U.S. downs Japan for baseball bronze
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RomeoRamenII
Japan got served.
Congratulations, Team USA!!
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RomeoRamenII
U.S. mows down Japan for baseball bronze
There. Fixed the headline for you, JT.
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ProudKoreanGuy
Like I said in another thread, the Japanese baseball team should forget about applying for a visa extension and, instead, apply for an asylum in China. They can certainly help train the Chinese national team there, couldn't they?
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desmosedici
Ouch, ouch, double ouch! That must hurt. Well, this morning they mentioned on tv the US team as "reberu hikui kara zettai ni katteru" and I thought that to be a bit premature to say the least. Anyway, great effort from these minor league players.
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pathat
Nice job, U.S.A.! Like the Koreans in the WBC and in these Olympics, you beat the Japanese team twice.
Hoshino Japan finishes with a 4th place finish and a 4-5 record, losing twice to the U.S., twice to Korea, and in its only game with Cuba.
Shame, shame, shame, Japan! Everyone on the team shares the blame, do not try to push everything off on Hoshino. The cream of the crop of NPB and they cannot even get one quality win in the tournament, let alone a medal of any colour.
Congratulations, U.S.A.!
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fazool2
The Japanese team was complete clown shoes; Hoshino just stood around the dugout showing no support and offering no encouragement for the players. In the last 2 games the Japanese players were silent in the dugout, not trying to encourage each other or pump each other up. And the pitching by committee strategy that Hoshino used in most games (4-5 pitchers a game) was a ridiculous choice; NPB & MLB teams wouldn't dream of trying this; why do it at the Olympics?
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RomeoRamenII
Best not take any trains in Tokyo during the next few days because they all are going to be running late as the Japanese salryman droids who bought into the J-media hype that Japan men's baseball was (cough) good enough to play in the Olympics will be downsizing themselves in droves.
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RomeoRamenII
Japan proved to the entire world today that they are a joke in men's baseball.
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RomeoRamenII
Sort of wished NHK had broadcast this game. At least they seemed a bit less biased toward Japan.
What was funny, though, was one of the J-commentators on Fuji TV said "Ganbatte, Nippon" right before the U.S. opened up its four-run can of whoop ass on Team Hoshino.
Classic.
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pathat
Japan sent a team to Beijing with players like Darvish, Fujikawa, Iwase, Abe, Arai, Kawakami, Nishioka, Uehara, Sugiuchi etc.-most of the BEST players for Japan that are not in MLB-and the Japanese team lost every single game-ALL 5-against the other top teams in the competition.
If you watch Japanese pro ball on a regular basis like I do, and have for many years, it is clear that the overall level of play in NPB has been going down as this decade goes along. This is not even remotely attributable to the half dozen or so stars playing in the U.S., and not here.
For a team that has so many of Japans best, they showed a remarkable inability to hit the baseball. A complete lack of power. This is not high school baseball. Hoshino-or any other manager for that matter-has little to do wtih the performance of experienced professionals at the plate, or really even anywhere on the field for the most part. The players have to do the job. They did not, in part because of a lack of talent. The lucky WBC triumph has been trotted out over and over again as some sort of evidence of Japans superior level of baseball, when we have plenty of evidence to the contrary that the Japanese have repeatedly lost games to top-level competition this decade in the Olympics, the WBC, and even the Baseball World Cup-which a U.S. minor league squad won last year in Taiwan.
Blame Hoshino for sure, but blame the rest of the team for its atrocious, shameful play, too.
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pathat
O.K., so Japan needs a Chinese citizen to provide real leadership. Thanks for clarifying things for us.
Japan lost because everyone from Hoshino on down to the last guy on the bench was simply not good enough. There can be no other explanation for losing ALL 5 games against the other 3 TOP teams in these Olympics.
Too bad, so sad, Hoshino Japan!
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some14some
easy win for USA just 5 innings and game was over ! congratulations !
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pathat
Much greater pressure will be on the narrow shoulders of the Japanese players in the WBC next year. They will fail and there will be no second chances like last WBC because the format has been changed. After the WBC, Japan will have no opportunities to fail again til the 2013 WBC with baseball thankfully off the London Games schedule.
Have a nice day, Hoshino Japan!
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aintgottimetobl
Iwase and Kawakami were getting continuously smashed yet Hoshino kept throwing them out there,these 2 are going to be seriously damaged for the rest of the year,was this some kind of payback to Chunichi ??
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USNinJapan2
Wow, someone just got totally erased off the boards...
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smithinjapan
"Baseball will be dropped along with softball from the 2012 London Olympics."
Because it's not actually a sport played world-wide, but only by a few countries.
