Matsuzaka pitches Japan past Cuba in WBC

Ichiro, center, celebrates with Akinori Iwamura after Japan beat Cuba during Round 2 of the World Baseball Classic in San Diego on Sunday.
REUTERS

BASEBALL

Matsuzaka pitches Japan past Cuba in WBC

Monday 16th March, 02:16 PM JST

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northlondon at 04:35 AM JST - 17th March

smith,

I understand people's frustration at not being able to watch all of the other games and for free, but you should be blaming the WBC organisation and not the Japanese TV companies. You see, the rights are sold to the highest bidders, because the WBC organisation wants to make big bucks. And as we all know by now, the TV company who can blow everyone away when it comes to bidding for the soccer World Cup, the rugby World Cup etc, etc is Sky. Sky makes a lot of money because it is subscription-based, therefore the free terrestrial TV companies in Japan can only afford to buy the rights of the Japanese games and they probably have to buy these at a premium from Sky because Sky has the highest bidder sole rights for all of the games in Japan. So don't blame the Japanese TV companies, blame the WBC for selling their rights to the highest bidders and not to terrestrial TV.

Moderator: All readers, back on topic please.
throwinstones at 06:30 AM JST - 17th March

Hard to follow the logic with some of you out there, especially hotbox, who seems determined to create, well, umm, well you know, stuff !

"Now it doesn't take a Sherlock to realize that fans dwindled as it became apparent the U.S. played in a stinker vs. Puerto Rico."

Um, hotbox08... the first round of games were not played in the USA, they were in Canada ! The vast majority of people there were Canadians... Canadians starved for sports too mind you. I for one have never seen a WBC game in the USA sold out ! Can you tell me, either in this or the first WBC tourney, which game was sold out ? Fact is, Americans are not interested in this preseason baseball tourney in March... it's time for college hoops, and we all know that.

"I stick to my view that the beanball was done on purpose. I also thought that it was uncalled for and very unsportsmanlike"

Fair enough, I would disagree though. The WBC has had more than its share of "heated incidents". Chinas hardball tactics in the first WBC, Ichiros screaming "f-bombs", Oh charging out of the dugout to complain about whatever, Korea planting the national flag in the pitchers mound, etc. Seems to me its all apart of the competition out there... let it go.

"Yes, I for one agree that Japan's HITTING is awful. Then again, the U.S. had good hitting stats and pounded a bunch of hits, but I wonder why they had to face an elimination game?"

Seems to me you are getting defensive here. I don't see the connection in your comment between Japans hitting and the US playing in the elimination round. My point is simple, Japan will need to pick up its hitting to win this thing... and Ichiro has been a bust ! The US is in another boat... they have great hitters, no pitching.

"Are you saying that only Japan has the viewing rights, and not the U.S., Canada, or Cuba?"

Nope, didn't say that. What I said is that Japan should be barred from tv rights unless they agree to show all their own pool games and a vast majority of second and final round games to the largest viewing audience possible. So no, this does not mean BS or Skyperfect ! The vast number of japanese citizens have plain and simple terestrial antennas... so show the games on terrestrial tv, pretty simple as it addresses the wishes by the organizers of this tourney... to promote "baseball" worldwide.
winniebhoy at 11:09 AM JST - 17th March

Well done Japan baseball team against cuba baseball team.
Kreza23 at 12:37 PM JST - 17th March

smithinjapan - While I knew exactly what you were talking about (because you've posted the same complaint so many times), you can go back and look and see that you DIDN'T say terrestrial television, which is why I metioned the cable TV. And while you may be paying for NHK, that money has absolutely nothing to do with the other channels which we indeed get for free. All of that money you're paying goes only to NHK. Which is why I say, how can you really complain about something you're getting for free? I'm from Canada myself, but I know that if I wasn't paying for any cable, I would be getting very little to watch.

And the bunt? The pitcher was rushing BECAUSE the bunt was placed perfectly. That was no luck. He had no chance at getting Ichiro from the start. If he did, it wouldn't have been ruled a hit, it would've been ruled an error.
winniebhoy at 01:08 PM JST - 17th March

smith = nonce
lostrune2 at 01:15 PM JST - 17th March

Hotbox08,

Nobody would admit an intentional beanball because they could be penalized, so they give lip-service even when the message is clear among the unwritten rules of baseball. Happens in MLB all the time, so the Commish won't fine or suspend them as much.

If a player hangs out too long to admire a homerun then hop-skips, particularly when his team is losing, can be considered grandstanding.

