In the spirit of equal airtime, I have allowed the creator of our sister site in Japan, Majol Reague Jelk, have the opportunity to gloat about Japan’s victory over the US in last night’s semifinal game of the WBC.  I have made no attempt to edit this post.

Hello, stupid fat Americans.  It is a beautiful day to be alive in the greatest country in the world.  No, I am not talking about America with it’s high unemployment, high obesity rates, and low education marks.  I am talking about Japan, the only remaining civilized nation on the planet.  Japan is what America claims to be.  We have cornered the market on scientific innovation which allows us to provide jobs to our highly educated workforce; we have transformed ourselves from a superstitious nation that once worshiped idols into one that values logical thought; and we have shed the prude sexual inhibitions of our ancestors to the point where we lead the world in sexual experimentation.  No other nation draws or films the creepy shit we do.  There is no use denying this.

Do not worry that you were beaten by our magnificent team 9-4.  There is just as much dishonor in losing 1-0 as there is in losing 9-4.  Losing is losing.  And it is this subject which I would like to discuss today. Read the rest of this entry »

In their first match up in the 2009 WBC, USA takes on USA Jr. at the Rogers Centre in Toronto. USA will be out for blood after an embarrassing 8-6 defeat at the hands of our neighbors to the north. This upset was one of the reasons that the US failed to qualify for the semi-finals in 2006. Those results better be different this year as the USA team has as much talent as any team in the tournament.

The starting pitchers today will be Mike Johnson for Canada and Jake Peavy for the US. I don”t know much about Mike Johnson, only that when I googled him, the first athlete to come up was Michael Johnson, the sprinter, followed by Mike Johnson, a hockey player. The third athlete was the pitcher Mike Johnson, whose career record (Ed. note: that Mike Johnson pitched in 1974, so I don’t think it’s the same guy) I can’t find. I’m hoping the powerhouse lineup for the USA can get to this guy often and early. The USA roster can be found here and the Canadian roster here. My one concern is that the USA has slated the right-hand throwing Peavy to face Canada’s lefty heavy lineup. I don’t blame the manager, the US team doesn’t have much left hand starting pitching. Their pitching overall looks a little weak. Where is Lincecum, Webb or Cliff Lee?

One nice thing about the WBC this year is that you can scout for your fantasy team. I like it because there is no need to look up stats and projections, simply give it the eyeball test. For instance, I saw Tejada hit a home run earlier. You might want to draft him. Also, Edinson Volquez didn’t look so hot so probably shouldn’t draft him. Sidney Ponson had a solid outing so you best believe I’ll be looking to scoop him up late in my draft.

Awful Announcing says that we’ll be getting Dave O’Brien and Rick Sutcliffe in the booth. Sutcliffe is alright, but he’s no Joe Morgan. Why wouldn’t you get Jon Miller and Joe Morgan for such an important game like this? Come on ESPN, get your shit together. At least put Erin Andrews in the stands, or is her restraining order against Dave O’Brien still valid? Live blog after the jump: Read the rest of this entry »