Team USA in early trouble at the WBC

I have been fortunate enough to be around the USA Baseball organization for several years, and I've gotten to know many of the people involved with the operation. All of them are so passionate about winning, and putting their best foot forward in ever single international baseball competition they enter. They care about the results, a lot.
And in every event that they choose to compete in, USA Baseball has their own hand in the player selection process. The only time that they end up with a major-league level roster though, is in the World Baseball Classic. In all of their other events - with minor-leaguers, college players, high school stars on the rise, or younger kids - what they get are hungry, eager-to-prove themselves athletes, who are fired up about the opportunity to wear the Team USA jersey.
I'm not saying that the players on this year's 2013 WBC team aren't excited about it. But it's evident that the level that they have invested into this chance, and buy into what USA Baseball is doing, isn't the same.
That's the only reason I can think of, for their lackluster performance last night in an opening round loss to Mexico, 5-2, in their first game. They looked uninterested in competing, and had no fire. They were boring to watch. And I hate to say it, but sadly, I saw this coming last week, when I posted this column on my blog:
Team USA shouldn't overlook Mexico & Canada in 1st Round

The Mexico fans easily outnumbered the Team USA fans Friday night at Chase Field in Phoenix, AZ. They held an impromptu rally and dance outside the stadium, after they beat the Americans, 5-2. 

The loss has put Team USA in danger of not even advancing to the second round of play in Miami. That, would be a colossal disaster. For a good explanation of where things stand in Pool D right now, see CBS Sports' Danny Knobler's piece here: Making sense of the WBC format
As I write this, Canada is beating Mexico down at Chase Field, 5-3 in the 6th inning. A win by Canada, would go a long way in helping Team USA's chances of advancing, if they can actually show up and play tonight vs. Italy. Suddenly, that is not a game that they can take lightly. The Italians are 2-0, and absolutely shellacked Canada yesterday, 14-4 in 8 innings. "They are playing with a lot of confidence," said USA Manager Joe Torre.

The Italian fans were going crazy after their 14-4 win over Canada Friday in the World Baseball Classic

If Team USA can beat Italy, and then also beat Canada tomorrow, they should advance. That is unless they lose a tiebreaker in runs scored differential between the three teams with 2-1 records. If Canada beats Mexico today, and the USA beats Italy tonight, the USA vs Canada game on Sunday becomes an automatic qualifier for the 2nd round, as each team would be 1-1, with Italy at 2-1 and Mexico done playing at 1-2. The winner would advance to Miami, the loser would be done.

I am hoping the Americans find a way to muster up alot more energy tonight and tomorrow, than they had last night. I have been doing some live radio reports for CBS Sports Radio, and did a spot with the Doug Gottlieb show yesterday prior to the game. I also did a post-game wrap report late last night on the Amy Lawrence show, and they plan on calling me again tonight. If you are awake during the wee hours, look up Amy's show online, and give it a listen.

I stopped by the Milwaukee Brewers' spring training game yesterday, and had a nice exchange with Brewers legendary radio announcer Bob Uecker about my book Miracle on Grass. I gave him a copy, and he appreciated it. I also gave one to his on-air partner Joe Block, and Joe seemed very excited about reading it.

Here's Uecker, doing the Brewers game on radio yesterday,
with a copy of Miracle on Grass sitting next to his microphone.

And finally, I got a pretty nice surprise Thursday night, when I stopped into one of Scottsdale's landmarks when it comes to baseball and spring training - Don and Charlie's restaurant. If you've never been there, the place is a must see for all baseball fans. On any given night during spring training, you could run into several current players, ex-players, coaches, managers, or TV and radio personalities. Alot of the game's baseball beat writers go there for dinner as well. It's famous for it's ribs, chicken, and bbq sauce. Sports memorabilia is all over the walls of the entire place.
I was standing in the bar, waiting for a chance to order a beer, when I looked to my right and saw one of my favorite San Francisco Giants of all-time: Will "The Thrill" Clark. He was there to meet up with a few other Giants coaches, so I had to shake his hand, say hello, and take a picture with him. It was a cool moment for me. He was awesome - we talked for a minute about his game-winning hit off Mitch Williams in Game 5 of the 1989 National League Championship Series, that clinched the NL pennant for the Giants. I was at the game that day, and told him about it.

David Fanucchi is the author of “Miracle on Grass” - How Hall of Famer Tommy Lasorda led Team USA to a shocking upset over Cuba, capturing the only Olympic gold medal in USA Baseball history. He was the official Team USA Press Officer for both the 2000 USA Baseball Olympic Team and the 2006 USA World Baseball Classic Team. More information about Fanucchi and Miracle on Grass can be found on his website at www.davidfanucchi.com.  You can follow him on Twitter at @miracleongrass.