As for the attendance, even in the first round, the attendance tends to be low when the home team is not playing, whether it's in Japan, Canada, Mexico, or Puerto Rico. In the 2nd round on the US, most of the attendees are there for their mother countries, even when the average attendance is still only around 20k.

The US team won't garner huge attendances even as the home team (except maybe if they get to the Final Four at LA), probably because baseball is already an American game (no need to popularize) and most Americans don't feel they have anything to prove in the tournament (their MLB team affiliation is more important to them, and they don't care if the best player on their team is not American). It's hardly a bragging rights to them when much of the best players in the world are already American (of course, most baseball are played within the huge population of America).
fightfan2008 at 01:44 PM JST - 17th March

I find Matsuzaka hard to watch sometimes, but he was amazing against Cuba. Watching his performance it looked like he might have been able to pitch a complete game if not for the pitch rule. Really impressive considering the fact that they were playing against one of the best teams in the tournament.

To SmithinJapan, please stop ruining every WBC thread with your pointless whining about the tv schedule. Not every discussion in JT can be turned into an anti-Japan freakshow.

Also, Ichiro may not be doing well at the moment, but he always starts the season off slow. Hopefully he comes through as the tournament progresses.
freakashow at 01:50 PM JST - 17th March

It was nice to see DiceK rounding into form. He did what South Africa, Australia, and Mexico could not do; which is silence the Cuban bats. I hope he won't be tired before the start of the regular MLB season.

kwatt:

Chapman has very very fast balls about 100m/h pitching, but his control was not good enough.

Good observation. I also thought Chapman is not so intimidating, as long as you have patience as a batter against him.

davidattokyo:

Ichiro seems more worried about trying to look cool these days than he is serious about his ball game. I hope he makes me eat my words though.

Yeah, I've noticed that too. I'm glad that that attitude is not rubbing off on the other players. I love the work ethic of players like Aoki, Johjima, and Iwakuma.

throwinstones:

For me though, the Venezuela Puerto Rico game is about as good as its gonna get. Firepower on all sides...

Really? The score ended up being 2-0 in favor of Venezuela. That doesn't sound like there was a lot of firepower in that game. If anything, good pitching determined the outcome.

smithinjapan:

The only thing that's really tiring are people like yourself coming on here and saying no one is entitled to their opinion because you feel it 'gets annoying'.

Excellent point, smithinjapan. People should be allowed to voice their opinions on this site. I myself like to browse this site from time to time and voice my own opinion and hope others have the freedom to do so.

The fact of the matter is Japan is NOT televising ANY game on terrestrial TV besides its own, and that fact is a major shame that should ensure Japan never hosts the tournament again until it improves its broadcasting practices.

Well, I sincerely doubt that Korea, China, or Chinese Taipei could have done a better job of broadcasting this tournament more fairly. Also, some of the games have been shown on terrestrial TV (e.g. Cuba vs. Mexico today on TBS) The only thing is that with it being shown live, you probably won't be able to watch it anyway, since most of us are working at those times. So I can't see the point of your complaining.

hotbox08:

Clearly, this was a better game than the thrashing the U.S. got from Puerto Rico.

Not really. I thought the Puerto Rico game was a tremendous display of good opportunistic hitting by the Puerto Ricans. Yet, I thought there was some bad coaching decisions going on by Johnson. He left Peavy in there way to long. However, the U.S. learned its lesson in the next game against the Netherlands.

northlondon:

I understand people's frustration at not being able to watch all of the other games and for free, but you should be blaming the WBC organisation and not the Japanese TV companies.

I totally agree. The onus is clearly on the WBC for dishing out the rights to individual TV companies; whether they be TBS in Japan, or ESPN in the U.S. Terrestrial stations, more so than cable stations, need to rely on ratings in order to survive. Companies will not buy ad time for slots when they deem the general public will not be watching. Thus, terrestrial stations are under pressure to show programs that they feel will draw a large audience. Of course, if NHK had more money to win the bid, then NHK could show a more comprehensive tournament, since it does not rely on ads for profit. But then, I guess they lost out on the bid. Cable and satellite stations don't have the same pressure. But then again, that won't be a factor in a couple of years when everything turns to digital.
smithinjapan at 02:35 PM JST - 17th March

Kreza: "While I knew exactly what you were talking about (because you've posted the same complaint so many times), you can go back and look and see that you DIDN'T say terrestrial television, which is why I metioned the cable TV."

So... you knew my post was in regards to terrestrial TV and yet you chose to mention cable all the same. Interesting.

fightfan: "To SmithinJapan, please stop ruining every WBC thread with your pointless whining about the tv schedule. Not every discussion in JT can be turned into an anti-Japan freakshow."

