks is good. The basis of their approach mechanically, though, is very sound.
7 p.m. - First pitch. It's simple. We win; we're in the medal round. We lose, and we have to beat Japan tomorrow night.
Brandon Knight, who struggled in our opener, strikes out five in the first two innings and Hsu, the Chinese-Taipei starter is equally good with his four pitch mix. 83-85 mph fastballs, 75 mph change-ups, sliders, curve balls...
He strikes out the side in the first, and has our guys baffled into the fifth. Change-up after change-up, and then he beats our guys inside with fastballs that are 84, but look 94. No offense through four.
A leadoff double against Knight in the fifth, and a sac bunt puts a runner at third with one out. Davey plays the infield in, which is unusual for him this early in the game. He clearly feels it will be a low scoring affair. A groundball gets past Matt Brown at first, and we trail 1-0.
Dexter Fowler is in center tonight and hitting ninth. He has struggled at the plate and in the leadoff spot in this tournament, but is in there tonight since Laporta is sidelined. He leads off our half of the fifth with a triple to right center, his second hit of the game.
Brian Barden makes a great adjustment from his two earlier at-bats and drives a change-up to right center to tie it at one. We can't get Barden home, and we're tied going into the sixth.
John Gall leads off our half of the sixth with a home run to left to make it 2-1. Lou Marson walks, Jason Donald bunts him to second, and Fowler comes up big again with a flare double down the left field line to put us up 3-1.
But Chinese-Taipei isn't finished, as shortstop Lin leads off the seventh with a long home run to make it 3-2 .
After a hard hit groundball for an out, Knight gives way to Mike Koplove. Knight was very good tonight using his four pitches well. In his first start against Korea, he threw first pitch fastballs to the first 17 hitters of the game, which allowed them to settle in and prevented him from getting a good feel for his off-speed stuff, which is typically very good. His slider is his out pitch, his curveball is a good "get me over" pitch, and he can run his fastball up to 92 when needed. A good outing tonight for the veteran. 6.2 innings, five hits, one earned run.
Koplove is a cross-fire, submarine/sidearmer with a decent amount of big-league time. He retires the first two hitters he faces, then throws a 1-2-3 eighth.
In the bottom of the eighth, we get a big insurance run on a one-out single by Jason Donald on a very tough slider low and away. He scores Gall, who had led off with a double.
Kevin Jepson comes on to pitch the ninth, as he has established himself as our closer. It has taken some time to figure out exactly who would fill the closer's role, as we have a number of pitchers who do or can do that task. Stevens, Neal, Weathers, Jepson, Koplove...
The back end of the bullpen wasn't great early in the tourney, but Jepson has been good every time out and is his most impressive tonight. He throws 12 pitches, 10 for strikes, no fastball under 94, gets a strikeout and two ground balls, and we wrap it up 4-2. The medal round is now a reality.
Ed Lynch, the former GM of the Cubs and one of the guys who helped put this club together, tells Jepson after the game "The next stop for you, young man, is the big leagues." We hope to have one or two more chances to use him here.
Everyone has one more game but Korea, who beat Cuba today, is undefeated and the No. 1 seed, Cuba is No. 2, and we play Japan to determine No. 3 and 4. If we win, we play Cuba on Friday, if we lose we play Korea.
We will shift the pitching rotation a bit and bump Trevor Cahill forward to pitch against Japan, and we will use Steven Strasburg and Brett Anderson in that order in the medal round.
Susan and the girls were at our game tonight and right in the middle of a full house of Chinese-Taipei fans chanting back and forth across the stadium the entire game. Team handball, synchronized swimming and volleyball for them tomorrow, and they hope for a trip to the Great Wall on the 21st. They are tired...
There is still a great deal of conversation regarding last night's game with China. Questions about Schierholtz's play at the plate, which replays show to be a good baseball play, and concern about Laporta. He has suffered a mild concussion from the pitch to the head and will be held out of today's game. China's pitcher was suspended for four games, and the team was fined a significant amount. China's catcher, who collided with Laporta earlier in the game, had ACL surgery today.
With Nix and Laporta both out, we will only have 10 positional players available tonight. No pinch-hitting, no pinch runners, no defensive moves.
2 p.m. - Scout meeting regarding Chinese-Taipei. A veteran club with speed at the top and bottom of the order and power in the 3-6 spots in the lineup. We will see a crafty four-pitch right-hander who will pound the strike zone.
3:15 p.m. - Van leaves for Wukesong.
4:35 p.m. - BP
After our BP and while Chinese-Taipei hits, Davey, Reggie and I talk about the different approach mechanically the Asian teams take to hitting. They both played in Japan near the end of their careers, and have been through the Asian approach of thousands and thousands of repetitions in everything they do.
Davey calls it a "quality control approach" and, while they both think it's too rigid at times, they feel there is some benefit. Davey says because they they have changed their diets and train different physically (more strength training), they are producing bigger/stronger hitters who have a disciplined swing with added power.
This is why more and more Asian players are showing up in the big leagues. They are difficult to pitch to, as they all appear to bail out, but they somehow do a great job fighting off pitches. Even the poor hitters do this. They do a wonderful job of using their hands and not opening their hips too soon.
Davey says they have begun to allow more individuality in their hitters, which he thinks is good. The basis of their approach mechanically, though, is very sound.
7 p.m. - First pitch. It's simple. We win; we're in the medal round. We lose, and we have to beat Japan tomorrow night.
Brandon Knight, who struggled in our opener, strikes out five in the first two innings and Hsu, the Chinese-Taipei starter is equally good with his four pitch mix. 83-85 mph fastballs, 75 mph change-ups, sliders, curve balls...
He strikes out the side in the first, and has our guys baffled into the fifth. Change-up after change-up, and then he beats our guys inside with fastballs that are 84, but look 94. No offense through four.
A leadoff double against Knight in the fifth, and a sac bunt puts a runner at third with one out. Davey plays the infield in, which is unusual for him this early in the game. He clearly feels it will be a low scoring affair. A groundball gets past Matt Brown at first, and we trail 1-0.
Dexter Fowler is in center tonight and hitting ninth. He has struggled at the plate and in the leadoff spot in this tournament, but is in there tonight since Laporta is sidelined. He leads off our half of the fifth with a triple to right center, his second hit of the game.
Brian Barden makes a great adjustment from his two earlier at-bats and drives a change-up to right center to tie it at one. We can't get Barden home, and we're tied going into the sixth.
John Gall leads off our half of the sixth with a home run to left to make it 2-1. Lou Marson walks, Jason Donald bunts him to second, and Fowler comes up big again with a flare double down the left field line to put us up 3-1.
But Chinese-Taipei isn't finished, as shortstop Lin leads off the seventh with a long home run to make it 3-2 .
After a hard hit groundball for an out, Knight gives way to Mike Koplove. Knight was very good tonight using his four pitches well. In his first start against Korea, he threw first pitch fastballs to the first 17 hitters of the game, which allowed them to settle in and prevented him from getting a good feel for his off-speed stuff, which is typically very good. His slider is his out pitch, his curveball is a good "get me over" pitch, and he can run his fastball up to 92 when needed. A good outing tonight for the veteran. 6.2 innings, five hits, one earned run.
Koplove is a cross-fire, submarine/sidearmer with a decent amount of big-league time. He retires the first two hitters he faces, then throws a 1-2-3 eighth.
In the bottom of the eighth, we get a big insurance run on a one-out single by Jason Donald on a very tough slider low and away. He scores Gall, who had led off with a double.
Kevin Jepson comes on to pitch the ninth, as he has established himself as our closer. It has taken some time to figure out exactly who would fill the closer's role, as we have a number of pitchers who do or can do that task. Stevens, Neal, Weathers, Jepson, Koplove...
The back end of the bullpen wasn't great early in the tourney, but Jepson has been good every time out and is his most impressive tonight. He throws 12 pitches, 10 for strikes, no fastball under 94, gets a strikeout and two ground balls, and we wrap it up 4-2. The medal round is now a reality.
Ed Lynch, the former GM of the Cubs and one of the guys who helped put this club together, tells Jepson after the game "The next stop for you, young man, is the big leagues." We hope to have one or two more chances to use him here.
