Centerfield

Wright sac-fly ties it at 1.

1-0 Dodgers in the 6th but the Mets have 2 on with no one out. Ciafa Lewis is the worst sideline reporter ever.

Well that's just silly. Wagner has blown saves like any other closer. He just hasn't blown any big, important ones.

For what it's worth, sometimes when Reyes was up there last year, it looked like he was displaying that very contradiction, taking pitches right down the middle, then swinging wildly at everything else.

metirish wrote: I wonder if Sandra Oh is related to Sadaharu .... Given a choice, I think I would rather kiss Sadaharu...

Akinori Otsuka The former Padres reliever, now with Texas, called San Diego closer Trevor Hoffman on Sunday morning and asked if he could use his signature Hell's Bells song if he had a chance to close the championship game. Hoffman gave his blessing, and Otsuka did him proud with a five-out save. That's really cool. How funny is it that Team Japan uses AC/DC to close out their victory.

Ichiro puts an end to that madness.

Announcer: Warming in the pen is righthander Byung Hyun Kim and lefthander (some other guy who's name I can't remember). CF's Dad: Byung Hyun Kim? Jesus, I hope they bring in the other guy. CF: The lefty? Really? Do you know him? Is he any good? CF's Dad: I know he's not Byung Hyun Kim.

Dropping cable would do you no good as Direct TV and Dishnetwork also have no deal in place.

USA LOSES AS JETER FAILS TO DO EVERYTHING IT TAKES TO WIN By Centerfield CPF News ANAHEIM, Calif. -- Roger Clemens was looking for a much better finish to his brilliant career. Instead, the Rocket Man choked yet again in a big spot, taking the loss as Oliver Perez and seven relievers combined to pitch a three-hitter to lead Mexico past the Rocket and Team USA 2-1 on Thursday night, eliminating the Americans from the inaugural World Baseball Classic and putting Japan in the semifinals. Clemens pitched well (for a choker) Thursday night, but the bats couldn�t get the job done for the United States. A lineup loaded with All-Stars such as Alex Rodriguez, Chipper Jones and Ken Griffey Jr. managed just three hits against the gritty Mexican pitchers. Despite the poor offensive showing, the consensus in Anaheim was that this loss rested squarely on the shoulders of Derek Jeter. �Derek usually does everything it takes to win,� Team USA manager Buck Martinez said. �Tonight, he didn�t play the game the way it�s supposed to be played. It�s a shame...you see what can happen.� Despite batting .450 in the World Baseball Classic, Jeter�s TTRM (Things That Really Matter) numbers took a huge nosedive during this tournament. Jeter was 0 for 11 in Little Things that Constitute the Difference Between Winning and Losing, batted .043 in At-Bats that Really Matter and failed to record a single Important Nuance that Doesn�t Show Up in the Box Score. �I knew it was going to be tough,� said Jeter. �The other countries play a high level of baseball and, you know, we have A-Rod.� �With my heart and my determination, I can usually will my team to victory by simply refusing to lose. Tonight, I don�t know, I just didn't feel very adamant.� Jeter added that he wished he could have given Clemens a better finale. �I wish we could have ended his career on a better note. I�ll try to make it up to him next time he retires.� When it was over, Clemens talked about his final outing. "They were tough. And when they started hitting the ball, there were no other objects around the mound for me to hurl at them. I�m not happy we lost, but since we only scored one run and since I wasn�t actually on the mound when the go-ahead run scored, I think people should blame my teammates and not me.� Asked about his retirement, Clemens responded, �For me, right now, it's goodbye." The game was not without controversy. Mexico took a 1-0 lead off Clemens in the third on a leadoff double by Mario Valenzuela and a two-out single by Jorge Cantu. But it wasn't that simple. A television replay showed Valenzuela's fly ball hit the right field foul pole at least 10 feet off the ground and bounced back onto the field. However, first base umpire Bob Davidson didn't see it that way, and Valenzuela wound up at second. It was Davidson, umpiring behind the plate, who ruled that Japan's Tsuyoshi Nishioka left third base early in the eighth inning Sunday to negate a sacrifice fly that would have snapped a 3-3 tie in a game Team USA won. Asked about the call afterwards, an irritated Davidson responded, �Why are you asking me about these calls? Ask Buck...he�s the one who tells me what to say.� With the United States loss, Japan, which has already lost twice to Korea in the Classic, faces its archrival in Saturday's second semifinal game in San Diego, with the Dominican Republic meeting Cuba in the daytime opener. The winners play Monday for the championship.

I think Gary Cohen is better on radio. I dunno. Maybe I'm just not used to it yet.

