Win three games against three different opponents in three days. That's what eight teams are shooting to do in order to emerge as champion of the Baseball World Cup on Sunday.
The quarterfinals are today at Tienmu Stadium in Taipei City and Shinchuan Stadium in Taipei County, matching teams that qualified through the two groups in round robin play.
Seven teams are looking to dethrone Cuba, the six-time defending champion whose dominance of the tournament may very well end this year due to the introduction of professional players.
With no off days to rest and every game a must-win, the crown may go to which team has the deepest pitching staff. Still, in the quick format of tournament, any team could get the breaks and end up a winner.
A look at the matchups:
Cuba vs. Dominican Republic
Cuba finished second in Group B, their only loss coming against Japan. Still a favorite, the group of veteran stars know how to play and win in the tournament format. Plus, their years of playing together as a unit gives them an enormous advantage. By contrast, most of the other teams were assembled in the weeks prior to the tournament without much time to practice or gel.
The Dominicans finished 5-2 in Group A, placing third. Expectations were not high for the team after ex-big leaguer Tony Pena withdrew as manager late last month. But manager Alex Taveras has regrouped his squad and proved the skeptics wrong, upsetting the US in their first game. But the Dominicans did not finish pool play well. Possibly distracted by the crash of the Dominican Republic-bound plane in New York, they lost to Taiwan 5-1 and then fell behind 5-2 to a weak South Africa team before rallying for a win.
If the young Dominican players loose their concentration, they may not be able to launch a comeback against the veteran Cuban stars.
As Taveras commented about the game against South African: "We got down in the beginning. When things start going bad, everything is very ugly."
Cuba defeated the Dominican Republic 9-2 in their last meeting at the 1998 World Cup.
Panama vs. the United States
The US team of minor league professionals overcame a shaky 2-2 start to win their final three games and finish second in Group A. Panama placed third in Group B at 5-2.
While it was the offense that was expected to carry the American team, the pitching has been their strength -- shutting out both South Korea and Taiwan in key games and compiling a 0.90 team ERA.
"They have a good team, but in our history, we have always played well against them. We will go after them and try to get into the final four," said Panama manager Karl Heron.
Neither team made the medal round at the 1998 World Cup. The US won the last meeting of the two squads, a 5-4 victory at last year's Pan Am Cup when the American team was comprised generally of players from independent leagues.
Taiwan vs. the Netherlands
Taiwan earned the top stop in Group A with a 6-1 record, losing only 6-0 to the US, while the Netherlands finished fourth in Group B at 4-3.
Taiwan pitching has been excellent. The staff did not give up an earned run to the Americans and virtually shut down all other opponents, having given up only six earned runs in their seven games for a team ERA of 0.90.
With the exception of third baseman Chang Tai-shan (
The problems might be behind them, as Taiwan enters the medal round following their best performance of the tournament, a 5-1 win over South Korea.
"I'm very pleased we were able to defeat Korea. Their always are one of the top teams from Asia. I'm very satisfied with my team's performance tonight, manager Lin Hua-wei (
Dutch manager Robert Een-hoorn knows that Taiwan will give his team a stiff test.
"They finished first in their group, so they must be a very strong team," Eenhoorn said. "We're confident. We've showed that we can play against anybody and we've got a lot of experience. We are looking forward to playing Taiwan."
While Taiwan will have a sold-out stadium behind it, the Dutch should not be overlooked. Their three losses, to Japan, Cuba and Panama, were by a combined six runs.
Taiwan won the last meeting between the two teams in the World Cup by 12-6 in 1998.
Japan vs. South Korea
Japan won Group B, the only team in the tournament to finish round robin play unbeaten. The Koreans finished fourth in Group A at 5-2, getting outscored 16-1 in lopsided losses to the US and Taiwan.
But the preliminary-round results can be left aside is what is probably the most intriguing quarterfinal game. Both teams are loaded with stars from their respective professional leagues and Japan will be looking to avenge two recent losses to the Koreans.
South Korea defeated Japan 8-3 in the quarterfinals at the 1998 World Cup and then downed their neighbors 3-1 to win the bronze medal at last year's Olympics.
Chen ties for RBI title
Taiwan's Chen Ching-fong (
The winners of individual statistical categories are determined through the round robin phase of the tournament.
Evert-Jan 't Hoen of the Netherlands won the home run title with three. Chen and teammate Wang Chuan-chia (
Luis Ulacia of Cuba captured the batting crown, finishing with an average of .600 (18-for-30). Chen was fourth, batting .480 (12-for-25). Nine pitchers had earned-run averages of 0.00, with Samuel Meurant of France taking first place based upon his having the highest total of innings pitched (15 2/3).
Taiwan's Chang Chih-chia (
Former Florida Marlins and New York Mets player Ralph Milliard of the Netherlands recorded the most stolen bases with seven.
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