Everyone has one more game but Korea, who beat Cuba today, is undefeated and the No. 1 seed, Cuba is No. 2, and we play Japan to determine No. 3 and 4. If we win, we play Cuba on Friday, if we lose we play Korea.
We will shift the pitching rotation a bit and bump Trevor Cahill forward to pitch against Japan, and we will use Steven Strasburg and Brett Anderson in that order in the medal round.
Susan and the girls were at our game tonight and right in the middle of a full house of Chinese-Taipei fans chanting back and forth across the stadium the entire game. Team handball, synchronized swimming and volleyball for them tomorrow, and they hope for a trip to the Great Wall on the 21st. They are tired...
Monday, August 18, 2008
Ejections and Hospitalizations, as Tempers Flare in Team USA's 9-1 win over China
By: Dick Cooke
9 a.m. - The Cooke family heads to the Forbidden City, which is at the northern part of Tiananmen Square. As we enter, a Chinese woman asks us if we would like a tour guide. We contemplate the offer ($35 US) and decide to take her up on it. She is a travel agent who does this on certain days. She becomes our personal guide for two hours and does a great job. It's an amazing place, and her English is good enough that we're able to understand most of the history she shares about the Forbidden City, Tiananmen, Chinese dynasties, etc.
We head back to the hotel as we have our scout meeting at 2, and Susan and the girls are heading to their first Olympic competition - weight lifting - which begins at 3:30.
2 - Scout meeting about China. Carl Moesche of the Major League Scouting Bureau presents the information on China. We receive all of this info. prior to the meeting either by email or hard copy, so the meeting moves quickly.
We've played them twice here, and we know they should struggle offensively, but they have two or three decent pitchers who can keep them in the game. They have played well in this tournament and are now a dangerous team to play in what is a critical game for us.
After Moesche finishes, Davey meets with the coaches to talk about the lineup. He and I had talked at length in the morning, and there maybe a couple of adjustments made as he searches for what he thinks is the right combination.
3:15 p.m. - Van to the stadium. As is the case everey day, we exit the van, the van is searched, and we walk through the security check point. They check everything thoroughly each day and, as time has moved on, they have become more timely in getting us through so we can get to the locker room.
4:15 - Stretch.
4:35 - BP. This is the first normal pre-game routine we've had since the opener, and our first night game since then. Our players show a ton of energy in BP; all of the infielders get a ton of groundballs and make more throws across the diamond than normal, and it just feels right to be in a normal pre-game rhythm.
7 p.m. - USA 9, China 1.
Apparently no game we play will lack in drama. Jake Arrieta starts for us and gives us six solid innings in his first appearance since we were in Cary. His command is spotty at times, but he allows only two hits and throws 94 pitches. Lach was hoping for five innings, so this helps our bullpen.
It's a 1-0 game until the fifth. Their starter has done a nice job pounding our hitters inside with 83-85 mph fastballs, and he doesn't make any mistakes over the plate. He tires in the fifth, and John Gall hits a big two-out bloop double off of the China reliever to make it 2-0.
Laporta walks to make it first and second, and Taylor Teagarden laces a ball into the right field corner. Gall scores, and Eck waves Laporta home. The catcher has the ball as Laporta arrives; he lowers his shoulder; there's a collision; the catcher holds on to the ball - safe.
We're not sure how, but the umpire determines LaPorta was never tagged. Replays later show he may have been correct. The catcher leaves with a knee injury, and we take a 4-0 into the sixth.
Now the fireworks pick up. Runners at second and third, 0 outs. Tiffee lofts a shallow flyball to center field; Schierholtz tags at third. Schierholtz takes off; the throw is on line, but inexplicably cut off by the pitcher. The pitcher turns to throw to the plate, and as the catcher waits for the throw, Schierholtz knocks him into the next county. He's safe; the ball goes to the backstop, and the benches begin to clear. Clean play when the catcher doesn't have the ball? Depends who you talk to.
Their manager Jim Levebvre is ejected; order is restored, and we end the inning up 5-0. In the eighth, Laporta is at the plate, and the count is 0-2. They go up and in, and he gets hit in the head. They've tried to pitch inside all night, but given what happened two innings ago, tempers flare. Laporta is down; the docs tend to him. The China pitching coach - former big leaguer Steve Ontiveros - is ejected and Davey is furious.
The game finishes without incident; the teams shake hands, and Laporta goes to the hospital.
We're all exhausted when we get back to the hotel, and now it's time to think about Chinese Taipei. We win, and we clinch a spot in the medal round. If we lose we would have to beat Japan. Seiler and company will get little sleep tonight.
9 a.m. - The Cooke family heads to the Forbidden City, which is at the northern part of Tiananmen Square. As we enter, a Chinese woman asks us if we would like a tour guide. We contemplate the offer ($35 US) and decide to take her up on it. She is a travel agent who does this on certain days. She becomes our personal guide for two hours and does a great job. It's an amazing place, and her English is good enough that we're able to understand most of the history she shares about the Forbidden City, Tiananmen, Chinese dynasties, etc.
We head back to the hotel as we have our scout meeting at 2, and Susan and the girls are heading to their first Olympic competition - weight lifting - which begins at 3:30.
2 - Scout meeting about China. Carl Moesche of the Major League Scouting Bureau presents the information on China. We receive all of this info. prior to the meeting either by email or hard copy, so the meeting moves quickly.
We've played them twice here, and we know they should struggle offensively, but they have two or three decent pitchers who can keep them in the game. They have played well in this tournament and are now a dangerous team to play in what is a critical game for us.
After Moesche finishes, Davey meets with the coaches to talk about the lineup. He and I had talked at length in the morning, and there maybe a couple of adjustments made as he searches for what he thinks is the right combination.
3:15 p.m. - Van to the stadium. As is the case everey day, we exit the van, the van is searched, and we walk through the security check point. They check everything thoroughly each day and, as time has moved on, they have become more timely in getting us through so we can get to the locker room.
4:15 - Stretch.
4:35 - BP. This is the first normal pre-game routine we've had since the opener, and our first night game since then. Our players show a ton of energy in BP; all of the infielders get a ton of groundballs and make more throws across the diamond than normal, and it just feels right to be in a normal pre-game rhythm.
7 p.m. - USA 9, China 1.
Apparently no game we play will lack in drama. Jake Arrieta starts for us and gives us six solid innings in his first appearance since we were in Cary. His command is spotty at times, but he allows only two hits and throws 94 pitches. Lach was hoping for five innings, so this helps our bullpen.
It's a 1-0 game until the fifth. Their starter has done a nice job pounding our hitters inside with 83-85 mph fastballs, and he doesn't make any mistakes over the plate. He tires in the fifth, and John Gall hits a big two-out bloop double off of the China reliever to make it 2-0.
Laporta walks to make it first and second, and Taylor Teagarden laces a ball into the right field corner. Gall scores, and Eck waves Laporta home. The catcher has the ball as Laporta arrives; he lowers his shoulder; there's a collision; the catcher holds on to the ball - safe.
We're not sure how, but the umpire determines LaPorta was never tagged. Replays later show he may have been correct. The catcher leaves with a knee injury, and we take a 4-0 into the sixth.
Now the fireworks pick up. Runners at second and third, 0 outs. Tiffee lofts a shallow flyball to center field; Schierholtz tags at third. Schierholtz takes off; the throw is on line, but inexplicably cut off by the pitcher. The pitcher turns to throw to the plate, and as the catcher waits for the throw, Schierholtz knocks him into the next county. He's safe; the ball goes to the backstop, and the benches begin to clear. Clean play when the catcher doesn't have the ball? Depends who you talk to.
Their manager Jim Levebvre is ejected; order is restored, and we end the inning up 5-0. In the eighth, Laporta is at the plate, and the count is 0-2. They go up and in, and he gets hit in the head. They've tried to pitch inside all night, but given what happened two innings ago, tempers flare. Laporta is down; the docs tend to him. The China pitching coach - former big leaguer Steve Ontiveros - is ejected and Davey is furious.
The game finishes without incident; the teams shake hands, and Laporta goes to the hospital.
We're all exhausted when we get back to the hotel, and now it's time to think about Chinese Taipei. We win, and we clinch a spot in the medal round. If we lose we would have to beat Japan. Seiler and company will get little sleep tonight.