I enjoy it nonetheless, but the way the Japanese pretend it's the world's ultimate sport, and the way the media hyped Japan to WIN this 'ultimate sport', I'm kind of happy they got fourth, as I said they would numerous times. I really don't care who wins between Korea and Cuba, so long as Japan's not in the final game. I KIND OF hope Korea wins, just to keep the perfect record, and since they've more than earned it.
Goodbye 'Hoshino Japan'. I'm VERY happy I won't have to hear about it at all for the next few years.
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Blue_Tiger
The next time that NHK underestimates a strong opponent for the Japanese Baseball team, they ought to be the ones to go to China and stay. On NHK News, prior to the start fo the games, NHK ) News and their Sports Section broke down the strengths of Cuba and Korea, but totally passed up the US. Maybe they'll think again now that the USA has beaten the J-Team twice this Olympics, eliminating them from the medals. Just furthers to confirm that the J-Media needs less hype and more reporting.
smithinjapan - Baseball is catching on in Europe, and has strength in North and Central America, as well as Australia and Asia. Would seem that baseball is played in more than just a few countries.
Good Job Team USA: you looked 100% better today than you did against Cuba.
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YangYong
A really comforting 'sayonara' play, no more rounders in the Olympics, fantastic, in fact I am going to buy a few rounds to celebrate the end of the ball and base game. Good riddance to an awfully boring game.
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Personaj
Very demoralizing loss for "Seniichi Hoshino Japan" their team is supposedly far above 2A/3A All-Stars level USA team. The cause of loss, very clear-cut and simple, lack of effective preparation for Beijing Baseball Stadium and erratic batting! Which means this Japanese Baseball team rostered Players' ability hasn't been tune-up effectively objective towards winning medals in Olympic baseball. It shouldn't clear warning-signs for WBC to be upcoming?
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boobug
This is nothing short of a shocking victory for the USA ! For a group of ragtag minor league calibre ball players to take the Bronze medal from Japan's seasoned professionals might just be up there with the "miracle on ice" ! OK, maybe not, but boy wasn't that fun to watch !
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pathat
In London 2012, there will be no baseball and softball opportunities.
Who will manage the Japan team at the WBC next year? Sadaharu Oh?
Japan will lose-just like they failed in these Olympics at baseball.
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larguero
How can you lose 5 games and finish 4th??? Baseball in the Olympics is clearly not serious and it is good that it won't be in London. But nobody cares.
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dianaS
Wrong choices of players. The most disgusting game I have ever seen.. Could not even catch a ball!!!!!! Really, I'm greatly disappointed by their performance. I don't blame Hoshino, but the mediocrity of the players involved..
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pathat
Check out the Japan roster. Hoshino picked so many of the best Japan has to offer that are not in MLB. How could he have picked a better team? The team played like crap. They simply were not good enough.
"Japan sent a team to Beijing with players like Darvish, Fujikawa, Iwase, Abe, Arai, Kawakami, Nishioka, Uehara, Sugiuchi etc.-most of the BEST players for Japan that are not in MLB-and the Japanese team lost every single game-ALL 5-against the other top teams in the competition."
Japan lost and there will be no more Olympic baseball because business is business and MLB wants to control any competition that its players freely take part in-hence the advent of the WBC.
Other sports besides baseball and softball deserve a chance to be in the Olympics from 2016.
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chibaman
Like a nightmare isn't it? Tough man Hoshino is finished and his brand tarnished forever, he doesn't need any more slinged at him given what I saw out there today, but I will. Not so tough anymore are ya? Just a silly old coot who couldn't organise his way out of a barf bag. Said bag being the top talent of Japan (but not those good enough to be recruited to the MLB which plays in the US, a non-Japanese country). Shame, Hoshino, shame. And just in case there were a few in Japan who didn't know about it and were still under some kind of delusion that Japan is quite good at baseball, the newspaper I had in my hands this evening might have helped. You know, just helping out.
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TheNewZen
IMO, picking the best don't make for a good mix. Unless they got the time to learn to work together.
Mix all your fav foods together, should taste great because they are your favs but alas ...
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DS
IMHO, J-ball at the high school level concentrates far too much on developing pitchers and not enough on hitters. Hence the slap single then bunt style. It really creates a conservative style of yakyuu. At Koshien, you always hear about the great pitching performances, but not hitting.
And the players obviously did NOT want to play for Hoshino. THey showed no teamwork, no togetherness, no emotion at all. It seemed they thought they could coast until the medal round and then suddenly turn on their full power. Didn't work that way. The had, and surrendered, leads in too many games. Iwase was terrible, yet Hoshino puts him in against the Kims in a late inning tied game. Given the other talent available in the bullpen, this was inforgivable.
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pathat
The excuses are pouring in now. On NHK news, they did a piece about the "international strike zone" hampering Japan, and showed a few very biased replays to support their "point."
The strike zone as determined by various umps in this competition caused problems at times for ALL teams-including Korea and Cuba in the championship game.
