Okay an exciting first round of the 2009 WBC. Did anyone see the Netherlands getting past round one? Well neither did I. I knew they would have some what of a talented pitching staff with Bert Blyleven as their coach. Just surprised that they have some really speedy guys and alot of young players. They beat the Dominicans not just once but twice. Great ride Netherlands you got someone rooting for you.

Also in Pool D, Puerto Rico is advancing to Miami. They beat the Netherlands twice and also they got Bernie Williams, what a great sight for me when I am seeing him running down fly balls. That brought back good memories. They have had a good offense. They got Delgado and Beltran in the middle so I won’t be surprised if the Puerto Ricans advance.

In Pool C the Americans were favored heavily and did not dissapoint. They won the opening game 6-5 against a powerful Canadian team. They defeated the Venezuelans 15-6 in which Chris Ianetta had a big game with a 3-Run double and a great showcase by the starting pitchers in the first 2 games. In the 3rd game the USA lost to Venezuela 5-3 but they still advance to Miami.

The Venezuelans were expected to advance and they did. They beat Italy in their first game in Toronto. They lost to the before mentioned Americans 15-6 in which the bullpen struggled to contain the US batters. In the elimination game Venezuela beat Italy 10-1 to advance to the next round. In the C finale the Venezuelans beat the US 5-3 with the help of Francisco Rodriguez in the 9th inning.

In Pool B the Cubans were my favorites to win this pool and they are advancing to the next round. Cuba is a team that we didn’t know much about because of the isolationism of the Cubans. We learned that they have great batting, pitching, and defense. The bullpen is anchored by Pedro Luis Lazo who wears #99. Again don’t know too much about the Cuban team. They defeated the Republic of South Africa in the 1st game and beat Mexico.

Mexico is advancing, they got great hitting. Adrian Gonzalez is their power man. Some good players. Jorge Campillo is a good pitcher. Mexico lost its first game to Australia, who had a great game hitting wise. They defeated the South Africans in the elimination game and will face Cuba in the finale.

In Pool A the Koreans got off to a hot start as they defeated Chinese Taipei in their first game. Then they met rival Japan and got trounced. They met China and sleminated them which got them a rematch with the Japanese. The Koreans took the second game from Japan and won Pool A. A notable player on the Korean team is Shin Soo Choo who plays for the Cleveland Indians.

Japan has a good team which is why they advanced. They earned a tough win against the Chinese in the first game, defeated Korea, then lost to Korea. Ichiro is the spark plug. They got a great young pitcher in Yu Darvish. Matsuzaka and Koji Uehara also are some stud ptichers for the Japanese team. The Japanese can go far but only if they don’t beat themselves.