Japan see off Cuba in WBC opener

No question about who played the better game here. That fifth inning was what ended Cuba. I tuned out for a little bit and was later surprised to see they had gotten another five runs (Cuba), and not so much surprised to see Japan had gotten another 4. Well done, Japan!

Throw ball, hit ball, run. BOOOORING!!!

Throw ball, hit ball, run. BOOOORING!!!

You just described about 3/4 of the sports out there.

Jalapeno: It CAN be boring, yes. It can be VERY boring. But it can also be exciting if it's a good game.

Matsuda is such a clown - I can't stand him.

Japan's offense obviously looked good, but their relief pitchers were more than a bit shaky. They really let Cuba back into the game in the later innings. Regardless, looking forward to what should be a deep run for the home team.

It's easy to see that the Cuban teams of about 20 years ago were much better than what we saw in Game 1 of the Tokyo round of the WBC. Seems as if all the good Cuban players are now doing their thing in the Major Leagues while the WBC Cuban group are struggling with what talent remains. Overall, Japan clearly beat the daylights out of the Cubans in game one.

It is a shame the WBC is all about money rather than worldwide increase in popularity of baseball. That is why countries like japan and s.korea will continue to host at the expense of the other smaller nations.