 |
|
|
 News from Around the Americas | March 2006 
U.S. Eliminated in Loss to Mexico
 Jeff Blair - theglobeandmail.com
| | Starting pitcher Oliver Perez #59 of Team Mexico pitches against Team USA during the first inning of the Round 2, Pool 2 Game of the World Baseball Classic at Angel Stadium in Anaheim, California. Mexico won 2-1. (AFP/Jeff Gross) |
Anaheim, Calif. - Fidel Castro must have fired up one of his favourite cigars last night and gone to bed with a big, big grin.
Cuba's in, and the United States is out - how about that?
Not even the presence of the redoubtable Roger Clemens - or another botched call in their favour by umpire Bob Davidson - was enough to put the United States into the semi-finals of the inaugural World Baseball Classic.
Instead of joining Cuba, the Dominican Republic, Japan and Korea in San Diego today, the U.S. players will rejoin their major-league teams after they were summarily dismissed 2-1 by Mexico in front of 38,284 at Angels Stadium of Anaheim.
The defeat meant that Japan advanced out of the pool instead of the United States.
The U.S. team, managed by broadcaster and former Blue Jays manager Buck Martinez, was the biggest disappointment of the tournament.
Jorge Cantu of the Tampa Bay Devil Rays drove in both Mexican runs and seven Mexican pitchers held the all-star-laden U.S. lineup to three hits. Vernon Wells, the Toronto Blue Jays' centre fielder, hit into a game-ending 6-4-3 double play, and the Mexican players celebrated in front of their dugout, waving their caps and acknowledging their raucous supporters.
Clemens gave up six hits and both Mexican runs, struck out three batters and hit the first batter he faced, Alfredo Amezaga.
Wells batted in the U.S. run in the fourth inning with a sacrifice fly. Wells also had the best seat in the house on a disputed call by Davidson, the first-base umpire, in the third inning.
A high fly ball off the bat of Mexico's Mario Valenzuela hit the foul pole and clearly should have been ruled a home run, but Davidson called it a double after the ball bounced back into the field of play. Wells crashed into the outfield wall and appeared shaken up, but he remained in the game.
The Mexicans appealed the play - the ball ended up in the Mexican dugout, where Esteban Loaiza held it up to show the mark left by the foul pole - and the umpiring crew huddled.
But the call stood.
Valenzuela scored on Jorge Cantu's single. And it was Cantu who drove in the go-ahead run in the fifth inning on a groundout after Amezaga's single sent Clemens to the showers after 73 pitches.
Davidson was the home-plate umpire in Sunday's 4-3 U.S. win over Japan and sparked an international incident when he overruled a call and cost Japan a run by ruling that Japan's Tsuyoshi Nishioka left third base early on an apparent sacrifice fly.
Clemens, the seven-time Cy Young Award winner, who is second in major-league history with 4,502 strikeouts and ninth in wins with 341, hasn't made public whether he will retire or return this year. He was a driving force for the Houston Astros last year in their march to the National League pennant, and while several of his teammates believe he will return to the Astros at some point this year, he is a free agent and is also being courted by the Texas Rangers and New York Yankees. |
| |
|
Vallarta Weddings
Tell a Friend
Site Map
Print this Page
Email Us