Matsuzaka Leads Japan To WBC Victory Over Team USA...Beckett Sharp For Five

In the semifinals of the World Baseball Classic in Los Angeles Sunday night, the Japanese team, led by starter Daisuke Matsuzaka, roughed up USA starter Roy Oswalt and won the game by a score of 9-4. Some say USA manager Davey Johnson was "asleep at the switch" while his starter was roughed up for five runs in the fifth inning. He belatedly let John Grabow begin to warm up while Oswalt was getting pummeled, but it was too late. Maybe he forgot how cold it was in the city of angels? Here's what he had to say...

“I thought he (Oswalt) was throwing the ball all right,” he said. “I tried to get Grabow up. I didn’t think it was going to take him so long. It was my fault,” he said. “It took him longer in the cool weather to get loose. But I still thought Oswalt was throwing good enough to stay in the game. It was my fault,” he said. But I still thought Oswalt was throwing good enough to stay in the game.”

Davey Johnson, you embarassed yourself and the entire USA team...stay in Japan, why don't you? I'm sure the many tens of thousands of viewers tuning in to the game on ESPN and ESPN HD were thinking exactly this... TAKE THE BUM OUT!! Don't take your naps during important games...please. Or better yet, just go away. See ya.

In Red Sox news, Josh Beckett hurled five splendid innings, leading Boston to a 3-0 victory over the world champion Philadelphia Philles. They have a power-packed lineup but Beckett tamed them completely. Here's the Boston pitching summary...

IP H R ER BB SO ERA
Josh Beckett 5.0 4 0 0 1 2 1.35
Hideki Okajima 1.0 0 0 0 0 0 3.00
Manny Delcarmen 1.2 2 0 0 0 1 1.93
Daniel Bard (S 1) 1.1 0 0 0 1 1 0.00

Notice that Bard continues to have a zero point zero zero ERA and he's showed us all that he can go longer than one inning at a time. He will be on the big club come early April, further bolstering what might be the deepest bullpen in the American League, if not all of MLB. His face will become familiar to all of us by May. I guarantee it.

That's it for this Monday (uhh) morning, the twenty third of March. Congratulations to the UCONN women's basketball team, who routed Vermont in their first round game. The final score was 104-65. They next play on Tuesday against the Florida Gators in their quest for a national championship. It will not be a competitive game once again. Have a great day, click on the title of this post for more Sox news and as always, BE WELL. Vaya con Dios, mi amigas y amigos. Thank you for popping in and leave a comment if you'd like. I'll respond to each and every one.