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Cuba Embarks on Dramatic Historic World Cup Stretch Run in Nettuno
by Peter C. Bjarkman
Special for www.baseballdecuba.com
My last column dwelt on the drastic shifts of fortune that normally plague—or perhaps better still, enliven—the sport of baseball. That account was written in the aftermath of Cuba’s only loss of the tournament at the hands of Puerto Rico, a game were a single sloppy three-run inning and uncharacteristic pitching meltdown put the ball club in a rather deep second-round hole. It was an unsuspected setback (Cuba had beat the same opponent 10-0 earlier) that not only ruined a perfect tournament récord for the world’s top ranked ball club but also dealt a severe blow to championship aspirations under this year’s odd divisional format for decided eventual finalists. Indeed prospects did not look all that bright for the once-favored Cubans up in Holland just four days back. But now, with a return to Italy and a four-game spurt in the win column, the entire picture suddenly looks a good deal brighter.
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Pete Bjarkman poses with World Cup 38 Winner’s Trophy on display in Nettuno Harbor. |
Team Cuba after reeling off two straight wins on Italian soil now stands on the very verge of reaching still another World Cup final. The magic number is now a mere one—one more Cuban victory on the final two nights or one more defeat for both The Netherlands and arch-rival Puerto Rico and the Cubans will play the Americans for all the marbles (or all the gold) here in Nettuno on Sunday afternoon. It would be a rematch of the two clubs that met two years ago in the Taiwan finale that ended Cuba’s nine-tournament championship streak. The sweetest scenario of all, of course, would find the Red Machine earning that cherished championship ticket against the very Americans who sabotaged their quarter-century unblemished mark the last time out. The only thing now that would keep Cuba out of the Gold Medal match would be losses to both Team USA and the Canadians tomorrow night in Florence, and then only if Holland (versus Canada and the USA) and Puerto Rico (versus Chinese Taipei and Australia) win both of their remaining outings. Cuba can tie in the final round with The Netherlands and still play for gold. What they can not have is either a similar tie with top-seeded Puerto Rico or a three-way deadlock (with Holland also included).
Still another successful run to the finals here in Italy would definitely add one more glorious chapter to an already incredible half-century-plus Cuban baseball saga. The world’s number-one-ranked baseball country now stands on the verge of reaching the World Cup finals for the mind-stretching 28th time in 30 overall attempts. On eight occasions over the years Cuba has not entered this event, several times because they were barred by unfriendly Latin neighbors in the aftermath of the Castro revolution. Two of those absences also involved the pair of mid-1970s non IBAF-sponsored events (1973 in Managua and 1974 in Florida). On only a mere two occasions has Cuba not taken home gold or silver and both of those times they were winners of the bronze medallion (1944 in Caracas and 1951 in Mexico City). The two silver medal finishes came in 1941 (with a loss to Venezuela in Havana) and in the event’s most recent reunion in Taiwan. Over a full half-century now Cuba has never come to this event and not gone home a medal winner, usually a gold medal winner. Teams representing the island have now either won or reached the final title game on 20 straight occasions dating back to 1952, a decade before the suspension of professional baseball on the island. This récord is of course the most truly miraculous one in the entire history of the sport at any level of professional or amateur play.
One cherished and almost unfathomable Cuban streak was finally washed away last spring in the World Baseball Classic. That was the one that had Cuba reaching either the championship circle or at least the title showdown on fifty straight occasions in all major tournaments. This string began with the April 1961 Amateur World Series (forerunner of the current World Cup) staged in San José (Costa Rica) in the shadows of a history-changing Bay of Pigs invasion transpiring simultaneously back home; it included all Cuban appearances in the AWS/World Cup, Intercontinental Cup, Pan American Games and recent World Baseball Classic. It ended with a second round exit in the MLB-staged WBC II this spring in San Diego. Such a string had to end sometime, of course; the headline story was that it had somehow lasted as long as it did, even after the 1999 introduction of professional players and wooden into these once-amateur events. But another unparalleled success story is now still very much alive and the chances of its improbable extension are increasing with each passing day.
Tonight’s much-anticipated match involves the 2007 finalists and also could well be a welcomed preview of Sunday’s afternoon’s finale in this same quaint ballpark. But while Team USA has already stamped its own ticket for that coveted last game, Lombillo’s squad desperately needs one more win to get there. The Netherlands is not very likely to get by both the Americans and Canadians on successive nights. But the Puerto Ricans have only one tough roadblock in front of them and that is highly unpredictable Australia, a team equally capable of huge offensive outburst or totally quiet offensive outings. Cuba has already had a lot of help in the first two games from both Australia (with their comeback versus Holland) and the inconsistent Puerto Ricans (who have managed no runs and only three ineffective hits in two Italian outings). Lombillo’s forces must now take matters into their own hands and earn their way in the front door; it is far too risky at this point to count on a sneaky backdoor entry ticket to the glamorous championship venue.
Cuba’s overall excellent pitching has definitely been the headline story here in Europe, precisely as I earlier predicted that it would be. There has been plenty of slugging as well, but it has been the clutch pitching especially of Norge Vera, Yulieski González and the venerable Pedro Lazo that has again and again rescued a sometimes sluggish offensive attack and thus on several near- desperate occasions saved the day. But the eye-catching slugging performance of Alfredo Despaigne can also not be overlooked. Despaigne has not only put up historic numbers but has also on a handful of occasions singlehandedly assured victory with his timely long balls. The 22-year-old Granma stalwart, playing in only his fourth main international event, has now equaled a long-standing Orestes Kindelán récord of nine round trippers in a single World Cup. Kindelán’s mark was set back in 1990, in Edmonton, and thus has held up now for nearly two full decades. Ironically, Team USA’s Justin Smoak has kept pace and has also equaled the American team standard (also nine) in the same department. Tonight these two sluggers will go head-to-head and Cuban fans across the island must now be hoping that Despaigne’s showcase performance will key the same team successes as did Kindelan’s (Cuba winning their fourth of nine straight titles that year) slightly more than two decades in the past.
Peter C. Bjarkman is traveling with Team Cuba across Europe (Spain, The Netherlands, Italy) during September’s IBAF World Cup tournament and reporting regularly with his exclusive columns and articles for www.baseballdecuba.com. Bjarkman’s latest book—Baseball’s Other Big Red Machine: A History of the Cuban National Team (McFarland)—is scheduled for publication in early spring 2010.
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