W. Baseball Classic '06: Pool A Matches (3/3-3/5)

[Yoon]

Well guys, the first World Baseball Classic is just around the corner! The very first matches of the tournament are scheduled for this Friday (Thursday for us in the U.S.), starting with the Pool A matches in Tokyo, Japan.

Below are the match schedules and lineups of each country in Pool A. Be sure to vote for the two countries that you think will advance!

Pool A Match Schedule:
Location: Tokyo, Japan (Tokyo Dome)

Friday, March 3 - 8:30 PM CT (Thursday)
South Korea vs. Chinese Taipei [2 - 0] (South Korea WINNER)

Friday, March 3 - 3:30 AM CT
Japan vs. China [18 - 2] (Japan WINNER)

Saturday, March 4 - 8:00 PM CT (Friday)
China vs. South Korea [10 - 1] (South Korea WINNER)

Saturday, March 4 - 3:00 AM CT
Japan vs. Chinese Taipei [14 - 3] (Japan WINNER)

Sunday, March 5 - 8:00 PM CT (Saturday)
Chinese Taipei vs. China (Chinese Taipei WINNER)

Sunday, March 5 - 3:00 AM CT
South Korea vs. Japan [3 - 2] (South Korea WINNER)

Current Standings (3/04/2006)

Team: [Wins\Losses\Ties] (RA/9) - (ERA) - (AVG)
South Korea: [3\0\0] - 1.00 - 0.50 - .377
Japan: [2\1\0] - 5.00 - 3.00 - .423
Chinese Taipei: [1\2\0] - 16.00 - 9.00 - .203
China: [0\3\0] - 28.00 - 13.50 - .155

China (Roster)

Pitchers
Tao Bu
Kun Chen
Quan Huang
Chenhao Li
Hongrui Li
Shuai Li
Jiangang Lu
Nan Wang
Zheng Xu
Minfeng Yin
Jun Zhang
Li Zhang
Bo Zhao
Quansheng Zhao

Infielders
Qi Chen
Zhe Chen
Fei Feng
Tao Guo
Fenglian Hou
Lei Li
Guangbiao Liu
Wenbin Pan
Jingchao Wang
Guogang Yang
Yufeng Zhang

Outfielders
Yaging Liu
Lingfeng Sun
Shuo Yang
Hongbo Zhang

Catchers
Yi Feng
Tao Li
Wei Wang
Zhenwang Zhang

Chinese Taipei (Roster)

Pitchers
Wei-Ying Chen
Chi-Hung Cheng
Chien-Ming Chiang
Wei-Ming Chu
Chu-Chien Hsu
Wen-Hsiung Hsu
Chia-An Huang
Chun-Chung Huang
Yi-Che Huang
Min-Ching Kao
Po-Hsuan Keng
Hong-Chih Kuo (MLB Los Angeles Dodgers)
En-Yu Lin
Ying-Chieh Lin
Ching-Lung Lo
Wei-Lun Pan
Ying-Feng Tsai
Sung-Wei Tseng
Chien-Ming Wang
Pao-Hsien Wu
Chien-Fu Yang
Yao-Hsun Yang

Infielders
Chia-Hao Chang
Tai-San Chang
Chia-Hung Chen
Chiang-Ho Chen
Chih-Hung Chen
Yung Chi Chen (MLB Seattle Mariners)
Chang-Ming Cheng
Chia-Hsien Hseih
Chin-lung Hu (MLB Los Angeles Dodgers)
Kuo-Ching Kao
Chih-Shen Lin
Yi-Chuan Lin
Shi-Yang Teng
Shen-Wei Wang
Chung-Shou Yang
Shen Yang
Chung-Han Yu

Outfielders
Chih-Yao Chan
Chien-Ming Chang
Chih-Yuan Chen
Chin-Feng Chen
Chen-Yu Chong
Long-Yi Huang
Chun-Yu Kuo
Ying-Chieh Liao
Wei-Chu Lin
Kuo-Hui Lo
Cheng-Ming Peng

Catchers
Fong-Ming Chen
Chin-Shou Hsih
Cheng-Hua Kao
Chih-Kang Kao
Yi-Wei Lee
Chao Kuan Wu
Kuan-Yi Yang
Chun-Chang Yeh

Japan (Roster)

Pitchers
Yuya Ando
Shugo Fujii
Kyuji Fujikawa
Soichi Fujita
Masanori Hayashi
Hirotoshi Ishii
Hiroyuki Kobayashi
Masahide Kobayashi
Tomoyuki Kubota
Takahiro Mahara
Daisuke Matsuzaka
Daisuke Miura
Fumiya Nishiguchi
Masanobu Okubo
Akinori Otsuka (MLB Texas Rangers)
Naoyuki Shimizu
Toshiya Sugiuchi
Kiyoshi Toyoda
Koji Uehara
Tsuyoshi Wada
Shunsuke Watanabe

