WBC: Round 2--- IGT Japan v. United States of Jeter (3/12)

[Guest OlerudOwned]

Jeter lays down a perfect bunt! BRILLIANT! HE ALWAYS MAKES THE BIG PLAY!


(That last part is actually what the announcer said. It's a first inning bunt, put your pants back on)

[Guest Rotblatt]

Ichiro slaps Jeter's first pitch into the right field bleachers to give Japan the lead. Nishioka follows with a single up the middle, but SP Jeter gets Namura to ground into a DP--SS Jeter tagged second then threw to 1B Jeter.

Nice play by Jeter.

2B Jeter reached on an error by 2B Nishioka, followed by the Jeter bunt Olerud referred to. CF Jeter followed with a grounder to 3B, who started a pretty little DP.

1-0 Japan after 1.

[Guest Rotblatt]

CF Fukodome works out a walk, then 3B Iwamura singles past a rangeless, diving Jeter. 1B Ogasawura lays down a picture-perfect bunt in front of the plate to advance the runners. Peav--er, Jeter, who by now is taking Japan very, very seriously ponies up and K's C Tanishige with a vicious slider away. Kawasaki lines the next pitch--a 97 MPH fastball away--past 3B Derek "Larry" Jeter who was playing in, respecting Kawasaki's speed.

3-0 Japan.

3B Jeter leads off and hits a HR to dead center field.

3-1 Japan.

[Guest OlerudOwned]

Laaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaarryyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy

[Guest Rotblatt]

Uehara is looking pretty good. Good control and he keeps his pitches low in the zone.

1B Jeter called out on strikes.

Ogasawura made a beautiful diving snag of a sharply hit grounder by C Jeter, then flips to Uehara for the out.

A simply breathtaking play.

LF Jeter fights off some nasty pitches, then pops up to CF Fukuhara.

[Guest Rotblatt]

Lineups

Japan

Ichiri, RF
Nishioka, 2B
Tamura, LF
Matsunaka, DH
Fukodome, CF
Iwamura, 3B
Ogasawara, 1B
Tanishige, C
Kawasaki, SS

P: Uehara

Team Jeter

"Texas" Jeter, 2B
Jeter, SS
"Junior" Jeter, CF
"A"-Jeter, DH (retarded. Why not put "Larry" Jeter at DH?)
"Larry" Jeter, 3B
Derek Derek Jeter, 1B
"Brian" Jeter, C
"Time Machine" Jeter, RF
"Randy" Jeter, LF

P: "The Jake" Jeter

[Guest Rotblatt]

2B Jeter singles, erased by Derek "Clutch" Jeter groundout. Double play.

"Junior" Jeter singles to right, then A-Jeter follows with a single to left.

"Larry" at bat with 2 out, 2 on.

[Guest ScarletKnight41]

Still 3-1 Japan in the bottom of the 6th.

[Guest OlerudOwned]

Derek Lee tied the game with a home run

[Guest KC]

It's amazing that Jeter can walk after all the broadcasting BJ's he's gotten
for a couple of bunts.

[Guest Rotblatt]

Tied at 3, with 2 outs, a runner at third in the bottom of the 7th inning. Chiba Lotte pitcher Yabuta comes in to face A-Rod. Throws 2 balls, then a nice little forkball on the outside corner, a change-up high in the zone that A-Rod took a hack at. fifth pitch, nastly forkball down and in and A-Rod struck out.

This is a pretty good game.

[nymr83]

definetaly the team i'm rooting for if USA gets eliminated.

[seawolf17]

You know what's lost in this? Sadaharu Oh in uniform in the USA. Now I wish I could have gotten tickets to one of these Japan games.

I like how Rick Sutcliffe is talking about the Japanese players like he's been following them for years.

[Guest Iubitul]

Nymr83 wrote: definetaly the team i'm rooting for if USA gets eliminated.

I can't root for any team with Jeter, A-Rod and Clemens on it. Sorry - I just can't do it.

[Guest Iubitul]

seawolf17 wrote: You know what's lost in this? Sadaharu Oh in uniform in the USA. Now I wish I could have gotten tickets to one of these Japan games.

If this only happened 20 years ago, so we could have seen him play...

