Musing From the Bleachers 03.21.09: Redemption

Posted by Frank Fedele on 03.21.2009

The mercy rule was put in place to save teams the embarrassment of having to play the full nine innings when the score gets out of control. It goes all the way down to the little league level, but this week it happened at a much higher level. The United States team had it enacted during a game with Puerto Rico, ending the game in seven innings with the score 11-1. The United States team could have chosen to pack it in and go back to their respective MLB teams or do something about it. Read further to see how they chose.

World Baseball Classic

The United States team stood shocked on the field, the game was over. The Puerto Rican team led 11-1 and the game was stopped due to the mercy rule. The team was now in danger of being bounced from the tournament with one more loss and injuries were mounting. Chipper Jones and Dustin Pedroia were sent back to their major league teams with nagging injuries leaving the team with only two bench players. It had gotten so bad that they had to play their backup catcher in left field for a bit and were even discussing playing a pitcher, Ted Lilly, out there. Man, I am sure the Cubs would have loved that!

The team had a decision to make, whether they were happy with their run or if they wanted to continue into the semi-finals in Los Angeles. They first played the Netherlands, and beat them handily 9-3. The only black mark from that game for the Americans was Matt Lindstrom trying to send a message to the Netherlands team for watching their home runs just a bit too long. Just not necessary to be buzzing Vince Rooi to prove a point when you are already up and winning.


Roy Oswalt beating the Netherlands, image courtesy of voanews.com

The team then moved on to play the Puerto Rican team that killed them a couple of days earlier. They fell behind in the ninth inning, until David Wright came up and delivered the winning hit pushing the team to a 6-5 win. The win knocked Puerto Rico out of the tournament and the Americans to the semifinals in Los Angeles.

Redemption. Sweet, sweet redemption.


David Wright after his game winning hit, image courtesy of The Wall Street Journal


Final Thoughts

Spring training is winding down, with only a couple of weeks left before the regular season begins. Some injury concerns have surfaced, with Manny Ramirez nursing a hamstring issue and Cole Hamels worried about his elbow. Rest will help in both cases, as no structural damage was seen in either case. Each team has breathed a sigh of relief as both players are major cogs to their respective team and long term issues with either would cause major issues.


Cole Hamels throwing this spring, image courtesy of MLB.com


Come back next time where we start to prepare for the upcoming season and some spring surprises on the rosters. Until then, that is my view from my bleacher seat.