Infielders
Takahiro Arai
Atsushi Fujimoto
Kazuya Fukuura
Toshiaki Imae
Akinori Iwamura
Munenori Kawasaki
Nobuhiko Matsunaka
Shinya Miyamoto
Shuichi Murata
Hiroyuki Nakajima
Tomohiro Nioka
Toshihisa Nishi
Tsuyoshi Nishioka
Michihiro Ogasawara
Takashi Toritani
Yasuhiko Yabuta

Outfielders
Shogo Akada
Norichika Aoki
Kosuke Fukudome
Atsunori Inaba
Tatsuhiko Kinjoh
Saburo Ohmura
Shigenobu Shima
Takayuki Shimizu
Ichiro Suzuki (MLB Seattle Mariners)
Hitoshi Tamura
Kazuhiro Wada

Catchers
Ryoji Aikawa
Toru Hosokawa
Tetsuya Matoyama
Tomoya Satozaki
Motonobu Tanishige

South Korea (Roster):

Pitchers
Young Soo Bae
Jung Bong (MLB Cincinnati Reds)
Won Ho Choi
Young Pil Choi
Tae Hyun Chong
Jae Hun Chung
Doo Sung Hwang
Moon Seok Jang
Byung Doo Jun
Byung-Hyun Kim (MLB Colorado Rockies)
Jin Woo Kim
Sunny Kim (MLB Colorado Rockies)
Won Hyong Kim
Dae-Sung Koo (MLB New York Mets)
Oh Joon Kwon
Hei Chun Lee
Seung Ho Lee
Dong Hwan Mun
Jang Jin Noh
Seung Hwan Oh
Chan Ho Park (MLB San Diego Padres)
Myung Hwan Park
Jae Seo
Seung Hyoun Sin
Min Han Son
Jae Woung Wee

Infielders
Kyung Hyun An
Dong Chan Cho
Hee-Seop Choi (MLB Los Angeles Dodgers)
Kyoung Bae Chung
Seo Owan Hong
Sung Ho Jang
Seong Hoon Jeong
Dong Joo Kim
Jae Gul Kim
Jong Kook Kim
Min Jae Kim
Tae Kyun Kim
Bum Ho Lee
Dae Ho Lee
Seung Yeop Lee
Jin Man Park
Jong Ho Park
Si Hun Son

Outfielders
Shin-Soo Choo
Soo Keun Jung
Jae Hyun Kim
Jong Hoon Kim
Byung Kyu Lee
Jin Young Lee
Jong Beom Lee
Han Yi Park
Yong Taik Park
Ji Man Song

Catchers
In Sung Cho
Sung Heon Hong
Kab Yong Jin
Sang Hoon Kim
Kyung Oan Park
Kyung Hyun Shin

Source: World Baseball Classic Official Website

[Yoon]

2/28/2006 NEWS:

Things aren't looking good for Team China:

China humbled by Yomiuri Giants
Late burst overshadows otherwise competitive exhibition
By Stephen Ellsesser / Special to MLB.com

TOKYO -- So much for building momentum.

China suffered a confidence-eroding loss on Tuesday at the Tokyo Dome, falling 17-0 to the Yomiuri Giants in a World Baseball Classic exhibition. Not a case of everything gone wrong for China, the rout was more an example of nothing going right, and just at the last minute.

The Giants had the game well in hand going into the ninth inning, but a 10-run final frame, powered by a grand slam from Kenji Yano, slammed the door on Pool A's dark horse.

"The only thing I can say is that we're a lot better than we played tonight," Lefebvre said. "It wasn't that we were tired or because of travel. We just played an ugly game tonight, period."

China's offense was anemic against the Central League squad, producing just four baserunners and mustering only three hits. Star center fielder Sun Lingfeng was 1-for-3 with a single, but he was thrown out at second base trying to stretch that single into a double.

China had runners in scoring position with one out in the second inning, trailing 1-0 at the time, but Chen Zhe and Chen Qi grounded out and struck out, respectively, to stall the momentum.

China's offense was nowhere near on track the rest of the way.

"We didn't do much offensively tonight," Lefebvre said. "We didn't swing the bat well. We didn't make a lot of hard outs. We have to do better than that."

China's bright spot in the loss was the performance of starting pitcher Wang Nan, who pitched his way out of a bases-loaded jam in the first inning and allowing only a run and two hits in three innings of work.

With the bases juiced and one run already in, Wang got Giants first baseman Motohiro Yoshikawa to ground into a fielder's choice to end the first.

