Japanese media and fans regretted yesterday that extreme pressure and a base-running blunder had led two-time champions Japan to miss the World Baseball Classic final for the first time in three editions.
“The curtain falls on misfiring Samurai’s challenge”, read a headline in the Asahi Shimbun’s evening edition yesterday, just a few hours after Japan bowed 3-1 to underdogs Puerto Rico in the WBC semi-finals in San Francisco.
Japanese fans watched the game live on television, packing sports bars and cheering for the Samurai, who lacked US major league players for the first time.
“Japan batters came under pressure after Maeda yielded a run,” the Jiji Press news agency reported. “They could not hit on chances possibly because they rushed too much to catch up.”
When pinch-hitter Kazuo Matsui popped up with two outs in the bottom of the final inning, about 80 customers at the sports bar “Kickers” in Tokyo’s upscale district of Akasaka heaved a collective sigh, according to the Yomiuri Shimbun.
“They have come a long way to the semi-finals without the services of major league players,” said one of the customers, 39-year-old company employee Takashi Nezu. “They have almost realized their dream of the three-peat.”
This year’s Samurai lacked major league talent as star players Daisuke Matsuzaka, Yu Darvish and Ichiro Suzuki all chose to skip the event.
Four-time NBA all-star DeMarcus Cousins arrived in Taiwan with his family early yesterday to finish his renewed contract with the Taiwan Beer Leopards in the T1 League. Cousins initially played a four-game contract with the Leopards in January. On March 18, the Taoyuan-based team announced that Cousins had renewed his contract. “Hi what’s up Leopard fans, I’m back. I’m excited to be back and can’t wait to join the team,” Cousins said in a video posted on the Leopard’s Facebook page. “Most of all, can’t wait to see you guys, the fans, next weekend. So make sure you come out and support the Beer
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