Tough road for Team Panama
(Panama Star) The 2009 World Baseball Classic game kicked off in Tokyo with a shut out of China by the much fancied Japanese team, loaded with superstars.
Meanwhile Panama, without the shadow of a Franz Wever who infamously failed to pay the insurance for a national team in the World Championships, leading to an ignominious return home, were readying for their first round game with Puerto Rico in San Juan on Saturday.
The team is facing much of the same opposition in group D as they battled with in 2006.
They will take on the Netherlands, Puerto Rico and Dominican Republic, at the Hiram Bithorn Stadium in San Juan.
They debut against the same Puerto Rican team, that kept them from advancing three years ago.
This time around, the Panamanians may be short-handed again, but judging from their showing in the first Classic, they may have a little extra fire in their bellies as they attempt to avenge that performance.
As in 2006, Panama will have a small pool of big leaguers who may be able to help. And of that group, those available may be an issue.
All doubts about the backstop Carlos Ruiz participating in the tournament, after he expressed concern about not wanting to be away from the Phillies for three weeks, were cleared recently when he confirmed joining the Panamanian team.
Ruiz, is a bit more recognizable now than he was this time last year, partly because he caught the final strike from Brad Lidge that sealed the Phillies' first World Series championship since 1980.
The Houston outfielder Carlos Lee, has also confirmed after being in a wait-and-see mode where he said he would like to participate but first had to make sure his finger was properly healed.
The little finger on his left hand was shattered in six places when he was hit by a pitch during a game in Cincinnati in August last year.
Colorado Rockies reliever Manny Corpus is also a willing participant. The right-hander, fresh off a full season in '08 during which he made 76 appearances and finished 20 games, said he "would love to" represent his country again in the Classic. In '06, he allowed two runs over one inning.
Others have injury reasons for not participating. For instance Panama’s most celebrated big leaguer Mariano Rivera who did not participate in '06, has undergone arthroscopic surgery on his right-shoulder, and Manuel Acosta who made 46 relief appearances for the Braves in '08.
He said he would would like to play but suffered a hamstring injury and spent approximately six weeks on the disabled list last season.
Managing Panama during the Classic is former Yankee outfielder Hector Lopez.
Lopez was a two-time World Series champion with the Yankees.
Known for his hustle and clutch hitting, Lopez shared an outfield with Yankee greats Roger Maris and Mickey Mantle.
Meanwhile Panama has been preparing by playing friendlies against Altanta Braves losing 11-2, then redeeming themselves by beating the Detroit Tigers 9-3.
Last night they took on the Houston Astros.
In the first round, 16 nations will compete in four different cities – Tokyo, Toronto, Mexico City and San Juan.
The top two teams from each group advance to second-round groups at Miami and San Diego. The Asian and Mexico City squads advance to San Diego while the Puerto Rico and Toronto brackets feed into Miami.
Last night Team Japan won the opening game of the 2009 Classic in Tokyo, beating China 4-0, a much improved rival.
They go on to meet on Saturday, the winner of Friday's game between Korea and Chinese Taipei while China plays the loser of that game on Saturday afternoon.
Each team collected five hits , with the big blow for Japan a two-run home run by third baseman Shuichi Murata.
Six Japanese pitchers combined for the shutout, with starter Yu Darvish getting the victory. Darvish went the first four innings, allowing only one base runner on a walk in the second.
Two teams from each site advance to semi-finals to be played March 21-22 at Dodger Stadium with the title game on March 23 at the fabled Los Angeles venue.
In a key format change from 2006, groups are double-elimination tournaments rather than round-robin. Winners in the opening games will meet to decide one qualifier while that loser must win again to advance.
The new format avoid a complex tie-breaker system that led to the Americans' ouster in 2006.
Scheduling in the inaugural Classic kept the Americans from having to face any Latin American team other than Mexico until the final. This time, they cannot face Cuba or any Asian squad until the semi-finals.