"I thought Wang Nan was pretty good," Lefebvre said. "He struggled in the first, but he only gave up [one run]. Really, we were fine until the ninth inning."

Source: World Baseball Classic - News

Losing 17-0 in an exhibition match against the Yomiuri Giants (a team in Japanese Professional Baseball) right before the WBC starts? Ouch.

[Yoon]

CURRENT UPDATES (3/4/2006)

Someone over at the MLB Fan Forums posted some pictures from the South Korea vs. Chinese Taipei game: www.jc-i.jp/wbc/

Here's an interesting picture from that site :


Is that a TWINS player I see on that poster in Japan?

Korea rolls into Round 2 of Classic
Seung Yeop Lee homers twice in rout of China
By Jim Street / MLB.com

• Box score

TOKYO -- Another superb team pitching effort has turned some California dreamin' into reality for Korea.

Right-hander Min Han Son needed a couple of batters to find the strike zone Saturday, but he settled into a groove and pitched four shutout innings as Korea -- thanks also to Japan's victory over Chinese Taipei in the nightcap -- clinched a trip to the World Baseball Classic quarterfinals in Anaheim with a 10-1 victory over China at Tokyo Dome.

Asia's top seed will be determined Sunday when Japan plays Korea in the Pool A finale. The winner goes to the United States as the top seed and plays the Pool B winner at 1 p.m. (PT) next Sunday at Angel Stadium while the loser plays the Pool B runnerup at 8 p.m. (PT) Sunday.

Korea's players had some added incentive going into their game against China. They were informed before the game that they must continue in the Classic without one of their teammates.

The shoulder injury third baseman and cleanup hitter Kim Dong Joo suffered Friday sliding head-first into first base has knocked him out of the Classic -- and beyond.

While discussing his team's victory, Korea manager Kim In-Sik broke the news that Dong Joo has a broken bone in his left shoulder and won't play again anytime soon.

"I think he has already gone through an operation," the manager said. "A part of his bone is fractured, as it came off at the joint. It has been suggested that he should go to the United States because they have better doctors there. It has not been decided yet."

In-Sik said the injury could sideline the star third baseman for up to three months.

"He is with us in our hearts and we want to do well for him in the remaining games," designated hitter Seung Yeop Lee said.

Korea completed its primary mission here -- advancing to the second round of the inaugural Classic -- and came close to pitching another shutout. That bid ended in the eighth inning when China left fielder Shuo Yang greeted right-handed reliever Jae Hun Chung with a home run to left field.

The Korean team generated so much offense against the outmanned China team that Dong Joo's absence was hardly noticed. Seung Yeop led the 18-hit assault against four China pitchers with two home runs, two singles, a sacrifice fly and five RBIs.

But it's the pitching that put Korea in the quarterfinals in Anaheim next weekend.

Korea used four of its six Major League pitchers in Friday's shutout victory over Chinese Taipei, but needed none of them -- or the other two -- against China, which dropped to 0-2 in the tournament and has been outscored 28-3.

Son needed a couple of batters to find the strike zone, but he settled into a groove and pitched four shutout innings to pick up the win.

Son walked the first batter he faced on four pitches, fell behind the next one with a first-pitch ball, and then suddenly became a strike-throwing machine as 32 of his final 41 pitches were strikes. The only hit he surrendered was a two-out single to ninth-place hitter Yi Feng in the third inning.

"I was thinking about the pitch-count limit in the beginning and maybe trying too hard (to throw strikes)," Son said.

When he departed after the fourth inning, Team Korea had a five-run lead and was in cruise control.

Three of those runs came in the third inning when Korea sent nine batters to the plate. Second baseman Jong Kook Kim started the inning with a double, left fielder Byung Kyu Lee smacked a run-scoring double to left-center, and Seung Yeop drove a Chen Kun pitch into the bleachers in right field for a two-run home run, the first of his two fence-clearing blasts.

"I felt we were a little flat coming out of a big game (Friday night)," China manager Jim Lefebvre said. "I thought our hitting was flat, our pitcher was a little nervous and they took advantage of it. When you don't get a lot of hits, it always looks like your team is down. We weren't getting anyone on base."

The Korean team, meanwhile, had a grand time, putting at least one runner on base in every inning except the fifth when China reliever Li Zheng struck out the first two batters he faced and retired Kab-Yong Jin on a fly ball to center field.

But now they must move on without Dong Joo, a .302 hitter last season.

"Maybe we need to rearrange the batting order," In-Sik said. "We have to make our best order without him."

Source: Korea rolls into Round 2 of Classic

South Korea wins over China 10-1. With 2 wins and no losses, South Korea will be one of the Pool A nations advancing to the next round.

