August 11, 2007

Day Nine Results

Chinese Taipei 1, USA 0

Cuba 5, Netherlands 1

Day Ten Results

Cuba 5, USA 1

Netherlands 3, Japan 2 (11 innings)



Throughout ten days of spirited international play, Cuba’s reputed second-level national team has made a shambles of the competition by any standard of measure. Victor Mesa’s team not only swept all eight of its outings in the two round-robins, but also finished as the only one of the five entrants to post a récord above the break-even level. Japan remained winless, despite displaying a tough competitive attitude in all eight games, and the other three clubs all limped home at an even four-up and four-down ledger. Chinese Taipei, which gave the Cubans their toughest tests in two heart-breaking one-run losses, advanced the finals and thus a third showdown with the defending champions; Taiwan was the ultimate beneficiary of the tournament’s complicated tie-breaker rules. The Taiwanese permitted the fewest runs-against in their head-to-head competition with the Americans (whom they beat twice) and the host Dutch (to whom they dropped both matches by tight scores). Sunday’s Cuba-Taiwan replay is thus a fitting finale, since these two ball clubs have already played the tournament’s two most thrilling games: a 2-1 Cuba victory on opening day (coming on Donald Duarte’s dramatic late-inning two-run blast) and a memorable 13-inning Cuban 6-5 nail-biting win (the big blow being Yosvani Pereza’s game-tying grand slam). Peraza (with three homers and 17 RBI) and outfielder Alfredo Despaígne (.525 BA plus three homers) have been the biggest cannons in a full arsenal of Cuban offensive heroes. Perhaps the only needed measure of Cuba’s total domination here is the 50-16 margin by which the Red Machine has outscored their opponents in eight successful outings.

According to Peter C. Bjarkman, Yosvany Peraza should be selected the MVP of the tournament.

Some observations on the eleven-day Rotterdam festival are clearly in order, especially regarding the performance of the Cuban “reserves” and also the surprisingly high quality of WPT competition. It is the opinion of this writer—and a view seconded by Team USA media relations manager Naill Adler and several members of the American delegation—that the Rotterdam tournament was indeed a cut above the disappointing Pan American Games disaster staged in Río a few weeks back. The much superior playing conditions of Neptunus Family Stadium and the friendly weather have contributed to a smoother running event, but the 20-game round robin format, standard-size team rosters (25 and not 20 ballplayers), and simply better teams also meant superior baseball from end to end. The World Port Tournament should no longer be considered a second-class event on the international tournament schedule. And Team USA’s deflated performance here (when compared to Río) should hardly be attributed to any fall-off in effort or any late-summer slide. Chinese Taipei was simply a better club than any of those sent to Río by the likes of Mexico, Venezuela, Nicaragua or the Dominicans. And so likely was the veteran roster fielded by the Dutch national team. Two American scouts on the scene tonight seconded what one Team USA coach told me earlier in the day—that the bats of Despaígne, Bell and Peraza and the arms of Yulieski González and Arley Sánchez were more intimidating than anything encountered by the same American lineup last month in Río

The one-sided losses here suffered by the Americans at the hands of the Cubans have prompted some intriguing conclusions about the overall make-up of Cuba’s current 45-man national team roster. As I wrote earlier in the week, these two Cuban lineups might well face each other for the championship if both made the trip to Taiwan this coming November. Young sluggers like Alfredo Despaígne, Alexei Bell, José Julio Ruíz and Yosvani Pereza are not only THE FUTURE of the next decade in Cuban baseball, but they may indeed be found starring on the international stage much sooner than expected. And the Cuban pitching is apparently deep enough to staff a couple of starting rotations and a bevy of effective bullpens.

Chinese Taipei 1, USA 0

The Americans backed themselves into the awkward position of facing survival on the final day when their seemingly tired offense suffered a complete breakdown against the crafty pitching of lefthander Wei-Hua Lee. Lee mastered the lethargic American batting order on a mere three hits, duplicating the near-whitewashing of Team USA by Japanese southpaw Yusuke Iwamoto one week earlier. Center fielder Chien-Yu Kuo tripled in the bottom of the first and promptly scored the game’s only marker on an infield roller. The rest of the story was clearly Wei-Hua Lee, who coasted in seven of his nine frames and cleverly worked out of jams in the remaining two. The Americans twice failed to take advantage of bases-jammed situations, including in the final inning when Lee closed the game by striking out Petey Paramore with the tying run camped at third and the game-winner perched at second. USA starter Tyson Ross also pitched seven strong frames, judiciously scattering six hits, but received no needed support from his offense. Lee, in turn, struck out six and walked the same number while continuing the week-long southpaw magic tossed against a highly touted American lineup of big league prospects.

