I’m really looking forward to the Olympic Games this summer, and when I say Olympic Games I mean the baseball and absolutely nothing else except maybe five or 10 minutes of the opening ceremonies.
The first round matchups were announced yesterday and right off the top are a couple doozys. Japan, who I’d say would have to be the favorite to win the gold, will kick things off versus Cuba, who will also challenge. Could we be looking at a Aroldis Chapman/Yu Darvish tilt? Wow. Mark your calendars — Aug. 13.
South Korea will face off against the Americans, also on Aug. 13. I can promise you the Koreans are going to be out for blood this August, and the fact that the US knocked them out of the Sydney games will be one of the many rallying cries. I’m not sure what to expect from the US team outside of the fact that Roger Clemens won’t be playing for it. Good news for Beijing area high school girls.
Korea plays Japan on Aug. 16 (my birthday for those who have been waiting for that tidbit), and in the other similarly explosive regional rivalry the Americans will play the Canadians Aug. 17.
8 responses so far ↓
1 John M // May 23, 2008 at 12:24 am
‘Good news for Beijing area high school girls.’
That is flat-out hysterical. You rock.
2 simon // May 23, 2008 at 3:02 am
Which part of the opening ceremony?
3 Shinsano // May 23, 2008 at 5:39 am
Oh, I didn’t have anything specific in mind. I was thinking something with flashing lights…like just prior to the annoucement of starting lineups in the NBA.
Or, maybe if they do the placard thing. The human jumbo-tron. I’m kind of a sucker for that.
4 brent // May 23, 2008 at 8:40 am
With the startling drop in offence this season, should MLB teams be more aggressive in grabbing Japanese players (good glove, speed and hitting for average)? What is the tipping point for switching the body type of players?
5 simon // May 23, 2008 at 10:02 am
Some are speculating that that is one of the major causes for the AL offense being down this season. More teams are going with glovemen instead of sluggers who can’t run or field adequately, or at least that’s the theory anyways. We’ll know for sure if middling Japanese position players (up the middle I presume) start receiving free agent offers from MLB teams, just like the “trend” for Japanese relievers (which may only last one season, depending on how these new guys do).
6 IronChef // May 23, 2008 at 3:56 pm
‘Good news for Beijing area high school girls.’
Bad news for Beijing Area Medical Supply Salesmen.
7 Westbaystars // May 23, 2008 at 10:54 pm
I believe that somewhere between 10-20 of Hoshino-kantoku’s 50-something picks for the Olympics are currently rehabilitating injuries.
8 Shinsano // May 24, 2008 at 7:46 am
That’s a pretty interesting question Brent. I kind of assumed the drop in offense was related to steroids. If it keeps up we could see a shift. But I think MLB parks, and the mentality in general, are, so focused on the long ball I can’t imagine a dramatic change.
That said, I think Tampa Bay is really turning heads with its improvement on defense/runs allowed.
And last I checked Iwamura had yet to make an error at a position he hadn’t played since high school.
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