Check my posts again, and particularly the first part where I praise Japan (Ichiro aside) and don't mention TV at all. I began to mention TV later when the nationalistic comments of roomtemperature came on, where he basically said people should stop commenting on how the event is (not) being televised because it 'annoys him', much like your post now. I later also said that I merely came on to say how much I think Japan did well in this came, which is a far cry from the 'anti-Japan freakshow' you prematurely claim people are turning this site into (with reference to my comment in particular). And so here I am again, addressing how the sport is not being televised enough, thanks to your post (and Kreza's, and freakshow's).

freakashow: Not sure about China's televising, and in this case I don't know about Korea/Taiwan's either, but I do not that during World Cup Korea televises more games than Japan does... or at least they did. Irregardless, they were not hosting a pool in this round.

But, just to show you all AGAIN that I didn't originally come on here to gripe about TV but instead to say it was a great game and a good performance by the Japanese, I will say so again; good job, Japan. And once more, I hope the next game is a great one and devoid of any racist sentiment by EITHER team. It's not at all a fun game to watch when Ichiro is throwing spastic fits and wiping his nose with the Korean flag, or where the Korean team is trying to plant a flag on the mound, etc. Keep it competitive, and keep it fun, but keep it clean.

If Japan can pitch like they did for this game, Korea's going to be in trouble.
throwinstones at 05:02 PM JST - 17th March

"For me though, the Venezuela Puerto Rico game is about as good as its gonna get. Firepower on all sides..."

Freakashows response...,

"Really? The score ended up being 2-0 in favor of Venezuela. That doesn't sound like there was a lot of firepower in that game."

My turn, really ? I coulda sworn the "firepower from all sides" comment basically meant both teams, both sides of the ball, including "pitching".
Kreza23 at 05:23 PM JST - 17th March

smithinjapan - "So... you knew my post was in regards to terrestrial TV and yet you chose to mention cable all the same. Interesting."

Yes, because your comment was incorrect the way it was written. There have been more than four games televised in Japan, which is what you wrote.

throwinstones - Baseball is alive and popular in Japan. The WBC's goal is to promote the game worldwide, as you have correctly mentioned, but showing games on terrestrial TV here not involving Japan's team would have little to no effect in regards to popularity. The game is thriving here anyways.

Moderator: Readers, please do not get bogged down on a discussion of TV coverage. It is better to discuss the games.
fightfan2008 at 05:28 PM JST - 17th March

smithinjapan-I don't have time to check your previous posts, so I'll just take your word for it and assume your right; therefore, in future WBC articles I can expect that I won't come across any complaints from you about the tv schedule. I must say however, that I do find it odd how you are able to "praise" the Japanese team, then go on to randomly cite some incidents of "racist sentiment" that have absolutely nothing to do with the game or the discussion.

But back on topic, I agree with you that Korea will have their hands full with Darvish on the mound.
freakashow at 07:21 PM JST - 17th March

My turn, really ? I coulda sworn the "firepower from all sides" comment basically meant both teams, both sides of the ball, including "pitching".

Really, throwinstones? I coulda sworn you said this: "As for team batting, Japan is just 4 points above Italy's !" Which indicates to me that you feel that when a team is not hitting well, then it sucks. Now, in the Cuba-Japan game, Cuba belted out 8 hits and 0 runs to Japan's 12 hits and 6 runs. In the Venezuela-Puerto Rico game, Venezuela had 8 hits and 2 runs, while Puerto Rico had 5 hits and 0 runs. It looks a lot like the Cuba-Japan game had just as much firepower that the Venezuela-Puerto Rico game had.

Now, if you want to talk about "pitching", then lets look at the numbers: DiceK and the rest of the Japan pitching staff got 12 Ks to the Cuba's staff of 8 Ks; for a total of 20 Ks in the game. Now in the Venezuela-Puerto Rico game, Felix Hernandez and Co. got 11 Ks to the Puerto Rican staff's 5 Ks, for a grand total of 16 Ks. Seems to me there were a lot more firepower for the Japan and Cuba pitching staffs.
jinjapan at 10:38 PM JST - 17th March

1 thing people seem to forget is that ichiro has been playing professional ball for many years now & this time of the season is usually a time for tuning up for the real season. So, i imagine it must be hard to get physically & mentally ready to play for real so early in the year.
usrox at 11:18 PM JST - 18th March

Oh and fightfan2008... feel free to join freakashow in the amatuer rankings,

"I agree with you that Korea will have their hands full with Darvish on the mound"

Yeh right !