Cuba 5, Netherlands 1

Veteran Dutch starter Rob Cordemans was raked for four runs on four hits in his three frames; Cordemans also opened the door for the Cuban attack with his costly throwing error which platted two unearned second-inning runs. In all, the Dutch committed five miscues in a sloppy defensive outing and allowed Cuba to score four different times with two outs already récorded. The headliner in Cuba’s only nighttime contest was veteran Granma right-hander Ciro Silvino Licea. The 2007 National Series ERA leader (1.15, 9-3) cruised through a complete-game five hitter with his mesmerizing slider (clocked consistently around 88 mph) that accounted for eight strikeouts and yielded no walks. A potential Licea whitewashing of the Dutch forces was spoiled in the top of the eighth by a solo homer off the bat of Dutch catcher Sidney de Jong.

Cuba 5, USA 1

Title-bound Cuba again eliminated their biggest rival in relatively easy fashion while duplicating the 5-1 scoreboard count posted an evening earlier versus the Dutch. The Americans once more proved incapable of handling effective left-handed pitching (on this occasion it was Habana Province ace Arley Sánchez) and again squandered their one legitimate threat when reliever Yulieski González slammed the door by striking out Róger Kieschnick with the bases stuffed in the bottom of the eighth. Cuba once more employed the long ball, with Yosvani Pereza’s two-run blast in the first providing the victory margin, and solo shots by José Julio Ruíz (in the fourth) and Héctor Olivera (in the seventh) later stretching the margin. Team USA’s two one-sided losses to the backup Cuban nine (by a combined score of 13-3) has surely spiked the argument that this Cuban 25-man roster is likely the equal of last month’s Pan American champions. Cuba A (with Gourriel, Pestano, Cepeda and company) squeaked by this same Team USA lineup in Río de Janeiro by only a nail-biting 3-0 count.

Netherlands 3, Japan 2 (11 innings)

Japan immediately staked starter Ken Togame to a two-run lead in a wild first inning but ran themselves out of a bigger uprising when Ikuhiro Kiyota was gunned down at home when missing the plate on Ryoji Nakata’s ringing double to deep left center. The Dutch charged back in the same frame on Sidney de Jong’s disputed homer in the left field corner. Togame and Dutch hurler Nick Stuifbergen then settled down with a string of shutout hurling that stretched into the middle innings. As the game moved into the home half of the sixth still deadlocked, opening day hero Yusuke Iwamoto (loser of a no-hitter in the ninth versus the Americans) replace Ken Togame on the hill for the Asians. The game that had opened with such a bang subsequently went to the bottom of the ninth still deadlocked at two apiece before the Dutch seriously threatened; but the game was extended to extra frames when Kyohei Tsuchimoto struck out Dirk van’t Klooster with the sacks full of runners. Vince Rooi finally plated Danny Rombley with a double down the left field line in the bottom of the eleventh.

Final Round-Robin WPT Team Standings
Team			Record			Runs Scored			Runs Allowed			Points *
CUBA			8-0			50			16			16
CHINESE TAIPEI			4-4			24			24			8
USA			4-4			40			26			8
NETHERLANDS			4-4			19			36			8
JAPAN			0-8			13			44			0
* Standings determined by points, 2 for win and 1 for tie

Peter Bjarkman’s 2007 World Port Tournament All-Star Team

C Yosvani Peraza (Cuba)

1B José Julio Ruíz Cuba)

2B Ming-Chue Tsai (Chinese Taipei)

3B Donald Duarte (Cuba)

SS Han Lin (Chinese Taipei)

OF Alfredo Despaígne (Cuba)

OF Jordan Danks (USA)

OF Alexei Bell (Cuba)

RHP Leon Boyd (Netherlands)

LHP Wei-Hua Lee (Chinese Taipei)

DH Pedro Alvarez (USA)

Manager Victor Mesa (Cuba)

MVP Yosvani Peraza (Cuba)



Finals notes: The biggest thrill of the last ten days was clearly Yosvani Peraza’s grand slam against Chinese Taipei. The biggest surprise has been the increasingly skilled performance of Victor Mesa’s team and the even-handed and astute manner in which Mesa has handled his charges. The most fun, as always, comes again tomorrow with seeing Cuba take to field for yet another international championship showdown.

Email the author at Bjarkman@mindspring.com

Report provided by author Peter C. Bjarkman, who can also be found at www.bjarkmanlatinobaseball.mlblogs.com.