The World Baseball Classic on Monday erupted in controversy after Mexico were eliminated from the competition after an unsuccessful protest over a rules mix-up.
Mexico believed they had done enough to earn a place in Monday’s playoff against Italy for a second-round berth after upsetting Venezuela 11-9 in a nail-biting battle late on Sunday.
However, Mexico were informed early on Monday by organizers that Venezuela would advance to the playoff against Italy.
The decision hinged on a key ruling regarding average runs conceded per inning in head-to-head group play.
Mexico had conceded an average of 1.12 runs per inning; Venezuela 1.11 and Italy 1.05.
However news of the rule’s interpretation infuriated Mexico players and officials, who claimed they had been given contrary advice before Sunday’s game.
Both the World Baseball Classic and Major League Baseball on Twitter said that Mexico would advance to Monday’s tiebreaker with Italy. Both posts were later deleted.
Mexico’s Los Angeles Dodgers first baseman Adrian Gonzalez took to Twitter to vent his fury at the blunder.
“We were told before the game if we win by two, we play tomorrow [Monday],” Gonzalez wrote, criticizing the methodology that saw Venezuela advance to the playoff instead of Mexico.
“We win by two and lose by one, Venezuela loses by 2 and wins by 1? Way to set up a tournament,” Gonzalez added, directing barbs at Major League Baseball.
“Looks like some rules makers cannot go by their own rules,” he added.
Bayer 04 Leverkusen go into today’s match at TSG 1899 Hoffenheim stung from their first league defeat in 16 months. Leverkusen were beaten 3-2 at home by RB Leipzig before the international break, the first loss since May last year for the reigning league and cup champions. While any defeat, particularly against a likely title rival, would have disappointed coach Xabi Alonso, the way in which it happened would be most concerning. Just as they did in the Supercup against VfB Stuttgart and in the league opener to Borussia Moenchengladbach, Leverkusen scored first, but were pegged back. However, while Leverkusen rallied late to
The lights dimmed and the crowd hushed as Karoline Kristensen entered for her performance. However, this was no ordinary Dutch theater: The temperature was 80°C and the audience naked apart from a towel. Dressed in a swimsuit and to the tune of emotional music, the 21-year-old Kristensen started her routine, performed inside a large sauna, with a bed of hot rocks in the middle. For a week this month, a group of wellness practitioners, called “sauna masters,” are gathering at a picturesque health resort in the Netherlands to compete in this year’s Aufguss world sauna championships. The practice takes its name from a
Japanese players are moving to English soccer in record numbers and more look set to follow with clubs attracted by their quality, strong work ethic and value for money. Kaoru Mitoma is the standout talent of five Japanese players in the English Premier League, with eight more in the Championship and two in League One. Liverpool midfielder Wataru Endo, the captain of Japan, believes his compatriots are “being held in higher esteem” by English clubs compared with the past. “The staff at Liverpool ask me about lots of Japanese players, not necessarily with a view to a transfer, but just saying this or
Taiwan yesterday survived Bosnia and Herzegovina to win their Davis Cup World Group I tie at the Taipei Tennis Center. The tight series started on Saturday with world No. 123 Jason Tseng losing 3-6, 7-5, 6-4 to Mirza Basic in the opening singles matchup. However, teammate Tony Wu kept the tie even, dominating world No. 86 Damir Dzumhur 6-2, 6-1. Yesterday, 24-year-old Ray Ho and partner 25-year-old Hsu Yu-hsiou kept up the momentum, making short work of Basic and Nerman Fatic, winning 6-3, 6-4. Tseng then suffered another defeat, losing 6-4, 2-6, 6-2 to Dzumhur in a brutal match that lasted more than two