Sunday, August 17, 2008
A Day Off with the Cooke Family
By: Dick Cooke
Day off today. Strasburg does a bullpen in the morning, but other than that, our guys stay away from the field. Tonight Korea and China will finish their suspended game from the other day with the score 0-0 in the 6th.
11 a.m. - Blundell and I head to the Olympic Village and Olympic Common area to take in the sights. Tons and tons of people are here today arriving at and leaving venues. We get to the Water Cube not too long after Michael Phelps has finished his last competition, and there are hundreds of media waiting at the athlete bus for him. We have to do our best LaDainian Tomlinson impression to get through the crowd.
5 p.m. - The Cooke family arrives safely at the hotel. Other than the long flight, it was a painless day of travel. After dinner, we hit Tiananmen Square, and it is spectacluar in its lighting. People are everywhere walking around the square. No vendors or cheap souvenir stands to run the effect. We get a lot of looks and smiles as I carry eight-year-old Erin on my shoulders around the square.
10 p.m. - The family collapses and I go to the Anheuser Busch House with Blundell and security guy LeRoy Hendricks. It's a place for athletes, coaches and staff from all countries to hang out and is open every other night during the Games. It's a nice opportunity for the athletes to get out of the village. It has sort of an MTV feel to it with a red carpet area for the famous to stroll across. We walked in a different way...
I have a brief conversation with Carl Lewis, and apparently, Michael Phelps was in the house but we did not spot him.
China tomorrow night at 7 p.m. They lost the completion of the suspended game 1-0 in 11 innings. They have played very well in the tournament, and we must focus on this game and not get ahead of ourselves.
Cuba and Korea are undefeated, Japan and the USA have two losses, Canada, China, Taipei and the Netherlands have three losses. Everyone has three games remaining in the first round.
Today was the end of the relaxing days for quite a while.
Day off today. Strasburg does a bullpen in the morning, but other than that, our guys stay away from the field. Tonight Korea and China will finish their suspended game from the other day with the score 0-0 in the 6th.
11 a.m. - Blundell and I head to the Olympic Village and Olympic Common area to take in the sights. Tons and tons of people are here today arriving at and leaving venues. We get to the Water Cube not too long after Michael Phelps has finished his last competition, and there are hundreds of media waiting at the athlete bus for him. We have to do our best LaDainian Tomlinson impression to get through the crowd.
5 p.m. - The Cooke family arrives safely at the hotel. Other than the long flight, it was a painless day of travel. After dinner, we hit Tiananmen Square, and it is spectacluar in its lighting. People are everywhere walking around the square. No vendors or cheap souvenir stands to run the effect. We get a lot of looks and smiles as I carry eight-year-old Erin on my shoulders around the square.
10 p.m. - The family collapses and I go to the Anheuser Busch House with Blundell and security guy LeRoy Hendricks. It's a place for athletes, coaches and staff from all countries to hang out and is open every other night during the Games. It's a nice opportunity for the athletes to get out of the village. It has sort of an MTV feel to it with a red carpet area for the famous to stroll across. We walked in a different way...
I have a brief conversation with Carl Lewis, and apparently, Michael Phelps was in the house but we did not spot him.
China tomorrow night at 7 p.m. They lost the completion of the suspended game 1-0 in 11 innings. They have played very well in the tournament, and we must focus on this game and not get ahead of ourselves.
Cuba and Korea are undefeated, Japan and the USA have two losses, Canada, China, Taipei and the Netherlands have three losses. Everyone has three games remaining in the first round.
Today was the end of the relaxing days for quite a while.
Saturday, August 16, 2008
Team USA Evens Record, Downs Canada, 5-4
By: Dick Cooke
Phew. USA 5, Canada 4.
Perfect weather again, and the sun was shining just a bit brighter after a come-from-behind, nail-biter against the Canadians.
We passed on our scout meeting today, due to how early our game was (10:30), and the fact the scouts were out at games until late last night. Info. was passed on to the coaches via email, plus we had just played them four times in North Carolina before heading over here.
8:30 a.m. - Van leaves for the Wukesong Baseball complex.
9 a.m. - BP in the cages again. Canada is starting a right-hander, so I get Hessman and Barden. Some hitters take the day off from BP.
Hessman is still nursing the bruised heel, although it's better, and he has been given the go-ahead to play from Dr. Mattalino. Davey will use him only if needed in a pinch-hit situation.
Barden has already hit off of Roly, but likes swinging against me as well, as I can keep balls on the outside half of the plate to help him drive the ball the other way.
10:30 a.m. - Another big crowd, as lefty Brett Anderson takes the mound for us facing the Canadian line-up of eight left-handed hitters. It should be a great match-up for us, as Anderson is arguably our best starter and a projected front-of-the-rotation big leaguer.
But today he's not sharp, and Canada jumps out 4-0 after four. Anderson struggles throughout, and afterwards Lach says he's convinced Anderson pitched too much to the scouting report and got away from his strengths.
Pitchers often do this when they have too much information about hitters. When he faced Canada in ,Durham we knew nothing about their hitters, he trusted his stuff and dominated. He does get into the sixth, though, and then Davey brings in lefty Brian Duensing with two outs and a runner on.
Duensing is a starter in Triple-A for the Twins and started our gold medal game versus Cuba in the World Cup last November, but now serves as our lefty out of the pen. This may ultimately be his role when he gets to the big leagues.
Brian Barden puts us on the board in the fourth with a solo homer to right field (see BP...); we tie it at four on a double by Barden off of former big leaguer Chris Reitsma, and then we take the lead on a double by Tyler Tiffee in the seventh.
Duensing breezes into the ninth, but gives up a one-out single to the No. 8 hitter. He strikes out the No. 9 guy then faces USA nemesis Stubby Clapp with two outs and the tying run on first.
On a 3-2 slider, Clapp hooks the ball down the right field line, and the ball lands a good 3-4 inches foul. Tie game if it's fair.
Duensing returns to his fast ball, and Clapp hits the 89 mph pitch on the button but right at left fielder LaPorta to end the game.
A great job by our guys at the plate from the middle innings on, and a stellar job by Duensing. Three and a third innings of scoreless relief.
We're 2-2 now with a day off tomorrow and then China, Chinese Taipei and Japan to complete the first round. We don't think we can stumble again if we want to get to the medal round.
Jayson Nix had surgery after yesterday's game to close the huge gash over his left eye. The surgery went well, and he actually spent the night in the village in the room of one of our docs. He's out for the tourney, although he thinks he could play in a few days if we're still in it. The medical staff is not quite as optimistic. Without Nix we have 11 positional players with Hessman still not 100 percent. We're a bit limited in moves we can make.
The Cooke family arrives tomorrow, if all of their travel plans go according to plan. I went to the CoSport office this afternoon to pick up tickets that they had purchased to other Olympic events.
Using the perk of being on a USA staff, I had a driver take me to the CoSport office - which is on the opposite side of the city - in a USOC van which allowed us to travel in the "Olympic lane" and avoid the stop and go traffic which is the norm here. Had I taken a cab we would have been in that traffic and, if it were like most of the cab rides we've had here, gotten lost.
Phew. USA 5, Canada 4.
Perfect weather again, and the sun was shining just a bit brighter after a come-from-behind, nail-biter against the Canadians.
We passed on our scout meeting today, due to how early our game was (10:30), and the fact the scouts were out at games until late last night. Info. was passed on to the coaches via email, plus we had just played them four times in North Carolina before heading over here.
8:30 a.m. - Van leaves for the Wukesong Baseball complex.
9 a.m. - BP in the cages again. Canada is starting a right-hander, so I get Hessman and Barden. Some hitters take the day off from BP.
Hessman is still nursing the bruised heel, although it's better, and he has been given the go-ahead to play from Dr. Mattalino. Davey will use him only if needed in a pinch-hit situation.
Barden has already hit off of Roly, but likes swinging against me as well, as I can keep balls on the outside half of the plate to help him drive the ball the other way.
10:30 a.m. - Another big crowd, as lefty Brett Anderson takes the mound for us facing the Canadian line-up of eight left-handed hitters. It should be a great match-up for us, as Anderson is arguably our best starter and a projected front-of-the-rotation big leaguer.
But today he's not sharp, and Canada jumps out 4-0 after four. Anderson struggles throughout, and afterwards Lach says he's convinced Anderson pitched too much to the scouting report and got away from his strengths.
