USA 4 Korea 0
SYDNEY – Doug Mientkiewicz was initially told he had not made the U.S. baseball team and was devastated. Then the news came that, indeed, he was going to Australia. His wife, Jodi, saw that as a sign. She likes to
drop her husband inspirational notes at times.
She wrote, “this is the chance of a lifetime. Do something special.”
Mientkiewicz followed those orders dramatically and pushed the Americans further into surprise control of this baseball tournament. Mientkiewicz hit a two-out, full-count, eighth-inning grand slam today as the U.S. blanked Korea 4-0.
The irony is Mientkiewicz was only available to the American team because he was sent to the minors to begin this year after failing to generate enough power to be the Twins’ everyday first baseman. He had just two homers in 352 at-bats during 1998-99.
So this was an unexpected power burst. But the unexpected is becoming the norm in this tournament. On the same field earlier in the day, the Netherlands had manufactured the biggest upset in Olympic history by beating the favored Cubans 4-2. Cuba had been 21-0 and had won both golds since baseball became a medal sport in 1992.
The United States improved to 4-0, the lone unbeaten team left in the round-robin. The Americans play the Cubans Saturday.
Before the tournament, Tommy Lasorda had raised the stakes on this game by saying he wanted to win for all the Cuban exiles living in Miami. He also recognized that Cuba’s aura was instrumental in it winning internationally, so Lasorda stated that the island country was beatable. This proves his point.
“It (Cuba’s loss) means a lot,” American DH John Cotton said. “But only if we take care of business.”
What will be determined over the next few days is whether finally losing will wake the Cubans out of the lethargy in which they have been playing. Or whether there is no sleeping giant left to stir. It is possible that defections and age have finally begun to take down this once indestructible international force.
Regardless of Saturday’s outcome, both the U.S. and Cuba likely will make the final four to determine the medals. The Americans, though, are building momentum and confidence.
The hitting has not been good, but the Americans now have two dynamic homers. Mike Neill won America’s tournament-opening game with a two-run, walk-off homer in the 13th inning against Japan.
Against Korea, Neill singled and Ernie Young and Mike Kinkade walked to fill the bases with two down. Mientkiewicz worked the count to 3-2 against Pil-Jung Jin before launching a ball over the right-field wall. Mientkiewicz took a quick peek at the flight, disdainfully flipped his bat and pumped his arms in the air, rounding the bases to a home-plate waiting committee of his whole team.
