Brian Kameoka's blog

Baseball: Nelson ignites Nuts

2010 is shaping up to be a bad year for me, baseball-wise. After a promising start that included three Mariners games in the Bay Area and a trip to Seattle for the home opener, I've been too busy to catch much baseball in person or even on TV.  I occasionally listen to a game on the iPhone, but the Mariners lack of offense this year has kept me disengaged, in spite of the excitement of the Cliff Lee/Felix Hernandez top of the rotation.  And I haven't even been to a Sacramento Rivercats game yet this season, which used to be a regular thing.

World Baseball Classic 2009

Photo "April 15, 2006: Baseball" by Matt McGee licensed under a Creative Commons license

What a game - Japan wins 5-3 in extras to repeat their 2006 inaugural World Baseball Classic win.  I watched it on tape delay, and had to do my best to avoid hearing the results (I was at a bar in the evening and had to sit facing away from the TV's as well as look away when I used the bathroom-they had a TV over the urinals, and of course I had to avoid reading Twitter).  Luckily, I did succeed at staying in the dark, and it really paid off.  This game gave us:

- A tight score - great pitching and defense by both sides really kept either side from running away with it.

- Names you know - Ichiro.  Iwamura.  Even Johjima (who's star has faded with the Mariners but was great for Japan in his first WBC appearance).

- What's in a name?  It was kind of funny to hear Jon Miller/Joe Morgan/Steve Phillips struggle with the names.  They gave a good effort, and were self-deprecating more than anything.  I did hear Miller call Uchikawa "Ugi-yuchi" at one point, and guys, if there's a player named Bum Ho Lee, please find a way to say it without making it sound like "bung hole."

- Names you will know - Shin Soo Choo, who I was a fan of as he rose in the Mariners organization.  Even though he's a Cleveland Indian now, I'll be rooting for him to become a big star.  He played like a star in this game.  And Uchikawa, who in left field had one of the greatest plays by a left fielder (ever).  Yu Darvish claims he doesn't want to come to the US to play, but if he ever does, he'll be a huge star.  Oh, and by the way, stop telling us how Aoki has "surpassed Ichiro in hitting" in Japan.  Ichiro is, and always will be, in a league of his own.

- A comeback! Extra innings! - Also, I kind of have a sick fascination with the statistical anomaly in baseball that a pitcher can get a blown save and then the win...

I was already a fan of the WBC after it's debut in 2006.  I'm even more a fan now.  I love that it's March 24th and we've had some amazing baseball already.  Though the US team had better get it together and get serious about the WBC.