Pitchers often do this when they have too much information about hitters. When he faced Canada in ,Durham we knew nothing about their hitters, he trusted his stuff and dominated. He does get into the sixth, though, and then Davey brings in lefty Brian Duensing with two outs and a runner on.
Duensing is a starter in Triple-A for the Twins and started our gold medal game versus Cuba in the World Cup last November, but now serves as our lefty out of the pen. This may ultimately be his role when he gets to the big leagues.
Brian Barden puts us on the board in the fourth with a solo homer to right field (see BP...); we tie it at four on a double by Barden off of former big leaguer Chris Reitsma, and then we take the lead on a double by Tyler Tiffee in the seventh.
Duensing breezes into the ninth, but gives up a one-out single to the No. 8 hitter. He strikes out the No. 9 guy then faces USA nemesis Stubby Clapp with two outs and the tying run on first.
On a 3-2 slider, Clapp hooks the ball down the right field line, and the ball lands a good 3-4 inches foul. Tie game if it's fair.
Duensing returns to his fast ball, and Clapp hits the 89 mph pitch on the button but right at left fielder LaPorta to end the game.
A great job by our guys at the plate from the middle innings on, and a stellar job by Duensing. Three and a third innings of scoreless relief.
We're 2-2 now with a day off tomorrow and then China, Chinese Taipei and Japan to complete the first round. We don't think we can stumble again if we want to get to the medal round.
Jayson Nix had surgery after yesterday's game to close the huge gash over his left eye. The surgery went well, and he actually spent the night in the village in the room of one of our docs. He's out for the tourney, although he thinks he could play in a few days if we're still in it. The medical staff is not quite as optimistic. Without Nix we have 11 positional players with Hessman still not 100 percent. We're a bit limited in moves we can make.
The Cooke family arrives tomorrow, if all of their travel plans go according to plan. I went to the CoSport office this afternoon to pick up tickets that they had purchased to other Olympic events.
Using the perk of being on a USA staff, I had a driver take me to the CoSport office - which is on the opposite side of the city - in a USOC van which allowed us to travel in the "Olympic lane" and avoid the stop and go traffic which is the norm here. Had I taken a cab we would have been in that traffic and, if it were like most of the cab rides we've had here, gotten lost.
Friday, August 15, 2008
Team USA Loses Another Strange one, 5-4 to Cuba, Behind International Tie-Breaker
By: Dick Cooke
I'll start this entry by saying today was the best weather we've had yet. Yesterday's rain cleared the air, and we discovered that there are mountains just west of the city. A spectacular day - blue skies, 82 degrees, low humidity.
Now, for this next part, the baseball purists/traditionalists who may be reading this perhaps may want to stop here and skip the rest of today's entry, as I will now explain the new International Baseball Federation (IBAF) tie-breaker format, which has been implemented for this Olympics. It came into play in two games today, ours being one of them. Here goes.
In the interest of having baseball (and softball) games end in a timely fashion, a tie-breaker format has been implemented in extra innings. If the score is tied after 10 innings, then each team begins the 11th with runners on first and second and no one out. Each manager chooses who will be the first hitter, then the two hitters preceding him in the line-up go to first and second. You start every additional inning the same way. Whenever one team outscores the other in an inning, the game is over. When we were together at the All-Star game in July, we heard this was being considered, but none of us thought that there was any way it would be approved.
Back to the day.
9 a.m. - We meet with the scouts to talk about Cuba, who we know well. This is the eighth game versus Cuba over the years for me, and a good number of these players have been on this team since my first USA team in 1999.
We beat them in November in the World Cup final; we beat them in Havana in the Olympic Qualifier final in 2006, and every game has been memorable in some way. We know what to expect. Aggressive offensively, great pitching, players who run, power, great defense, a veteran catcher - a major-league caliber team. They play a very slow pace and try to intimidate umpires and lesser opponents.
10 a.m. - Van leaves for the ballpark. Today is our first game in the main stadium.
10:30 a.m. - BP in the cages. Davey has decided to hit in the cages for each of these morning games to allow the players to leave from the village a little later. I throw to Barden, Hessman, who is nursing a bruised heel, and Fowler who wants to get some right-handed swings.
11:30 a.m. - First pitch. It's a beautiful stadium, which holds about 10,000. The bleachers down each foul line are full, and the outfield bleachers are fairly packed as well. Probably 5,000 or 6,000 here for the game, including a good contingent of Cuban and USA fans.
Trevor Cahill starts for us and struggles in the first. A leadoff walk followed by a double and, by the end of the inning, it's 2-0 Cuba.
Cahill knocks down a hard come-backer with the bases loaded to get a force at the plate and that proves to be a big play. If he doesn't get a glove on it, it is up the middle for two more runs. There were two marginal pitches to the first hitter, which were called low for balls, and Cahill appeared to be bothered by the calls and become tentative as he is a sinker-baller and needs the low strike.
He battled his fastball command all day; his velocity was not where it usually is, his off-speed stuff was spotty, but he leaves after five having allowed only those two first inning runs. Four walks, three strikeouts, six hits, 94 pitches. He survives, and keeps us in the game.
In the fourth, we make it 2-1 on doubles by Tiffee and Schierholtz, and tie it on a bloop double down the left field line by John Gall. Jeremy Cummings comes on to pitch for us in the sixth, and veteran Cuban right-hander Luis Lazo come on for Cuba. Lazo has been with the team forever and is a talented, confident veteran. Cummings does a nice job but gives up a long home run to Cuban designated hitter Despaigne in the eighth. 3-2 Cuba.
Lazo has been untouchable. He is simply a very big man. Picture David Ortiz on the mound with some athleticism. Lazo could be 35 or 45 years old. He used to run it up to 95-97 with a devastating split finger. Now he's "dropped" down to 89-93 and throws 70 percent sliders. He varies speeds on his fastball and his slider; he changes arm angles, and he pounds the strike zone.
We can't touch him and have a bunch of bad swings but, in the bottom of the eighth, Jayson Nix hits a hanging 1-0 slider into the left-field bleachers to tie it at three. Great at-bat.
Mike Jepson comes on to pitch for us in the ninth. It's still tied as we go to extra innings, and Cuba hits a leadoff triple in the 10th off of Jepson, but he strikes out two and gets a ground out to keep the game tied. Teagarden gets hit to lead off the tenth for us. Donald sacrifices him to second base, but Fowler flies out, and Nix pops out to end the threat. Top of the 11th.
Now it's time to try-out the new tie-breaking format. Feel free to leave the room...
Cuba starts with their lead-off hitter at the plate, and their eight and nine-hole hitters at second and first base, respectively. Jeff Stevens is on to pitch for us.
As expected, Cuban center fielder Giorbis Duvergel sacrifices them to second and third. Michel Enriquez lines the first pitch to him, just past the glove of first baseman Tyler Tiffee, and Cuba leads 5-3. Alexander Mayeta grounds into a double play, and we head to the bottom of the 11th.
We have to score two to extend the game. We start with Jayson Nix at the plate, and Jason Donald at second and Dexter Fowler at first, our two best runners.
Nix squares to bunt; the pitch runs in on him, hits his barrel, and goes straight into his face, catching him just above the left eye. Lazo is on from the mound gesturing, and, while Nix eventually leaves under his own power, it looks bad. He'll go to the hospital for overnight observation.
Brian Barden steps in for Nix and successfully bunts the runners to second and third. Tyler Tiffee just misses a hanging slider and hits a long fly ball to center field, which scores Donald. Fowler advances to third. 5-4 Cuba, two outs.
Matt Brown swings at a first pitch slider and pops it straight up to catcher Pestano. Game over. Lazo goes six; hope you like the new format. It's a confused clubhouse at best. We're not sure how to react to losing that way, but we are aware we are now 1-2 with our hands full and down one positional player.
Through 10 innings it was a very, very good baseball game. Another re-group moment is upon us as we have Canada tomorrow at 10:30. They lost 7-6 to Cuba last night. Lefty Brett Anderson on the mound for us.
This evening it's back to Tiananmen Square with Roly, Blundell and security guys Joe Chan and LeRoy Hendricks.
I'll start this entry by saying today was the best weather we've had yet. Yesterday's rain cleared the air, and we discovered that there are mountains just west of the city. A spectacular day - blue skies, 82 degrees, low humidity.
