Seattle Marination

The World Baseball Classic is quickly pulling to a close and unfortunately, Venezuela was outed by a superior Korean pitching staff yesterday 2-10.  Many had speculated that Felix Hernandez should have started today’s game, and once again speculation has proved true.  Carlos Silva managed to survive just 1 and a 1/3 innings giving up 7 runs (6 earned), making a throwing error to an uncomfortable first baseman in Miguel Cabrera, and launching two balls out of the park in the process.  One to former Mariner/Rainier Shin Soo Choo for 3 of those 7 painful runs that Venezuela was never able to gain back.

Even the hottest-hitting player in the tournament up till yesterday: Mariner Jose Lopez, went hitless in what was a very frustrating game on all levels for Venezuela.  Endy Chavez did manage to gain a single hit, and looked good in the field all day.  But unfortunately for Felix, his tournament is over without even a shot at the final.  Carlos was willing to talk about his performance but never quite answered a question about why he couldn’t keep the ball down, which was a staple of his poor performances last season with the Mariners.

Interestingly enough, on the four teams in the semi-finals, there were more Mariners represented than any other MLB club with 6.  Detroit, who also had 4 on Venezuela’s squad came in 2nd with 5, but not all of them are major leaguers like Seattle.  And now with team Japan needing a big win against a revived United States squad, there leaves a chance of no Mariners making the finals on Monday night, which I’m certain would put a smile on Wakamatsu’s face.  No other team has had to deal with so many regular players absent from spring training this long and it’s obvious that a little “gelling” couldn’t hurt our spring in Peoria.

But here’s to Ichiro and Kenji and team Japan.  If you win, you have a chance to once again represent your country in a fantastic tournament final against a now-rival in Korea.  If you lose, then you have a chance to finally rush home and become Mariners again.  Best of luck either way.