Hot off the press. Australia stunned Japan 1-0. I was really looking forward to this game going in because I thought, "Can't lose either way with my rooting interests" and then I find myself on the other side of the result being posted up thinking, "I can't win either way". How do I figure this? I don't know.
First of all, both teams were held to 5 hits a piece, and both pitching staffs put on an amazing display of pitching prowess. The Australian staff consisting of Chris Oxspring and Jeff Williams combined for 9 strike outs and no walks. That is astounding given the talent of the Japanese offense. It was a game where pitching simply dominated.
Daisuke Matsuzaka pitched 8 innings of 1-run ball striking out 13, walking 3. It's the kind of performance you dream about. To think he lost on the back of that effort is soul-destroying. The guy pitched the same kind of game in Sydney and lost that to Korea 2-1 in the play-offs; he's going home with 1 win and an amazing ERA and strike out total, but at best a Bronze medal to show for it. If there's anybody I cared for in all of this, it was Daisuke Matsuzaka who was always willing to pitch for Japan come hell or high water; he has always responded to the call of international representation. In that sense he's a bit like an Australian Test cricketer.
It's not just his disposition; Daisuke Matsuzaka is the kind of pitcher you want in your national staff in a play-off game like this one. He's never melted down or given in to the pressure of these meets; his career is built on big game performances. To my observation, it's always the Japanese bats who have let him down. And this is where we get a feel for what it takes to win big games. The Japanese bats simply choked on the big stage when it mattered.
There were clear signs of panic in the Japanese lineup in the Eighth and Ninth innings. Takahashi hedged on the outside high and low, ending up with a strike out. Johjima, the cleanup hitter actually tried a bunt on a 2-1 count with 1 out (!). Nakamura frantically tried to get contact, but ended up chopping a bouncer to Third - it looked nothing like his normal swing. The Hitters looked jittery and panicked at the plate as the game wore on.
Or was it in fact the Australian pitching that was amazing? Chris Oxspring came into this game and left it with an ERA of 0.00. That's right. Technically, he was unhittable throughout this tournament (whereas Matsuzaka sported a 2.16 ERA). Not even the Japanese bats who were the best in the tournament could do any damage against him. That left it to the Australians to play their natural game and hope for the best - which worked out fine.
The great sabermetrician Bill James once noted that 1-run ball games are largely a matter of luck. This is never more so the case than in a 1-0 pitching duel. These games can go either way and you would still be scratching your head as to how one party won and the other lost. So in statistical terms, the Australians got lucky. In fact Australia made 2 errors and it still didn't lead to a single run so they were luckier than even the score-line suggests. Winners are grinners but they did whistle by the grave yard to get this win.
Okay, that assertion's going to get some people to disagree vehemently. Consider the basic numerical facts; not algebra, not sets, not integration or differentiation, just arithmetic: 9 innings of 3 outs make 27 outs per team, barring extended innings. Both teams had 5 hits. So both teams had 32 hitters at the plate. The 2 errors makes the total for Japan 34 hitters in the game. Of the 34 Japanese hitters, 9 struck out but none walked so you are left with 34-9K+0BB=25. That's 25 contact outs that could have gone any way depending on the bounce of the ball. Contrast this with 32-14K+3BB=21 contact outs. Even with their contact hitting strategy, the Australians actually made 4 fewer opportunities to score runs; and yet managed to pull out a 1 run lead. That isn't skill; it's luck.
So there you have it. The Japanese simply got bushwhacked twice by the Australians; now they are going to have to go back to the drawing board to reconsider what the lessons were in this eventful tournament. I can't wait to read the post-mortems in the Japanese news sites tomorrow morning. As for Australia, it's all blue-sky for them, from here on in; Gold or Silver. Bring on the empty horses, oi, oi, oi.
Derek Jeter as Demi-God
I do go on about him sometimes. My sister has taken to calling him 'Your Mate' Jeter. as in, "I saw 'Your Mate' Jeter on the ESPN Sports Centre Highlights again. What is it with that guy? Can't he live without the spotlight?"
Earlier today, I noticed this article over at ESPN.
His self-assuredness made him a transcendent post-season player, his performance spiking in the most crucial moments. Jeter found the post-season games to be more fun: the stakes were greater, there were more people watching, and he loved playing in the spotlight; perhaps his concentration became more acute. He would generate a solid batting average, usually accumulating 200 hits and 100 runs, then the playoffs would begin and suddenly he would start bashing long-balls all over the place. Jeter batted .333 or better in eight of his first 13 post-season series; he seemed born to play in October, Torre once said.
In the crucial Game 4 of the 2000 World Series, he batted lead-off against Mets right-hander Bobby Jones, and as he walked to the plate to open the game, Knoblauch predicted to others that Jeter would hit a home run on the first pitch. When Jeter rocketed Jones's changeup into the left field stands, Knoblauch bounced out of the dugout, shouting and pointing at teammates -- I told you, I told you. Jeter hit a triple in his next at-bat and scored, increasing the Yankees' lead to three runs, the early dagger that would all but finish the Mets.
Jeter hagiography gets a little sickening for lots of envious people, I know. Afterall, God must REALLY hate humanity if he gives the New York Yankees this player (That, or God is a Yankee fan). And yet if I was going to start my Intergalactic Superstar Athletes Team to play a play-off game of TAGWAR (The Amazing Game Without Any Rules) against the Martians, I would pick Jeter to be my team Captain playing shortstop and Daisuke Matsuzaka can pitch. In the olden days when I used to write my Top-Tens I would've said Steve Waugh comes in at 6 and Matt Burke plays Fullback, but their days are done, alas, alas, alas! :)
- Art Neuro
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