It’s like the Little League World Series for Adults

The World Baseball Classic is underway in North America, with Canada taking its first victory in its debut game. Mind you, topping a team of South African amateurs by a score of 11-8, by recapturing the lead in the top of the ninth won‘t exactly build a lot of arrogance for the Canadian team. (What is it with Canadian teams and the unknown teams of competition?)

Canada found the South African squad rather resilient during the Tuesday night game, the Africans offered up merely as sacrificial lambs in the sixteen team tourney, had surprisingly solid pitching in the first five innings as they held the Canadians off the scoreboard, shutting down a middle line up that has had more than its share of success in the major leagues.

At one point as the eighth inning ended, the South Africans looked to be heading for what would simply be the biggest upset in baseball in quite a while. But eventually, going far too deep into their bullpen the South Africans began to self destruct as wild pitches, passed balls and fielding errors allowed Canada back into the game and able to claim the 11-8 final score, escape embarrassment and take share of first place in their Pool B’s conference.

The Canadian squad in this attempt to globalize the great American past time, includes some well known names, some legends of Canadian baseball and some kids who might only be known to their parents and little league coaches. Corey Koskie, Jason Bay, Justin Morneau and Matt Stairs are some of the current Major leaguers that Canadians might know, as well as the legendary name of Stubby Clapp, who has worn Canadian colours in past International events. They are combined with a collection of young kids on their way up and the old timers on their way to their golden years in the AAA and AA range of ball.

Prior to the tournament it was thought that pitching would be a strong suit for Canada, but with Big League stars Eric Gagne, and Rich Harden taking a pass on the tourney due to injury concerns, pitching will now become be the wild card for the Canadian team. Having sent Erik Bedard to the mound on Tuesday, pitching his solid 40 some pitches during his time in the game, the Canadians now must send the young Adam Loewen up against the mighty USA squad on Wednesday, Loewen has never pitched above the AA level, so Wednesday will be a day to remember for him. Hopefully his time in the spotlight will end in a good way, and not as a statistic generator for strong American hitting.

A troublesome sign for the Canadians was the bullpen on Tuesday as former Blue Jay Paul Quantrill and Real Cormier struggled in the late innings, unable to close off the South African offensive blitz. And while the first game can probably be treated like an exhibition match, you can’t afford to give up the hits that Canada did and claim victory over teams that have baseball in their blood. A similar display against the Americans, Mexicans, Dominicans or Venezuelans to name a few will quickly be taken advantage of.

A team needs two wins to advance in the competition, Canada squeaked its first on Tuesday, but toppling the Americans might be too large a leap this early in the tournament. Perhaps the Canadians have their eyes on Friday and a match up with Mexico, a game that could determine if Canada’s stay at the Classic will go much past the first round of competition.

It’s perhaps for that reason that Loewen got the nod for the American game, allowing Canada to save Major leaguer Jeff Francis for the pivotal Mexican game. When your depth chart is shallow, you have to go deep into the thinking to make your mark. Barring a major league upset of the Americans on Wednesday; all eyes will be on the match up Friday with Mexico, it could be Canada’s most important nine innings of baseball at the classic!

The tournament which is significant for its no shows (the timing of the series prior to the regular season has sent many big leaguers begging off participation) is designed as a way to showcase the game for the legion of fans outside of the USA. There have been some stumbles along the way to the Classic and there is some question as to whether this is the debut or finale for the idea of a World Cup style of competition for the sport.

It’s actually a good idea, though the early games are the things of the Grapefruit league and not of any great showcase of baseball. A better solution might be to move the Classic in a reduced format (sixteen teams may be a bit ambitious) to the dog days of August, shutting down the meandering regular season every four years for the showcase. Mind you that’s a rather doubtful idea, if only as it would annoy the likes of George Steinbrenner who would balk at the possibly of putting his players at peril, short weeks before the stretch drives for the pennant and World Series.

So like any competition that involves nations, it will all come down to pride. No matter who pulls on the uniform, when they do and play for their country the game can be taken to a higher level. It will be interesting to watch the progress of the World Baseball Classic (Edition 1). The reaction of the fans, the television ratings (in Canada all games are on Rogers Sportsnet) and the quality of play will go a long way in determining if there is a World Baseball Classic II.