Now, for this next part, the baseball purists/traditionalists who may be reading this perhaps may want to stop here and skip the rest of today's entry, as I will now explain the new International Baseball Federation (IBAF) tie-breaker format, which has been implemented for this Olympics. It came into play in two games today, ours being one of them. Here goes.
In the interest of having baseball (and softball) games end in a timely fashion, a tie-breaker format has been implemented in extra innings. If the score is tied after 10 innings, then each team begins the 11th with runners on first and second and no one out. Each manager chooses who will be the first hitter, then the two hitters preceding him in the line-up go to first and second. You start every additional inning the same way. Whenever one team outscores the other in an inning, the game is over. When we were together at the All-Star game in July, we heard this was being considered, but none of us thought that there was any way it would be approved.
Back to the day.
9 a.m. - We meet with the scouts to talk about Cuba, who we know well. This is the eighth game versus Cuba over the years for me, and a good number of these players have been on this team since my first USA team in 1999.
We beat them in November in the World Cup final; we beat them in Havana in the Olympic Qualifier final in 2006, and every game has been memorable in some way. We know what to expect. Aggressive offensively, great pitching, players who run, power, great defense, a veteran catcher - a major-league caliber team. They play a very slow pace and try to intimidate umpires and lesser opponents.
10 a.m. - Van leaves for the ballpark. Today is our first game in the main stadium.
10:30 a.m. - BP in the cages. Davey has decided to hit in the cages for each of these morning games to allow the players to leave from the village a little later. I throw to Barden, Hessman, who is nursing a bruised heel, and Fowler who wants to get some right-handed swings.
11:30 a.m. - First pitch. It's a beautiful stadium, which holds about 10,000. The bleachers down each foul line are full, and the outfield bleachers are fairly packed as well. Probably 5,000 or 6,000 here for the game, including a good contingent of Cuban and USA fans.
Trevor Cahill starts for us and struggles in the first. A leadoff walk followed by a double and, by the end of the inning, it's 2-0 Cuba.
Cahill knocks down a hard come-backer with the bases loaded to get a force at the plate and that proves to be a big play. If he doesn't get a glove on it, it is up the middle for two more runs. There were two marginal pitches to the first hitter, which were called low for balls, and Cahill appeared to be bothered by the calls and become tentative as he is a sinker-baller and needs the low strike.
He battled his fastball command all day; his velocity was not where it usually is, his off-speed stuff was spotty, but he leaves after five having allowed only those two first inning runs. Four walks, three strikeouts, six hits, 94 pitches. He survives, and keeps us in the game.
In the fourth, we make it 2-1 on doubles by Tiffee and Schierholtz, and tie it on a bloop double down the left field line by John Gall. Jeremy Cummings comes on to pitch for us in the sixth, and veteran Cuban right-hander Luis Lazo come on for Cuba. Lazo has been with the team forever and is a talented, confident veteran. Cummings does a nice job but gives up a long home run to Cuban designated hitter Despaigne in the eighth. 3-2 Cuba.
Lazo has been untouchable. He is simply a very big man. Picture David Ortiz on the mound with some athleticism. Lazo could be 35 or 45 years old. He used to run it up to 95-97 with a devastating split finger. Now he's "dropped" down to 89-93 and throws 70 percent sliders. He varies speeds on his fastball and his slider; he changes arm angles, and he pounds the strike zone.
We can't touch him and have a bunch of bad swings but, in the bottom of the eighth, Jayson Nix hits a hanging 1-0 slider into the left-field bleachers to tie it at three. Great at-bat.
Mike Jepson comes on to pitch for us in the ninth. It's still tied as we go to extra innings, and Cuba hits a leadoff triple in the 10th off of Jepson, but he strikes out two and gets a ground out to keep the game tied. Teagarden gets hit to lead off the tenth for us. Donald sacrifices him to second base, but Fowler flies out, and Nix pops out to end the threat. Top of the 11th.
Now it's time to try-out the new tie-breaking format. Feel free to leave the room...
Cuba starts with their lead-off hitter at the plate, and their eight and nine-hole hitters at second and first base, respectively. Jeff Stevens is on to pitch for us.
As expected, Cuban center fielder Giorbis Duvergel sacrifices them to second and third. Michel Enriquez lines the first pitch to him, just past the glove of first baseman Tyler Tiffee, and Cuba leads 5-3. Alexander Mayeta grounds into a double play, and we head to the bottom of the 11th.
We have to score two to extend the game. We start with Jayson Nix at the plate, and Jason Donald at second and Dexter Fowler at first, our two best runners.
Nix squares to bunt; the pitch runs in on him, hits his barrel, and goes straight into his face, catching him just above the left eye. Lazo is on from the mound gesturing, and, while Nix eventually leaves under his own power, it looks bad. He'll go to the hospital for overnight observation.
Brian Barden steps in for Nix and successfully bunts the runners to second and third. Tyler Tiffee just misses a hanging slider and hits a long fly ball to center field, which scores Donald. Fowler advances to third. 5-4 Cuba, two outs.
Matt Brown swings at a first pitch slider and pops it straight up to catcher Pestano. Game over. Lazo goes six; hope you like the new format. It's a confused clubhouse at best. We're not sure how to react to losing that way, but we are aware we are now 1-2 with our hands full and down one positional player.
Through 10 innings it was a very, very good baseball game. Another re-group moment is upon us as we have Canada tomorrow at 10:30. They lost 7-6 to Cuba last night. Lefty Brett Anderson on the mound for us.
This evening it's back to Tiananmen Square with Roly, Blundell and security guys Joe Chan and LeRoy Hendricks.
Thursday, August 14, 2008
Rain Halts Play, but Strasburg Blanks the Netherlands, 7-0
By: Dick Cooke
After Wednesday's heart breaker against Korea, all the focus and conversation at this morning's staff meeting was on forgetting about that game and concentrating on the task at hand, which was the Netherlands.
A 7-0 win indicates we did a nice job of that but, when your starting pitcher has a perfect game through 4 1/3 innings and a no-hitter through 6 2/3, it's much easier.
Steven Strasburg, a rising junior at San Diego State and, as I mentioned earlier, the only college player ever to make the professional nation team since it's inception, came up big. Seven innings, one hit, one walk, 11 strikeouts, 94 pitches.
There has been a great deal of hype about him and, with our loss last night, the pressure increased ten fold on his outing today. He settled in quickly, striking out the side in the first, and it was a very comfortable game most of the way.
Interestingly, though, as dominant as Strasburg was, he threw a first pitch strike to only eight of the 23 hitters he faced. But he has great mound presence, likes to pitch inside, has command of a good slider and is a strike thrower. Combine all of that with a fastball which ranges from 92-96+, and he makes any hitter uncomfortable. He will likely be the first player taken in next year's draft.
A long home run by Matt Brown got us on the board in the second, and then we tacked on four more in the fourth led by a three-run homer by Matt LaPorta.
Our lead increased to 6-0, when the rains came after the 7th. We were delayed one hour, then went back out to try and finish. We added a run in the 7th; Casey Weathers pitched a scoreless 8th, and then the rains came yet again in the bottom of the ninth.
Blaine Neal was on to finish it up and, after two hits and a walk, he was suddenly in a bases loaded, no one out jam, when they finally called us off of the field for what proved to be the final time.
We never should have started the bottom of the ninth, as the mound was unsafe, and Neal was adjusting his delivery to prevent slipping, which can be disastorous for the health of a pitcher's arm. After a 90 minute wait, the game was ruled complete, and we are now 1-1.
The format for this Olympic baseball tournament is a bit different than in years past and similar to the qualifier in Cuba. Rather than pool play, which is the standard in most team sports, baseball plays a simple round robin format.
Eight teams in the event, you play everyone once (seven games) then No. 1 plays No. 4, No. 2 plays No. 3, the two winners play for the gold, and the two losers play for bronze. It's impossible to tell at this point what your record may need to be to advance to the medal round.
The eight teams in the event are Cuba, Japan, Korea, Taiwan, Canada, Netherlands, China and the USA. Japan, who has sent 24 of their major league players, and Cuba are the favorites.
Korea is obviously talented, having shut down their professional season during the Olympics to send their best. There are no easy games. China and Korea were 0-0 today in the 5th when their game got suspended, and Cuba edged Canada 7-6 tonight.