Japan clinches Round 2 spot with rout
By Stephen Ellsesser / MLB.com

• Box score

TOKYO -- With a guaranteed berth in the World Baseball Classic's second round available, Japan left no doubts on Saturday night.

Not that there were many after Friday night anyway.

Team Japan didn't quite keep up with the numbers it posted in its Classic opener, but the Japanese bagged their second-straight win by mercy rule, lighting up Chinese Taipei, 14-3, in seven innings at Tokyo Dome, finishing up an inning earlier than it did Friday against China.

Both Japan and Korea are undefeated heading into Sunday's showdown between the Asian rivals. Although both are guaranteed a place in the next round, Japan manager Sadaharu Oh said it was important for his team to continue its weekend-long roll.

Japan must defend its turf, in this case, the artificial surface at the Big Egg.

"I keep saying we have to win all three games, and I think they players know that too," Oh said. "We have to be No. 1 and we have to win all the games."

If Japan comes out like it did against Taipei, the Koreans could be in for a tough night.

Hitoshi Tamura set the tone in the top of the first inning with a three-run home run against Taipei starter Chu-Chien Hsu, who lasted an inning and came away with the loss. Tamura's shot to left field plated Tsuyoshi Nishioka and Nobuhiko Matsunaka.

"Because it was a chance to get some go-ahead runs, I just tried to have a compact swing," Tamura said. "And I got it perfect, right in the sweet spot."

Chinese Taipei's best hope to upset Japan would have been a low-scoring and tense game like its narrow loss to Korea on Friday, but a swing from Tamura changed all that quickly.

Tamura had other things on his mind as applause from the 31,042 fans filled the dome.

"I wasn't thinking about them," Tamura said. "I was just trying to make sure I touched all the bases."

Taipei manager Hua-Wei Lin said that his team knew it was in trouble, three runs down before its first plate appearance.

"We lost those three runs in the first, and we knew it would affect us in the game," Lin said. "I changed pitchers, but they couldn't throw well enough to keep us in the game. The three-run home showed us this was going to be a tough game."

Japan starter Daisuke Matsuzaka didn't live up to his dominant history against Taipei, but he allowed just a run in four innings, more than adequate to pick up the win. Matsuzaka had a combined 25 strikeouts in two appearances against Chinese Taipei in international play, and pitch count would have kept him from going anywhere near the pace regardless.

Matsuzaka struck out three, gave up three hits and balked in Taiwan's first run in the second inning.

"That was something I've never done in my career," Matsuzaka said of the balk. "When I was getting ready to throw, I had the feeling something was about to go wrong. It wasn't a one-run game, so that made it easier for me to take."

Japan added to its lead in the second and third, posting a run in each frame, and the floodgates opened in the fifth, as Michihiro Ogasawara tripled. Three hits, three walks and a balk later, Japan had a 10-run lead and Taipei was primed for the humbling loss.

Tomoya Satozaki followed Ogasawara with an RBI single before Munenori Kawasaki and Ichiro Suzuki walked to bring Nishioka to the plate with the bases loaded.

Before Nishioka could do his worst, Taipei pitcher Sung-Wei Tseng issued the game's second balk, scoring Satozaki. Nishioka finished the job with an RBI single to right field. Nishioka was forced out at second on the next play and went down hard after a collision with Taipei shortstop Chin-Lung Hu when Kosuke Fukudome hit into a fielder's choice.

Nishioka was helped off the field, but returned on defense in the bottom of the fifth.

Matsunaka singled and Tamura walked, which brought Akinori Iwamura to the plate with the bases loaded again. Iwamura had his lone hit of the night, a single that drove in another two runs and ended the nightmarish top of the fifth for Taipei.

Taipei rallied for two runs in the sixth to stave off a double-digit deficit, as Chih-Sheng Lin doubled and advanced to third on a wild pitch and Tai-Shan Chang reached first after striking out on Hiroyuki Kobayashi's second wild pitch.

Lin and Chang came around on RBI singles by Chia-Hsien Hsieh and Chin-Lung Hu.

But Taipei's rally was for naught, as Matsunaka doubled in Tatsuhiko Kinjoh in the top of the seventh to extend the lead back to double figures.

Nishioka, Satozaki and Ogasawara all were 2-for-3, and Matsunaka was 2-for-4 in the win.

Matsunaka scored from second on two wild pitches for added insurance.

Source: Japan clinches Round 2 spot with rout

Chinese Taipei loses out to Japan 14-3. ...and with this match, it's pretty much concluded that Japan will be going to Round 2, along with South Korea. Chinese Taipei will face China next.

Although we now know that South Korea and Japan are pretty much going to be the two teams going to Round 2, there's still the South Korea vs. Japan game coming up. This game should be interesting to watch, as there is (and always have been) VERY intensive rivalry between these two Asian nations.