I'm happy for Bob Davidson that the blown call didn't end up making any difference. That was a fun game. Clemens gets the loss in what might be his last game ever.

Wow, I'm surprised by the Soler cut. So much for him being the favorite for the 5th starter position...

As usual, nothing will probably get done until the 11th hour. I don't like how that article describes the Dish Network situation.

As an aside, when I initially thought about this tournament, I was looking forward to seeing Shinjo again. And then it occurred to me that he wasn't that good in Japan and might not be asked to be part of the team. I didn't see or hear anything about him. Does anyone know if he was asked?

The Japanese are pretty easygoing. I'm sure it's no big deal.

They were cutting into the Cuba-PR game last night on ESPN News. I was torn watching Beltran hit, I wanted him to do well, but I also wanted PR to be eliminated so the Mets could come home. As it turned out, Beltran singled and Pudge was nailed trying to score from first (ball was bobbled). Worked out perfectly. I saw highlights of the Japan/Korea game this morning. After the last out was made, the camera showed Ichiro swearing in the dugout. You're right, I've never seen him lose his cool like that, but then again, I guess he feels like he has to back up his words from earlier. Japan having all sorts of problems in and around 3rd base this round.

Nady Schaefer stock plummeting!!!

Yancy, The new rules sound perfect. You're right, a lot of times, I just couldn't come up with 10 points, which is what kept me from voting. I'm looking forward to it. And thanks for your hard work.

I'm guessing Seung Yeop Lee is in the bigs by 2007.

Here was my problem with the call...when the call was initially given, the runner was called safe. The home plate umpire made no indication he was going to give any call. If he planned on calling him out, he should have overturned it immediately. He didn't. He only did so after Buck Martinez came out and argued. What could Buck have said to change his mind? Did he remind him how many Yankees he had on the team? It was awful. If you are going to make the call, you have to make it right away...and like FK said, you better be damn sure...especially considering it wasn't a bang-bang play at home. The home plate ump later said he planned on calling him out the whole time. I don't buy that. What would there be to discuss if he planned on calling him out? Wouldn't that discussion not even be necessary? If he's telling the truth, the ump would just wave away Martinez, make the call, and then turn to deal with a fuming Oh coming out of the Japanese dugout. And to say that the US would have won anyway is clearly wrong. Had the run scored, the inning would have continued...and who knows how many runs Japan would have scored. Of course, we have no idea how the US would have responded in their half of the inning either...point is, to turn a run into an out in a one-run game is huge. And with respect to the bracket, I didn't realize until this weekend how the WBC had basically assured the US of a spot in the finals. It's ludicrous that the US doesn't play any latin american team until the finals. The US gets Mexico and Korea while the Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico, Cuba and Venezuela are beating up on each other. Unbelievable. But then again, none of the latin teams had to face the menacing South Africans.

People are saying more people will be pulling for Mexico than team USA despite the fact the matchup takes place on US soil. Maybe some of it has to do with the US putting together a team that is really, really hard to root for. Johnny Damon, Derek Jeter, Roger Clemens, Alex Rodriguez, and Chipper Jones. Sheesh. I may have to root for Canada.

I thought the movie had some compelling moments, but overall, I thought it was incredibly overrated. It's almost like people feel they have to like it because it is a serious movie that deals with racism. And for a movie that took itself so seriously, it had some incredibly campy moments. The two black men that complain about being looked at suspiciously in a white neighborhood immediately turning around and stealing a car. The gun scene with the little girl and the dad...the fact that Matt Dillon's character runs into Thandie Newton the next day while Ryan Phillipe runs into Terrence Howard. This movie took the easy way out far too often. I'm willing to bet that two/three years from now, everyone will have completely forgotten about this movie.

Couple of things... I am really really concerned about Pedro's toe. When they were showing those slo-mo's of his feet, you can really see how violent that action is. I don't know that any shoe can counter that. Did anyone else cringe when Phillips compared Pedro's toe to Barry's knee? Mike Pelfrey can bring it and he has perfect form. His delivery is free and easy and it looks like he could throw all day. I'm guessing Tommy John by mid-June or so. I thought Milledge's swing looked too long to hit for an effective average in the bigs. The metallic looking batting helmets freakin' rock. What is this about Delgado's elbow? Why did we not hear about it before? If it's that serious, why is he going to Puerto Rico instead of the Mets trainer's examing table? Beltran looks good. I think he's going to have a bounce-back year.

In the better-attended half of the doubleheader, Korea edges Japan 3-2 on another HR by Lee. This time, a two run blast in the 8th was the difference. Sign Lee and teach him to play second base NOW!!!!