We bounced back well today, and now have to gear up for Cuba tomorrow, which is always a huge game. The international stage is what the Cubans live for. They have been together a long time and are playing very well right now. They opened up by beating Japan 4-2, in addition to tonight's win over Canada.
We'll send Trevor Cahill to the mound against them. You must pitch in side against them, throw your breaking ball for strikes and stop their running game.
Scout meeting tomorrow at 9:30 a..m.; first pitch against Cuba at 11:30.
After Wednesday's heart breaker against Korea, all the focus and conversation at this morning's staff meeting was on forgetting about that game and concentrating on the task at hand, which was the Netherlands.
A 7-0 win indicates we did a nice job of that but, when your starting pitcher has a perfect game through 4 1/3 innings and a no-hitter through 6 2/3, it's much easier.
Steven Strasburg, a rising junior at San Diego State and, as I mentioned earlier, the only college player ever to make the professional nation team since it's inception, came up big. Seven innings, one hit, one walk, 11 strikeouts, 94 pitches.
There has been a great deal of hype about him and, with our loss last night, the pressure increased ten fold on his outing today. He settled in quickly, striking out the side in the first, and it was a very comfortable game most of the way.
Interestingly, though, as dominant as Strasburg was, he threw a first pitch strike to only eight of the 23 hitters he faced. But he has great mound presence, likes to pitch inside, has command of a good slider and is a strike thrower. Combine all of that with a fastball which ranges from 92-96+, and he makes any hitter uncomfortable. He will likely be the first player taken in next year's draft.
A long home run by Matt Brown got us on the board in the second, and then we tacked on four more in the fourth led by a three-run homer by Matt LaPorta.
Our lead increased to 6-0, when the rains came after the 7th. We were delayed one hour, then went back out to try and finish. We added a run in the 7th; Casey Weathers pitched a scoreless 8th, and then the rains came yet again in the bottom of the ninth.
Blaine Neal was on to finish it up and, after two hits and a walk, he was suddenly in a bases loaded, no one out jam, when they finally called us off of the field for what proved to be the final time.
We never should have started the bottom of the ninth, as the mound was unsafe, and Neal was adjusting his delivery to prevent slipping, which can be disastorous for the health of a pitcher's arm. After a 90 minute wait, the game was ruled complete, and we are now 1-1.
The format for this Olympic baseball tournament is a bit different than in years past and similar to the qualifier in Cuba. Rather than pool play, which is the standard in most team sports, baseball plays a simple round robin format.
Eight teams in the event, you play everyone once (seven games) then No. 1 plays No. 4, No. 2 plays No. 3, the two winners play for the gold, and the two losers play for bronze. It's impossible to tell at this point what your record may need to be to advance to the medal round.
The eight teams in the event are Cuba, Japan, Korea, Taiwan, Canada, Netherlands, China and the USA. Japan, who has sent 24 of their major league players, and Cuba are the favorites.
Korea is obviously talented, having shut down their professional season during the Olympics to send their best. There are no easy games. China and Korea were 0-0 today in the 5th when their game got suspended, and Cuba edged Canada 7-6 tonight.
We bounced back well today, and now have to gear up for Cuba tomorrow, which is always a huge game. The international stage is what the Cubans live for. They have been together a long time and are playing very well right now. They opened up by beating Japan 4-2, in addition to tonight's win over Canada.
We'll send Trevor Cahill to the mound against them. You must pitch in side against them, throw your breaking ball for strikes and stop their running game.
Scout meeting tomorrow at 9:30 a..m.; first pitch against Cuba at 11:30.
Wednesday, August 13, 2008
Korea Wins Thriller in Opener
By: Dick Cooke
Korea 8, USA 7
Not the ideal way to open the tournament. It was a great game if you were a fan, absolutely gut wrenching if you were in the dugout on either side. Korea was as advertised. Quality pitching, speed at the top of the order and power guys in the middle.
We got up 1-0 in the first, but the Korean third baseman hit a monster home run in the second to put them ahead. They get another on a wild pitch in the third and then, after we tie it at 3 in the 5th, they get three in the bottom half to go up 6-3.
Mike Koplove does a nice job in relief of starter Brandon Knight to minimize the damage. Nate Schierholtz hits a line-drive home run in the 6th to make it 6-4, and that's how it stands until the ninth.
Brian Duensing and Mike Jepson do a nice job out of the pen, and Korea's Taehyon Chong, a submarine right-hander is spectacular, as he allows just Schierholtz' home run while striking out the last five batters he faces. Over 2 2/3 innings, he throws four fastballs, and all the rest are sliders - to both right and left-handers. Our right-handed hitters struggle, as he throws one slider after another and pounds the strike zone.
The ninth inning is why it's a great game, and why it's great that there is no clock.
We enter the inning down 6-4. Third baseman Mike Hessman hits the longest home run I've ever seen off of an 84 mph right-hander named Kijoo Han, who is the Korean closer. 6-5 Korea.
Taylor Teagarden follows with a single to right off of a 93 mph fastball. Brian Barden doubles to right center on a ball I thought would be caught, and suddenly we have second and third with no one out.
Another pitching change for Korea with Suk Min Yoon entering the game. 91-93 mph fastball with a big-league 85 mph slider. John Gall, hitting in our leadoff spot strikes out for the third time swinging through a high 90 mph fastball. Jayson Nix gets out front on a slider, pops it up to second base, and we are down to our last out.
With a base open, they pitch around Terry Tiffee, who would hit from the left-side as a switch hitter. It's all on the shoulders of Matt Brown who looks real bad on two sliders to go down 0-2. He battles and battles, then drives a two-strike slider into left field to give us a 7-6 lead. A phenomenal at-bat.
Bottom of the ninth, and Jeff Stevens enters the game to close for us. He was with us in Taiwan, and Davey has great confidence in him. Lead-off double down the left-field line on an 0-2 fastball gets past a diving Mike Hessman. Their next hitter, a lefty who is pinch hitting, fights off pitch after pitch and finally grounds out to second base, moving the lead runner to third with one out.
The next hitter hits a soft ground ball to second base. Jayson Nix tries to get the runner at home, but he beats the throw to make it 7-7 with a runner on first and one out.
I briefly look down at my chart, then look back up, only to see the base runner streaking toward third as Stevens has made a pick-off attempt which sails over Brown's head. Runner at third, one out.
The next hitter hits a fly ball to fairly shallow center field. Dexter Fowler, in for defensive purposes, makes the catch and throws home but it's too late. Game over; bus leaves in 20 minutes.
A very angry dugout and clubhouse, but we can't cry for long as we play a good Netherlands team tomorrow at 10:30 a.m.
This was a game that each team would say they should have won, and a game the fans appreciate. It will be a good test to see how our team responds after this difficult loss. We battled great tonight, had some quality at-bats and got some good pitching from parts of our pen. Nothing from Davey after the game. He simply wants us ready to go by 9:45. We'll start Strasburg tomorrow, the college pitcher who is now on the biggest stage of his life.
Korea 8, USA 7
Not the ideal way to open the tournament. It was a great game if you were a fan, absolutely gut wrenching if you were in the dugout on either side. Korea was as advertised. Quality pitching, speed at the top of the order and power guys in the middle.
We got up 1-0 in the first, but the Korean third baseman hit a monster home run in the second to put them ahead. They get another on a wild pitch in the third and then, after we tie it at 3 in the 5th, they get three in the bottom half to go up 6-3.
Mike Koplove does a nice job in relief of starter Brandon Knight to minimize the damage. Nate Schierholtz hits a line-drive home run in the 6th to make it 6-4, and that's how it stands until the ninth.
Brian Duensing and Mike Jepson do a nice job out of the pen, and Korea's Taehyon Chong, a submarine right-hander is spectacular, as he allows just Schierholtz' home run while striking out the last five batters he faces. Over 2 2/3 innings, he throws four fastballs, and all the rest are sliders - to both right and left-handers. Our right-handed hitters struggle, as he throws one slider after another and pounds the strike zone.
The ninth inning is why it's a great game, and why it's great that there is no clock.
We enter the inning down 6-4. Third baseman Mike Hessman hits the longest home run I've ever seen off of an 84 mph right-hander named Kijoo Han, who is the Korean closer. 6-5 Korea.