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pathat
And on Ch.6 they just did a spot about how Chinese fans on a number of occasions made noise in a show of bad sportsmanship during various events, with the implication that the Japanese would never do such things. Another completely biased piece to distract the attention of the Japanese public from certain failures.
The Chinese have done a great job with these Olympics in every way. To make every country happy in every instance is impossible.
I guess it is easier to make excuses and irrelevant criticisms by the Japanese media instead of giving Korea all the credit it deserves for the baseball gold medal.
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yosun
boobug,"This is nothing short of a shocking victory for the USA ! For a group of ragtag minor league calibre ball players to take the Bronze medal "
u don't really follow MLB. do u? then u probably know that most of best pitchers, best catchers, golden glove winners, best hitters (hits as well as homers) are from other countries. let all them go home to play for their own countries, then the US can still win something... Bronze if not dropped before Olympics. so, it's quite fair.
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some14some
Korea jolts Japan in baseball world, unbeaten Olympics Champion 2008, winning Gold medal and representing Asia! Hearty Congratulations !
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yosun
ProudKoreanGuy,
congratulations, korean win baseball gold! however, i must admit this is my first time to cheer for a Korea team, and before I don't like some other Korean sportsmen's agressive playing style.
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ProudKoreanGuy
Honestly, I regret that Japan could not strengthen the image by winning the brnze against USA. But, I'm sure Japanese baseball will continue to have chances to redeem itself and shine, in the near future. Congratulations for the gallant effort by the Japanese players, although the same may not be said of Coach Hoshino....
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ProudKoreanGuy
yosun, thanks.
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desmosedici
Yosun, don't know why you mention the MLB. The US team that participated in the Olympics was comprised of the following: 14 players currently playing at AAA-level, 7 players at AA-level, 1 at A-level and 1 at collegiate level. An ex pitcher, now a regular on a tv program, mentioned this morning that it "would be an easy win since this is a low level team". That might be so, but they still managed to win against what was supposed to be a Japanese dream team.
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jon19
Completely*, oh and forgot to say, Nice win USA and Nice try Japan.
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chibaman
Here come the injustices that were the reason for Japan's failure to medal. Most people who repeat the garbage churned out by the media will probably feel the aftertaste of sour grapes still lingering and shut their mouths before the sentence is over.
Here's Japan's stupid problem (well one of them) - Japanese baseball doesn't comply with international standards. The strike zone is different, the ball is different, the height of the mound is different, and the field size is different. Blame all of them if you're looking for any reason other than player and management quality that doesn't quite cut it on the world stage.
Congrats to Korea on the gold, the last team in the tournament Japan would like to see the gold go to.
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chibaman
Sorry to say it but the Japanese are one insecure bunch. Even some posters here just can't put down their baseball classic 2006 flag. But it's not entirely the media's fault. The media rely on corporate sponsors and advertising, and they want the broadcasts to present the image that Japan is strong, not to have to many unhappy results (read: reality) that would make viewers upset. There's the problem - many of the Japanese at large aren't strong enough to accept reality and defeat, and so continue to perpetuate their delusions and look for excuses.
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helloklitty
After Ichiro picked up his 3000th hit (including NPB), I pointed out that MLBers should also be able to count their minor-league hits towards their hit totals in the majors. These Olympics prove the low-level of Japanese baseball. It's about the same as AAA or less.
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yosun
desmosedici,
It's because some people keep looking for excuse about why the US can't get gold.
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roomtemperature
Americans are more excited about Japan's 4th place then their own bronze medal. Pathetic!
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ExExpatBadis2
I hope this finally puts an end to the hard-to-imagine reverence that Japanese baseball fans have for Hoshino. I think his brand of make-the-players-afraid-to-fail management has been exposed for the failure that it is. I'm certainly not suggesting that he commit seppuku or cut off his own finger (though I wouldn't be surprised if he has ever suggested it to any of his players), but he should probably realize that he is an anachronism as a manager and vow never to inflict himself on any player for the rest of his life. Deserving result for that gangster in manager-clothing.
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undecidedbout08
Taylor Teagarden (!)
Matt LaPorta
Nate Schierholtz
Jason Donald
Never heard of em.
And they took out a J-ball team of professional players?
Ouch.
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fazool2
hellokitty; he batted against guys like Nomo, who weren't able to pitch in the majors, right? (a no-hitter in both AL & NL); Japan's BEST can hit (or pitch) against ANY country's best-this Japanese team was weak, but don't lump Ichiro into this mess..
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fazool2
I had a colleague point out that Hoshino may very well have been a cutout, mannequin or robot; the guy never moved, encouraged, showed emotion or anything..... "Hoshino Japan" = "Jodan Japan"
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helloklitty
so can america's best AAA - but we don't count them toward mlb hit totals. that's my point.
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