Today we played an afternoon game against Nicaragua who we lost to in a practice game before the tournament started, but today we got up 4-3 in what was a much needed win for the team. We had great pitching today and some timely hitting, like I said, we keep doing everything right, and everything will fall into place and that will lead to a win and that's what happened today. We didn't change anything from the last few days, even though we were losing we were still playing good, hard baseball.
We had a few firsts today for the tournament. Mitch Dening scored our first run, Stefan Welch drove in the teams first run and Joel Naughton hit our first long ball, a line drive shot over the right field wall in the 5th inning. Ryan Searle got the start for us and delivered 5 solid innings only allowing 3 runs, 2 of which were earned. He was then relieved by Andrew Russell who threw 3 great innings, as well as making some great defensive plays to help his cause. To close the game out in the 9th we called upon Brendan Wise to nail down the save who threw a solid 9th to seal our first win at the World Cup.
After the game we did the usual routine of going to dinner then sitting in bed all night which is where I write this post right now. I'm watching the Yankees vs Tigers game at the moment, but would be nicer if it was in english instead of spanish.
Well today was our day off, which is usually a day of rest and that is exactly what I did. I woke up around 8:00am because my body clock doesn't allow me to sleep in anymore and sat on my computer watching TV shows and talking to friends back home on Facebook. I was so relaxed that I actually missed going to breakfast, so I had to wait until lunch to get my first meal of the day. It was no big deal, I was still pretty full from the dinner I ate the night before.
The team decided to take a bus trip around town just to see what there was to offer, once again nothing really interested anybody, except maybe us rookie players getting strange looks from locals from our outfits when we got off the bus to take a team photo of the rookies. Like any baseball team you play on, the rookies pay their dues and usually have to do something embarrassing and well, the Australian team is no exception as some of the senior boys bought us less then flattering clothing to wear whilst on the bus trip. Some people may feel silly wearing it, but you just have to remember all the senior players have had to do it before, so you can either be a sour puss about it and not go along with it, or embrace it and have some fun. Safe to say this group of rookies really embraced our welcoming to Team Australia.
After our afternoon of team bonding we went back to the hotel, and relaxed all night. In my opinion it was quite a good day off, the boys all had a laugh but now tomorrow its back to business as we take on Nicaragua in a must win game.
The day started off a bad note as the lettering on our jerseys had been wiped off in the wash, so we will now be wearing our batting practice tops for the rest of the tournament. But as we came to terms that we will no longer be wearing our fresh white jersey or our green jersey, we realized we're Australians and we will look good wearing anything.
Since we had a night game today, we had the whole day to ourselves to do something so a few of us decided to check out the mall and waste a few hours doing some shopping. We arrived at the mall and from the outside it looked quite promising, but once we got inside, it was far from inspiring. There were not many shops and after about 10 minutes everyone had already done a lap of the mall and they saw nothing at all. So we ended up just having lunch at the mall then hopping back on the bus to the hotel. It ended up being an epic fail activity.
We got back to the hotel and I was actually exhausted from doing nothing so I went to my room and attempted to have a nap. The nap only lasted for about 20 minutes but I guess it gave me enough energy to make it through the day. We had lunch again at the hotel then we had enough time to go back to our rooms and relax before heading to the field.
We arrived at the field and went through the usual routine. Being a baseball player for a living, your life starts to feel like groundhog day. Before the game started we noticed an Australian flag in the crowd. We already have Justin Erasmus dad following us on tour, but he was joined by 5 other Aussies in the stands tonight which was quite a nice surprise. We played Korea today in what was a game we really needed to win. We went down 8-0 but the scoreboard once again did not reflect how hard we are playing. Clayton Tanner looked good tonight on the mound. His stuff was filthy but Korea got to him for 1 inning, and that's been the story so far this tournament for us. I'm sure its easy for everyone checking the updates online to see the scores and think we are playing badly but that is not the case. Our pitchers are battling out there, we fall into trouble from time to time which leads to a big inning but other then that we are pitching our butts off. Our defense has been outstanding, the hitters are having quality at bats, and hitting the ball hard but straight to gloves. We have had a few questionable calls go against us but that is out of our control. Like I said in my post yesterday, as long as we keep doing everything right, everything will fall into place and that will lead to a win.
Tomorrow we have a day off, and it will good for the team to get their minds of baseball for a day and just relax and hopefully get a chance to enjoy Panama for a day.
We had to leave a bit earlier today to get to the game as we were playing in Santiago today which was about 1 hour away. We were meant to leave at 10:15am but just like the last few days, we didn't exactly leave on time. Just like every longer bus trip we have a movie playing, and today was no exception even though we wouldn't be able to finish the entire movie before we got to the stadium. We watched the movie Hall Pass, and if anyone has seen it, they would know how funny it is. I think our team enjoys watching comedies since that's all we have really watched on the bus trips.
We arrived at the field and did the usual, run, stretch, throw and then batting practice. By the end of batting practice it started to rain a little, and once we got back in the clubhouse the heavens had opened up and before you knew it the tarp was on the field and we were looking like heading into a rain delay. The scheduled game time was suppose to be 2:00pm but it was highly unlikely we would start anywhere close to that, I'm not too sure but I think we started the game close to 3:00pm.