Taylor Teagarden follows with a single to right off of a 93 mph fastball. Brian Barden doubles to right center on a ball I thought would be caught, and suddenly we have second and third with no one out.
Another pitching change for Korea with Suk Min Yoon entering the game. 91-93 mph fastball with a big-league 85 mph slider. John Gall, hitting in our leadoff spot strikes out for the third time swinging through a high 90 mph fastball. Jayson Nix gets out front on a slider, pops it up to second base, and we are down to our last out.
With a base open, they pitch around Terry Tiffee, who would hit from the left-side as a switch hitter. It's all on the shoulders of Matt Brown who looks real bad on two sliders to go down 0-2. He battles and battles, then drives a two-strike slider into left field to give us a 7-6 lead. A phenomenal at-bat.
Bottom of the ninth, and Jeff Stevens enters the game to close for us. He was with us in Taiwan, and Davey has great confidence in him. Lead-off double down the left-field line on an 0-2 fastball gets past a diving Mike Hessman. Their next hitter, a lefty who is pinch hitting, fights off pitch after pitch and finally grounds out to second base, moving the lead runner to third with one out.
The next hitter hits a soft ground ball to second base. Jayson Nix tries to get the runner at home, but he beats the throw to make it 7-7 with a runner on first and one out.
I briefly look down at my chart, then look back up, only to see the base runner streaking toward third as Stevens has made a pick-off attempt which sails over Brown's head. Runner at third, one out.
The next hitter hits a fly ball to fairly shallow center field. Dexter Fowler, in for defensive purposes, makes the catch and throws home but it's too late. Game over; bus leaves in 20 minutes.
A very angry dugout and clubhouse, but we can't cry for long as we play a good Netherlands team tomorrow at 10:30 a.m.
This was a game that each team would say they should have won, and a game the fans appreciate. It will be a good test to see how our team responds after this difficult loss. We battled great tonight, had some quality at-bats and got some good pitching from parts of our pen. Nothing from Davey after the game. He simply wants us ready to go by 9:45. We'll start Strasburg tomorrow, the college pitcher who is now on the biggest stage of his life.
Tuesday, August 12, 2008
The Anticipation is Building
By: Dick Cooke
The mood has changed as the opening game stands one day away. Everyone's a little more reserved, a little more zeroed in on Korea. Not many folks wander from the hotel for any length of time.
11:30 a.m. - Our security guys - Joe Chan and Leroy Hawkins - accompany Blundell and myself out to the Olympic Village to pick up Lach to bring him back for our meeting with the scouts. We make a stop in at the Olympic Super Store to check out the merchandise. The store is in the midst of a good number of the Olympic venues including the Bird's Nest (the main stadium) and the Water Cube where swimming is held. Every Olympic venue is impressive. The Chinese have done a great job with that aspect.
We pick up Lach and head back to the hotel where we have a one and a half hour meeting with our scouts about Korea.
Mike Larson, who works for the Major League Scouting Bureau, takes the lead as he has just come from five days in Korea watching Korea, Cuba and the Netherlands play. We go over every hitter, every pitcher, who can run, bunt, defensive strengths, etc.
The Bureau has sent four scouts to serve as advance scouts for this tournament, which is something they have done to some level since 1999. They do a great job compiling tons of information but presenting it in a concise way.
It's the task of the coaches to determine how much information should be shared with the players so as to avoid "paralysis by analysis." This is the first of daily meetings on each of our opponents.
Larson is impressed by Korea. They have shut down their major league season to send their best 24 players over. They are a mix of professional veterans and young, talented prospects. A good number of their roster have had time in Major League Baseball in the States.
We'll most likely see a left-hander who throws 90-93 with a very good slider. He can get the ball up in the strike zone at times and lose some command, so our hitters have to be patient and wait for mistakes. They are solid offensively set up in a traditional manner. Two table setters hit one and two, and they have legit power guys in the 3-6 spots. As most Asian teams do, they fight off two strike pitches and try and work deep counts. It's an experienced line-up. We'll start Brandon Knight, and he and our bullpen will need to be on their 'A' game.
4 p.m. - Van leaves for the ballpark. We have a bit of a wait while Korea finishes their practice. All the teams are working out on the practice field today, which is adjacent to the two game stadiums. All three fields are outstanding - big league caliber baseball facilities.
5:20 p.m. - Stretch and throw.
5:40 p.m. - BP. Anticipating a left-hander starting tomorrow, I throw the first two groups, which are made up of the projected starters. They are, in no particular order, Hessman, Brown, Gall, Schierholtz, Tiffee, LaPorta, Nix, Teagarden and Barden. Each group hits for 15 minutes, the hitters then run a few easy sprints, and we're done.
Lach takes a couple of minutes to talk with the pitchers. Eck and Reggie talk to the hitters about approach and to go over signs, and Davey steps in with the hitters to tell them to relax and try not to do too much. Take the walk if you get it, as there are guys behind you who can hit as well. He's very aware of not creating an increased sense of urgency. He wants them to be able to play to their strengths while staying relaxed.
Lach tells the pitchers we have a chance if we play to our potential, but this tournament will be very tough. We all know what we need to do in each element of the game. The adrenaline will flow and the tempo picks up tomorrow.
7:45 p.m. - Dinner with Seiler, Blundell and Roly at a TGI Friday's in a nearby hotel. Blundell is in heaven and feels as though this Friday's is an oasis. Seiler, who runs USA Baseball, is starting to get that edge that he will live with for the next two weeks and the one he gets at each and every tournament. All of us have it.
The mood has changed as the opening game stands one day away. Everyone's a little more reserved, a little more zeroed in on Korea. Not many folks wander from the hotel for any length of time.
11:30 a.m. - Our security guys - Joe Chan and Leroy Hawkins - accompany Blundell and myself out to the Olympic Village to pick up Lach to bring him back for our meeting with the scouts. We make a stop in at the Olympic Super Store to check out the merchandise. The store is in the midst of a good number of the Olympic venues including the Bird's Nest (the main stadium) and the Water Cube where swimming is held. Every Olympic venue is impressive. The Chinese have done a great job with that aspect.
We pick up Lach and head back to the hotel where we have a one and a half hour meeting with our scouts about Korea.
Mike Larson, who works for the Major League Scouting Bureau, takes the lead as he has just come from five days in Korea watching Korea, Cuba and the Netherlands play. We go over every hitter, every pitcher, who can run, bunt, defensive strengths, etc.
The Bureau has sent four scouts to serve as advance scouts for this tournament, which is something they have done to some level since 1999. They do a great job compiling tons of information but presenting it in a concise way.
It's the task of the coaches to determine how much information should be shared with the players so as to avoid "paralysis by analysis." This is the first of daily meetings on each of our opponents.
Larson is impressed by Korea. They have shut down their major league season to send their best 24 players over. They are a mix of professional veterans and young, talented prospects. A good number of their roster have had time in Major League Baseball in the States.
We'll most likely see a left-hander who throws 90-93 with a very good slider. He can get the ball up in the strike zone at times and lose some command, so our hitters have to be patient and wait for mistakes. They are solid offensively set up in a traditional manner. Two table setters hit one and two, and they have legit power guys in the 3-6 spots. As most Asian teams do, they fight off two strike pitches and try and work deep counts. It's an experienced line-up. We'll start Brandon Knight, and he and our bullpen will need to be on their 'A' game.
4 p.m. - Van leaves for the ballpark. We have a bit of a wait while Korea finishes their practice. All the teams are working out on the practice field today, which is adjacent to the two game stadiums. All three fields are outstanding - big league caliber baseball facilities.
5:20 p.m. - Stretch and throw.
5:40 p.m. - BP. Anticipating a left-hander starting tomorrow, I throw the first two groups, which are made up of the projected starters. They are, in no particular order, Hessman, Brown, Gall, Schierholtz, Tiffee, LaPorta, Nix, Teagarden and Barden. Each group hits for 15 minutes, the hitters then run a few easy sprints, and we're done.
Lach takes a couple of minutes to talk with the pitchers. Eck and Reggie talk to the hitters about approach and to go over signs, and Davey steps in with the hitters to tell them to relax and try not to do too much. Take the walk if you get it, as there are guys behind you who can hit as well. He's very aware of not creating an increased sense of urgency. He wants them to be able to play to their strengths while staying relaxed.