[Guest KC]

3-3 after 7, a Japan run is taken off the scoreboard (wrongly) by the crew
chief of the umpires reversing a leaving early play at third on fly out.

If Japan loses, they got screwed by blue.

[Guest Rotblatt]

That was an atrociously bad call.

I'm totally pissed.

Yabuta takes em down 1-2-3, including a K of Johnny Damon.

[Guest ScarletKnight41]

Agreed Kase and Rotblatt - Japan should be ahead 4-3.

[Guest Rotblatt]

Fucking US cheaters.

This is bullshit.

For those of you not watching, lidge walked Ogasawara. Pinch hitter Aoki bunted him to second. Kawasaki ground out to the left side, advancing Ogasawara to third for Ichiro. Martinez intentionally walked Ichirio. Nisioka (who was the victim of the piece-of-shit call by the home plate umpire) walked the bases full. Tamura went down swinging to end the threat and the inning.

[Guest ScarletKnight41]

I'm half watching, and MK says, "I hate that guy."

I ask who.

"Captain Intangibles," he answers.

I'm doing something right with that boy

[Guest KC]

Jeter plunked to load the bases (hee hee) with Jr. coming up with one out.

Beats watching a cluster funked bracketology break dance that's on some
other station.

[Guest ScarletKnight41]

A-Rod gets a hit to win the game.

Damn.

[Guest KC]

Arod singles in the winning run, 4-3.

Feh.

[Guest Rotblatt]

That is the biggest crock of shit I've ever fucking seen.

UNFUCKINGREAL.

USA wins 4-3.

Griffey struck out and A-Rod with a crap grounder up the middle to score the run.

Japan totally fell apart in this inning. Why? Because they were robbed of the lead.

Fucking umpires.

[seawolf17]

Alex Rodriguez! You just got the first big game-winning clutch hit of your career! What are you going to do now?

Oh, wait. It's a meaningless preseason exhibition. Sorry.

[Guest Rotblatt]

This was a great game, but that bullshit call REALLY pisses me off.

Buck Martinez thinks that the umps got the call right. Uh, watch the replays, asshole.

I'm SO pissed.

[Guest holychicken]

I don't get why Japan got screwed. A batter earlier (or two, not sure), one of those who was walked to load the bases, was given a ball when he clearly had swung. I know it is certainly not as egregious as taking a run off the board but certainly could have had just as much of an impact on the outcome of the game.

On top of that, say Japan had only scored that one run, Arod's shot up the middle would have probably scored 2 as it was 2 outs and the runners would have been going and the outfielders were playing deep (why, I have no idea).

Sure, the call was wrong and totally sucked . . . however, it wasn't the first wrong call of the game (and certainly won't be the last of the tourney) and it is reasonable to believe that US could have tied or won it in the 9th.

[Frayed Knot]

It was a bad call but it was also closer than some of the cries here are indicating.
What I think happened is that the runner started his stride and arm pumping movement prior to the catch being made - but had yet to break contact with the base as the ball settled. That's probably what screwed the blue-crew up; that and that they didn't seem to know whose call it was as one of them went out to cover the OF play.
Whatever it was, you gotta be more sure before you overturn a call like that.



I like how Jeter collected that clutch HBP in the 9th. That ball in the dead center of his back misses 99% of other MLers. Whatever it takes to win ... that's why he has 1,759 rings.


Buck Martinez bunts too much.
The one time I agreed with his sac attempt was the one where it wasn't successful when the Jpnese got the force at 3rd. I suppose it's too much to expect to have the announcers even question whether it was a good idea but - as mentioned above - they were too busy praising Jeter for the "unselfish" plays to wonder whether or not it was even a smart one.


I never really paid much attention to Sutcliffe before but I'm afraid he's got a bit of Healy in him.
Not personality-wise but in the fact that he NEVER -- STOPS -- TALKING.

[Frayed Knot]

Umpire Davidson's comments:

- I was about to call the runner out when the 2nd base ump waved 'safe' before I could make the call.

- The call was mine to make so I would have overturned the call even w/o Buck Martinez asking for it

- saw 2 replays; one which shows I was right & one which shows I was wrong

P.S. I also thought it was the right call upon seeing the first replay. 2nd angle showed otherwise.

[The Big O]

I don't condone posting pictures of Yankees in these forums.

That is, unless the photo makes them look silly: