Cuba looks like Cuba again, advances to quarterfinals
Matt Monagan
@MattMonaganTAICHUNG, Taiwan -- Coming into Pool A of the World Baseball Classic, Cuba looked to be one of the favorites.
The Cubans lost to Netherlands, then they lost to Italy -- falling into an 0-2 hole and having to deal with questions about team unity and why nobody was hitting. How could Cuba -- a historically great baseball country -- perform this way on the international level?
Manager Armando Johnson stressed patience. And, well, the Cubans bounced back.
Johnson¡¯s team routed Panama, 13-4, clicking in all facets of the game. And then, in its last matchup of Round 1 on Sunday, it dominated a fired-up Chinese Taipei squad 7-1. It was enough, with Cuba advancing to the quarterfinals after finishing first in Pool A after coming out on top of a five-way tiebreaker. It will face Australia, the runner-up from Pool B, in Tokyo on Wednesday on FS2 at 6 a.m. ET.
"I believe it's the work that we are doing," Johnson said after the game. "We did everything possible so that the boys would overcome all of the challenges, and we said from the beginning that our athletes, as the competition progressed, are going to improve. The players have behaved beautifully and come from less to more, and that's been the situation because of the union amongst all the athletes on the team."
Like during its win against Panama, Cuba clicked on all sides of the ball.
First, it was their hitting: They scored four quick runs in the first -- taking the loud Taiwanese crowd out of the game (as much as you can take these fans out of a game). Most Cubans seemed unbothered by teh noise
Yoán Moncada -- who¡¯s heated up over the last few days -- roped a ground-rule double to left-center, Luis Robert reached on an error and then WBC legend Alfredo Despaigne lined a two-run double into the gap.
"I believe that I am doing the job that was given to me," Despaigne said postgame. "Especially bringing the runs in. ... We did things well and that gave us success."
Erisbel Arruebarrena added insult to injury with a stadium-silencing two-run homer to the deepest part of the ballpark.
The boisterous crowd in Taichang wasn't a factor for the Cubans -- before or after that homer, said Despaigne.
"I think when you are concentrating on the work that you have to do, it doesn't influence you," he said. "You're concentrating on the pitcher, you're concentrating on the game and the fans, in my particular case, it doesn't bother me."
Cuba added two more runs in the second. Roel Santos had a run-scoring groundout, but was then caught stealing for the second out of the frame. Moncada was up next, though, and he continued his torrid hitting with a solo dinger to right.
Santos added one more run on an RBI single in the fourth.
Cuba¡¯s pitching staff was also fantastic -- holding Chinese Taipei¡¯s hot bats silent.
Elian Leyva went 2 1/3 scoreless innings before leaving with apparent hand cramps. Miguel Romero replaced him to serve up 2 2/3 scoreless innings, striking out four. Lefty Onelki Garcia threw up zeros through two innings.
"I just do the job that's given to me," Romero said. "And I try to do my best when the team needs it."
"From Cuba, we were preparing the pitching staff, and since then, they have shown in each inning that they are excellent," Johnson said. "We have a bullpen of very high quality that can resolve any sort of problems that we may face, and they have been preparing for anything that's thrown at them."