Lach tells the pitchers we have a chance if we play to our potential, but this tournament will be very tough. We all know what we need to do in each element of the game. The adrenaline will flow and the tempo picks up tomorrow.
7:45 p.m. - Dinner with Seiler, Blundell and Roly at a TGI Friday's in a nearby hotel. Blundell is in heaven and feels as though this Friday's is an oasis. Seiler, who runs USA Baseball, is starting to get that edge that he will live with for the next two weeks and the one he gets at each and every tournament. All of us have it.
Monday, August 11, 2008
Ladies and Gentleman, the President of the United States
By: Dick Cooke
Rain through the night has finally allowed us to see a legitimate skyline in Beijing. The pollution has been washed away to some degree, and you don't realize the extent of the pollution until you see the skyline as we do today. I can actually see well into the distance from my 24th floor window and finally have a sense as to how far reaching the city limits are.
10 a.m. - We get word via Bob Watson that everything has been pushed up one hour. Now we will leave at 11:30 and the game will start at 2. Our security guys tell us this is standard practice where the President is concerned. By design it keeps folks guessing.
12 p.m. - We arrive at the ball park, and there is a heightened sense of energy. Soon after we get into our clubhouse, the coaches and staff have a briefing with President Bush's "planners" and security detail. The want to know what our pregame schedule is so they can tie his appearance into it efficiently.
We are scheduled to take BP until 1:30, he will arrive at 1:35 then the game will start at 2. They, in turn, tell us they would like something to be going on on the field when he gets here, as he doesn't want to have a situation where it looks like everyone is simply waiting for him to arrive. As a result, we change our BP time so we finish at 1:40. His advisers tell us they are never late for things like this, and he will be there precisely when they say.
1 p.m. - BP. Today I throw to Gall, Tiffee, Hessman and Schierholtz. Knowing we will get a left-hander from Korea on Wednesday, Eckstein and Reggie want these four to see me today. I will throw two groups - those who will start Wednesday - tomorrow in practice and then again for pregame BP on Wednesday.
As group two starts to wind down, I am leaning on the batting cage talking with Davey. Suddenly there is a good deal of traffic walking on to the field through the gate by our dugout. Then the President comes bursting through the gate asking, "Where is Coach Johnson?" and marches right over to the cage and visits with Davey and I.
It's a brief visit as the media swarm is significant. I do get a Davidson College plug in, and he says "Awesome place." Right after that it's time for my group to hit, so I jump out to the mound. The President walks over to visit with the Chinese team.
The pace has picked up everywhere over the past few minutes. Two hitters into my BP round, we are told it's time for the photos with the President so we leave the field, put on our game jerseys and congregate behind the cage and take a number of pictures - a very large number of pictures.
The team shots evolve into individual shots with each person's digital, and finally we do a picture with our team and the Chinese. Then we go back to the field, where we finish up our BP round and, in the meantime, the President has made his way to our dugout where he sits for quite a while and visits with players, coaches, staff, wives, etc.
He and I talk briefly about Tony Snow. He's a baseball guy and really enjoys talking with the players and re-hashing the days when he watched Davey, Reggie and Bob Watson play in the big leagues. He's very gracious with all the requested photo ops and signings of baseballs, hats, etc. We present him with a USA jersey, he throws out first pitches to our catcher and the Chinese catcher, then he heads to the stands. He stays for about two innings, then it's off to the airport and back to the US.
As I talk to one of the President's Secret Service detail, I tell him it's been a pretty typical day of pre-game activity for me. Hit some fungos, start throwing BP, stop throwing to take pictures and talk with the President, then go back and finish up the round.
Despite the change of routine, we start the game precisely at 2 p.m. and go on to beat China 7-3. We score 3 in the 9th to make it more comfortable, but it's clear the coaches and players aren't happy with the way we played. Numerous runners left on base, six innings where our pitchers threw 20 or more pitches and 169 pitches as a staff for the game.
The Chinese used seven pitchers and some showed decent arm strength. They will be a team in this tournament who will pitch OK, play decent defense, but will be weak offensively. Lach is not particularly pleased with the pitching today. Andserson starts and goes five while Jepson, Neal, Stevens and Weathers each throw one. China scores two off of Neal in the 7th and one on Weathers in the ninth.
This was the final exhibition game, and now we'll have a short practice tomorrow in prep for the opener Wednesday. It's time to get going. Tonight Roly, Blundell and I are going to find an American steak restaurant somewhere.
Rain through the night has finally allowed us to see a legitimate skyline in Beijing. The pollution has been washed away to some degree, and you don't realize the extent of the pollution until you see the skyline as we do today. I can actually see well into the distance from my 24th floor window and finally have a sense as to how far reaching the city limits are.
10 a.m. - We get word via Bob Watson that everything has been pushed up one hour. Now we will leave at 11:30 and the game will start at 2. Our security guys tell us this is standard practice where the President is concerned. By design it keeps folks guessing.
12 p.m. - We arrive at the ball park, and there is a heightened sense of energy. Soon after we get into our clubhouse, the coaches and staff have a briefing with President Bush's "planners" and security detail. The want to know what our pregame schedule is so they can tie his appearance into it efficiently.
We are scheduled to take BP until 1:30, he will arrive at 1:35 then the game will start at 2. They, in turn, tell us they would like something to be going on on the field when he gets here, as he doesn't want to have a situation where it looks like everyone is simply waiting for him to arrive. As a result, we change our BP time so we finish at 1:40. His advisers tell us they are never late for things like this, and he will be there precisely when they say.
1 p.m. - BP. Today I throw to Gall, Tiffee, Hessman and Schierholtz. Knowing we will get a left-hander from Korea on Wednesday, Eckstein and Reggie want these four to see me today. I will throw two groups - those who will start Wednesday - tomorrow in practice and then again for pregame BP on Wednesday.
As group two starts to wind down, I am leaning on the batting cage talking with Davey. Suddenly there is a good deal of traffic walking on to the field through the gate by our dugout. Then the President comes bursting through the gate asking, "Where is Coach Johnson?" and marches right over to the cage and visits with Davey and I.
It's a brief visit as the media swarm is significant. I do get a Davidson College plug in, and he says "Awesome place." Right after that it's time for my group to hit, so I jump out to the mound. The President walks over to visit with the Chinese team.
The pace has picked up everywhere over the past few minutes. Two hitters into my BP round, we are told it's time for the photos with the President so we leave the field, put on our game jerseys and congregate behind the cage and take a number of pictures - a very large number of pictures.
The team shots evolve into individual shots with each person's digital, and finally we do a picture with our team and the Chinese. Then we go back to the field, where we finish up our BP round and, in the meantime, the President has made his way to our dugout where he sits for quite a while and visits with players, coaches, staff, wives, etc.
He and I talk briefly about Tony Snow. He's a baseball guy and really enjoys talking with the players and re-hashing the days when he watched Davey, Reggie and Bob Watson play in the big leagues. He's very gracious with all the requested photo ops and signings of baseballs, hats, etc. We present him with a USA jersey, he throws out first pitches to our catcher and the Chinese catcher, then he heads to the stands. He stays for about two innings, then it's off to the airport and back to the US.
As I talk to one of the President's Secret Service detail, I tell him it's been a pretty typical day of pre-game activity for me. Hit some fungos, start throwing BP, stop throwing to take pictures and talk with the President, then go back and finish up the round.
Despite the change of routine, we start the game precisely at 2 p.m. and go on to beat China 7-3. We score 3 in the 9th to make it more comfortable, but it's clear the coaches and players aren't happy with the way we played. Numerous runners left on base, six innings where our pitchers threw 20 or more pitches and 169 pitches as a staff for the game.
The Chinese used seven pitchers and some showed decent arm strength. They will be a team in this tournament who will pitch OK, play decent defense, but will be weak offensively. Lach is not particularly pleased with the pitching today. Andserson starts and goes five while Jepson, Neal, Stevens and Weathers each throw one. China scores two off of Neal in the 7th and one on Weathers in the ninth.
This was the final exhibition game, and now we'll have a short practice tomorrow in prep for the opener Wednesday. It's time to get going. Tonight Roly, Blundell and I are going to find an American steak restaurant somewhere.
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