Korea vs Japan III

It’s over, the Japanese pitcher struck out the side in the 9th to put Korea away 6-0. Ichiro seems really happy because he will not have to eat his words after all. Like I said before championship caliber teams can rise above bad calls like the one Japan had against the US and they did with a little help from the US by losing to Mexico.

So far no signs of outrageous nationalistic celebrations from the Japanese like the Koreans had after their second defeat of Japan. The Koreans did come out of the dugout and give a bow to their many fans in Anaheim though which was a classy thing to do.

The Cuba vs Japan final should be a great game.

It was a good run by Korea and hopefully the Korean media doesn’t ruin it by claiming that the WBC is flawed by having Korea eliminated after only one loss especially when they have defeated Japan twice already. I can understand the sentiment because the WBC’s format is a little strange but the Koreans signed up for the WBC and the rules format that comes with it.
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Ichiro just popped up to end the top of the ninth and the third baseman for Korea Jung who caught the ball just flicked it back at Ichiro. To Ichiro’s credit he did not react to the provaction. If I was him I would at least tell the guy to look at the scoreboard.

Well Korea has one more chance to put some runs on the board and the first batter has already struck out. Not good.
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The ESPN announcer just butchered the Korean fans chant of Dae Han Min Guk. Quick somebody call Vank on him. The rain delay is over and the Japanese bats are still hot with them getting yet another hit. Instead of planting the Korean flag on the pitcher’s mound the Korean team may want to plant a white flag now because it is going to take a miracle to make a come back.
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It is still raining out and the game continues to be delayed which is just prolonging the inevitable that Korea has gotten stomped by Japan. Any bets if Ichiro will plant the Japanese flag on the pitcher’s mound?
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Okay this is getting out of hand right now. The Japanese are hitting the ball all over the place now. Japan is now winning 6-0 in the 8th inning. It is now raining pretty heavily and the game is being delayed which is only prolonging Team Korea’s misery of getting stomped by Japan. It is looking like it is going to be a Japan vs Cuba WBC Final.
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I think it safe to say that Kim Byung-hyun is now the most hated person in Korea. He just threw a wild pitch advancing a runner and then gave up a double allowing the runner to score a third run off of him. Why in the world did the Korean manager put Kim in? You do not use Kim in a tight pressure packed ball game. Ask Tino Martinez.

I have long posted on how much Kim sucks and I have been proven right again. They finally took him out. Why did he take Seo out? Seo was cruising and had only given up three hits. Hopefully this next pitcher can stop the bleeding and at least keep it from becoming a blow out.
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Japan is now threatening with a runner on second with no outs. The starting Korean pitcher Seo was taken out for I guy named Jun who pitched one good inning before giving up the double. Kim Byung-hyun Kim is now in and he just struck one batter out. Now Kim just did his best 2001 World Series imitation by giving up a two run home run. Japan is now winning 2-0. Is anyone now wondering why Seo was taken out of the game now?
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Peter Gammons just got done interviewing Hines Ward who is at the game supporting Team Korea. Ward just commented on how well the Korean community supports there sports teams. Gammons did ask him how he thought he would be received when he travels to Korea for the first time in April. Ward thought he would be treated well and was looking forward to going.
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It is now the 5th inning and the game between Korea and Japan is still stuck at 0-0. Both pitchers Uehara from Japan and Seo from Korea are pitching well and both teams have made some great defensive plays to keep the game scoreless. Ichiro has made a couple hits and stole two bases, so he has gotten off to a good start but has nothing to show for it yet.