Once the game got underway our starting pitcher Chris Oxspring and the Italian pitcher traded zeros through the first 3 innings, and then in the 4th Italy's bats woke up and they drove in 4 runs with 2 outs. We had dug ourselves into a hole, it wasn't too deep to get out of, but every time we got runners on base, the Italian defense either made a great play, or a very lucky play to end the inning. We just could never really get more then one runner on base until the last inning, but by then it was too late as Italy had got out to a 7-0 lead. It was quite a tough loss because now we have to win 4 out of the next 5 games to advance to the top 8 and give ourselves a chance at a medal. I believe we have the ability to win our next 5 games, and I'm sure everyone else on the team believes that as well. I know this is very cliche but we just have to take it one game at a time and win every battle, just have quality at bats, execute pitches and play good defense and the rest will hopefully take care of itself.
After the game we just headed back to the hotel, ate dinner then I think everyone just went back to their rooms to relax because I know that's exactly what I did. Tomorrow we play Korea and my room mate Clayton Tanner is starting on the mound for us, hopefully he can get us back on track and give us one in the win column.
The tarp on the field whilst the rain was coming down
So today was the day of our first game against baseball powerhouses Cuba. We got on the bus at 11:00am to head to the field and the field was only 5 minutes away so that was a good change from the last couple of days when we've had to travel up to an hour to get to our practices. We got to the field and took batting practice and once it was all down we got back into the air conditioned clubhouse to get out of the heat.
We lost the game 14-0 but the scoreboard doesn't really reflect on how we played. If we make a few better pitches in certain situations and if a few hard hit balls land in the gaps instead of outfielders gloves it would have been a much different ball game. I got the chance to pitch in this game as well. I came in the game in the 6th with loaded bases and got out if it without allowing a run thanks to a great play at 3rd by Stefan Welch. I then came out for the 7th and wasn't quite as lucky. A ball was hit to 3rd that hopped up off Welch's glove into left field for a hit, then the next hitter hit a ball just out of his reach, then gave up a bloop base hit down right field line. Long story short, I ended up giving up 4 runs in the inning. I did hit a batter though and I don't think he was too happy about it. When I looked at him walking up the line to 1st he was giving me a death stare, so I politely smiled at him.
After the game we loaded the bus and headed back to the hotel and got into our rooms, only for the internet to be out. Clayton and me didn't know what to do with ourselves. He walked around the hotel with his laptop trying to find some internet. When he came back from his walk he said he went to the front desk and they said it will be about an hour before the internet comes back. Now a lot of people think I'm the only one on the team who spends time on the internet, but I can guarantee most guys were as concerned and worried as I was when our web pages weren't opening up.
We play Italy tomorrow and we'll have Chris Oxspring starting on the mound, so we'll be looking to bounce back and get a win next to our names.
Today we had a scheduled practice session at the same place we trained on our first day in Panama, but as we arrived the Italian national team had just begun their practice. When we got off the bus we all spotted Mike Piazza, who is regarded as one of the best hitting catchers of all time. We shared the field with them for a little while, as they were on left field line and we were on right field line but they ended up only throwing and running which gave us the field to take batting practice.
Once we got back to the hotel we all jumped in the pool again for a recovery session then had lunch at the hotel restaurant. Clayton and me decided to try the sporting goods store one more time, and this time it was a great success, they were actually opened! I was able to buy some Under Armour and a pair of shorts, so I was quite happy.
We didn't have much time to relax at the hotel once we got back from the sporting goods store as we had to pack our bags because we were moving to a new hotel after the Opening Ceremony. We packed all the bags onto a truck which took our bags straight to the hotel while we attended the Opening Ceremony. We got to the stadium quite early and instead of standing out in the heat, we all just stayed on the bus in the air conditioned comfort, but we sat there for about an hour and everyone started to get restless and we all jumped off the bus.
We had to stand around for about 30 minutes so I went for a walk hoping to find my Minnesota Twins team mates, but team Germany and and the Netherlands were nowhere to be found. I did in fact see one of my old coaches from my time at the Phillies so it was nice to catch up with him. Once the Opening Ceremony started it was quite a show. From what I've been told by guys that have been to previous World Cups, this Opening Ceremony was very extravagant compared to the others. There were at least 13,000 people in the stadium and there was music, fireworks and live performers on the field. It really felt like a celebration. I was actually quite overwhelmed by the crowd as I have never been on such a stage like that, but I could definitely get used to it.
After the Opening Ceremony we hopped on the bus and began what we all thought was a 3 hour journey. It ended up being close to 4 1/2 hours, including a 30 minute stop off to get dinner. On the bus we watched the movie Horrible Bosses and by all the laughs on the bus, it seemed everyone enjoyed it, then we put one of Carl Barron's stand up shows on, and I can safely say everyone was in stitches from laughter. No matter how many times I watch a Carl Barron DVD I always laugh at the same jokes.
We eventually arrived at the hotel well past midnight and we all pretty much got our keys and headed to our rooms. When Clayton and me got to the room the air condition wasn't on so it was quite unpleasant to be in our room for a little while but it eventually cooled down to a comfortable temperature, good enough so we won't be sweating in our sleep. Speaking of sleep it's time to get some since we open up our World Cup campaign against Cuba tomorrow afternoon.
