USA out of World Baseball Classic as holders Japan head final four

USA fail to reach Championship Round
 Dominican Republic and Puerto Rico head to finals
 2006 and 2009 winners Japan mull pitching options
 Dutch bolster roster ahead of semi-final match-up
Puerto Rico's players pile on after defeating Team USA 4-3 to reach the Championship Round of the World Baseball Classic on Friday. (AP Photo/Wilfredo Lee)
Puerto Rico's players pile on after defeating Team USA 4-3 to reach the Championship Round of the World Baseball Classic on Friday. (AP Photo/Wilfredo Lee) Photograph: Wilfredo Lee/AP

The Dominican team poured out of the dugout - leaping, smiling, celebrating on the field. The capacity crowd in Miami exploded - drums, screams, flags, pandemonium in the stands. Erick Aybar's base hit allowed Nelson Cruz to cross the plate, giving his team a 2-1 ninth inning lead. You would have never known it, but their second round game against the United States wasn't even over yet. That's the kind of tournament the World Baseball Classic has been.

Two weeks ago we began with 16 teams from 16 nations and now we're down to four - the Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico, Japan and the Netherlands, set to play a pair of semi-final games on Sunday and Monday, with the final on Tuesday, all in San Francisco at AT&T Park. Should it prove half as captivating as the first two rounds, the championship stage will be a worthy climax to what has already been a tantalizing tournament. An event played with passion, an event with drama, an event where managers are second guessed, an event with upsets, an event fueled by emotion. Managers care, coaches care, players care, and caring is contagious. If you've been watching the World Baseball Classic then you must be hooked by now, how can any fan of baseball not be? It's a good thing that opening day is less than two weeks off - after this, Spring Training baseball is unwatchable.

Caribbean Kings

It was a huge two days for a pair of sun drenched nations that turned this tournament on its head - the Dominican Republic and Puerto Rico, beating - and thus eliminating - the United States team on consecutive nights in Miami.

The Dominican team powered by big bats - Robinson Cano, Nelson Cruz, Jose Reyes and Hanley Ramirez - blasted their team out of Pool C, but against the USA, it was their arms which helped send them back to the Championship Round for the first time since the inaugural WBC in 2006. Perhaps boosted by the news that the newly dubbed "Captain America", David Wright, would not be in the lineup after leaving the team to deal with a rib injury, Samuel Dedono, with all of 21 games under his big league belt, shut down the Americans for four innings, allowing a single run. The bullpen took over from there, with the likes of Octavio Dotel, Pedro Strop and Francisco Rodney shutting the door in a 3-1 victory in what was called the biggest win in the nation's history.

Twenty-four hours later, it was Puerto Rico, a land where baseball has struggled to thrive in recent years, who took it to their colonial rulers. The loss of Wright, the heart and soul of this American team was once again notable - heavy hitting Joe Mauer, Ryan Braun, Giancarlo and Adam Jones, unable to break out against Nelson Figueroa. The Brooklyn-born hurler has enjoyed momentary flashes of brilliance during an otherwise disappointing career, and Friday was one of those nights when you wondered why we never saw more from the 38-year-old journeyman - six innings, no runs, two hits. The USA rallied late, coming to within a run before JC Romero got Jimmy Rollins to pop out to Angel Pagan, giving another Caribbean island its most significant sporting achievement sending the Commonwealth to San Francisco and San Juan into hysteria.

And so the United States fail to win the World Baseball Classic yet again, that's three times in three tournaments - officially a trend. It may have been different with Wright in the lineup, a player that for all his baseball accomplishments seemed to have something of a coming out party in the WBC. Perhaps this disappointment will drive a more complete participation by America's best in 2017.

For what it's worth, Bryce Harper has already made his intentions known, booking his place in the lineup, declaring "They can write my name down right now."

The waiting game

While the Dominican Republic and Puerto Rico have been playing since March 7th and 8th, the two teams which progressed to the Championship Round from the Asian based groups, Japan and the Netherlands, have been idle in WBC since March 12th. After a few days to travel and recover from jet lag, the teams have managed to sneak in a few games to stay warm in the Arizona sun. The Netherlands followed their Cuban twin killing with a defeats over the Padres and Mariners while Japan beat the Giants and lost to the Cubs.

The Dutch have made news by replacing the injured Yunel De Caster with Texas' super prospect Jurickson Profar, who had chosen to stay behind and concentrate on making the Rangers roster. Manager Hensely Meulens is saddled with the task of trying to juggle his infield defense with both Profar and Andrelton Simmons regulars at shortstop. Perhaps equally significant is their addition of the flamethrowing Dodgers reliever Kenley Jansen, a converted catcher with a cutter that has drawn comparisons to Mariano Rivera. Diegomar Markwell has been the best Dutch starter thus far and could be tabbed for the semi-final game.

Netherlands' manager Hensley Meulens will need to juggle his infield after top prospect Jurickson Profar joined the team for the Championship Round of the World Baseball Classic. Photograph: REUTERS/Toru Hanai

Meanwhile, Japan manager Kojii Yamamoto is mum on who will start Japan's semi-final game as they gun for a WBC three-peat. After Masahiro Tanaka hurled a pair of innings against the Giants, the skipper was asked who could get the nod for their game on Sunday. "A guy who didn't start today," said Yamamoto. Hiroshima's Kenta Maeda has thrown 10 shutout innings for Samurai Japan and would seem to be the obvious choice.


Sunday March 17th - 9PM EST

Japan vs Puerto Rico

Monday March 18th - 9PM EST

Netherlands vs Dominican Republic

Tuesday March 19th - 8PM EST

Final: Semi-final winners

Join the Guardian for live minute by minute coverage of the World Baseball Classic championship game from 7.30pm EST Tuesday.