Dirk Fries, pitcher of the German National Team and the Cologne Cardinals, will give us a daily report about his time at the Final Olympic Qualifying Tournament in Taiwan.

Final Report IBAF Final Olympic Qualifying Tournament

By now, everybody has returned home. Most professional players, referring to the other nations, probably have either gone directly to join their teams, or will report to spring training camps in a few days. Taiwanese players have already started their season. In contrast, we still have a few weeks until our season gets under way. Opening day in the German BUNDESLIGA is still three weeks away. So basically, the tournament was a real high level spring training for everybody on our team. But now we have to get back to playing in the cold and rain, playing on baseball fields of lesser quality (but sometimes more character) than INTERCONTINENTAL and DOULIOU STADIUM. There will only be fewer seats, but in most places more spectators, even for the pre-season games, than in TAICHUNG. Unless, of course, you count in our game against CHINESE TAIPEI. That game is simply in its own category.

Another difference is that we now have returned to our regular lives. For one there is no more “baseball every day”. Sure you get some type of workout in almost every day in order to compete at a world-class level, but not all is baseball-related. Due to field and weather restrictions you sometimes have no choice but to make it an off day. Not all players live in the town they play in, so finding a practice partner isn’t all that easy. So in baseball, everything is back to normal German circumstances. Practice in most places will still be held indoors during the week, with practice sessions and pre-season games outside on the weekends. We always look forward to the season, but this time it’s a little different. With this year’s highlight already over, the outlook for 2008 looks a little different.

The German championship is a goal for every player, with some enjoying greater probabilities with their clubs than others. While the league takes main importance right now, the NATIONAL TEAM, which still has some events planned for this year, will be pushed back until July. This in no way means that we will lose importance. Neither will we pout on the lost opportunity and stay put. We will give it our all trying to improve even further, trying to get better every day.

Beyond that, we amateur players have returned to a 9 to 5 schedule. Team members like MIRKO HEID, MARKUS WINKLER and SIMON GUEHRING have already gone back to work, students like DOMINIK WULF, PHILIPP HOFFSCHILD and myself either have a couple of days until the new semester kicks off or have hit their books already.

On the other hand, we’re already in pretty good baseball shape. Hitters have seen quality pitching seven days in a row, starting pitchers have already extended their pitch counts to go deep into games and relievers, well, the league hardly uses any. So the likes of Markus WINKLER, MIRKO HEID, DIRK FRIES and MARTIN ALMSTETTER need to still shore up their arms a little. The great weather surely did contribute to making the transition to playing every day a lot easier. Playing in Taiwan, we had perfect baseball conditions. With temperatures above 20° C it was easy getting loose and throwing at maximum velocity compared to our local climate.

But now let’s briefly evaluate our team’s performance. In my opinion, we can consider our second trip to Taiwan a complete success. We played real solid baseball, being in close games in six out of seven encounters, only losing a lopsided affair against the KOREAN squad (12-1). We got beat by AUSTRALIA (4-1), won against SPAIN (1-0) and lost 0-2 against TAIWAN. We beat SOUTH AFRICA (4-3) and lost to MEXICO (0-4) and CANADA (2-1 in 10 Innings). Winning two games is a step up from the WORLD CUP, when we beat THAILAND for GERMANY´S first ever WORLD CUP win. By now, our experience and expectations have evolved, with us expecting to win going into every game, no matter who is the opponent.

Beating SPAIN makes us the most successful European team behind the NETHERLANDS, and beating SOUTH AFRICA the highest ranked amateur team in the tournament. Also we played real well defensively, with our pitching posting a low ERA and keeping our team in every game. Keeping our opponents from scoring a lot of runs is essential in giving our offense a chance to win the close games. So far, we won’t expect to go in to the games thinking we can just out-hit the world class pitching that we are facing, especially just a few games removed from the long offseason. This strategy worked pretty well this time around, with ENORBEL MARQUEZ and ANDRE HUGHES leading the staff. Also our bullpen was just solid across the board. Offensively from my point of view our hitters did a good job also. I haven’t checked any stats, but the way I saw the games KAI GRONAUER, DONALD and SASCHA LUTZ, DOMINIK WULF and SIMON GUEHRING led the attack, with everybody else contributing an important hit, sac fly or bunt at some point.

KAI GRONAUER is probably our most spectacular player, not only being one of our greatest offensive threats, but also catching almost every game and working well with the pitchers as well as keeping the opposing running game in check. DOMINIK WULF plays real good defense at third base. He and ANDY JANZEN shore up the infield on the left side. JENDRCIK SPEER is just vintage “Jenni”, a really low key guy but a tremendous all-around player, who can help you just as good with the glove as with the bat. His “heir” at second, young PHILIPP HOWARD showed great range and good fielding skills already, and only needs a little more experience. Out first baseman played well also, as did our corner outfielders. LUDWIG GLASER got quite a bit more playing time compared to the WORLD Cup, but showed his potential with a number of great at-bat and hard hit balls to all fields.

All in all, individually as well as from a team standpoint, I don’t think you could have asked for anything more, every single one did his part, contributing in any way possible and without question buying into the team concept. No complaints about playing time, no questioning any coaching or administrative decisions of any kind. This team is a mature one, without doubt. And a lot of credit is due to GREG FRADY, who, together with JESCO VEISZ and the rest of the coaching and DBV staff, has moved the team forward ever since taking the job in 2004, after a disastrous European Championship 2003 in the Netherlands. A special relationship has evolved between the coach and his players, one of mutual trust and confidence, one which has led us from hitting rock bottom all the way to just missing out on an Olympic berth in just a few years.

Batting:
The Canadian James VAN OSTRAND won the batting title with ten hits in 18 at-bats (.556) right in front of teammate Nick WEGLARZ (.529) and the Australian Luke HUGHES (.500). WEGLARZ had the best power numbers slugging three homeruns and a double. The Korean Seung Yuop LEE didn’t disappoint either with two homeruns and three doubles. He also led all batters with twelve RBI. His colleagues Yong Kyu LEE and Young Min KO were one and two with eleven and ten runs scored.

As you might expect Canada and South Korea when you look at the standings both teams also dominated team wise the batting statistics. The North American squad hit .332 (SLG .534) with 53 runs scored. The Asian powerhouse scored seven runs more but batted “only” .329 (SLG .460). The three teams at the bottom of the standings Germany (.199/.273), Spain (.175/.230) and South Africa (.167/.195) know already what they have to do to get better.

Pitching:
Due to the small sample size the pitching leaders are spread out through all teams. Let’s take a look at the starters, who have pitched more than seven innings. Chine-Fu YANG (14 IP) from Taiwan sits at the top with an ERA of 0.64, followed by Min Han SON (12 IP) from South Korea with 0.75. The German Ace Enorbel MARQUEZ-RAMIREZ, who led all pitchers with 17 innings pitched, is in third with an ERA of 1.59.

The Mexican Francisco CAMPOS MACHADO took the strikeout crown (22) with his impressive 18 K’s performance against South Africa. SON (with 16) follows in second. However both were in their own league as the next Paul MILDREN (AUS) and Chien-Ming CHANG (TAI) are third with just ten.

If your are taking ERA as an indicators then South Korea (1.55) and Chinese Taipei (1.60) had the best pitching staffs. Germany posted a respectable ERA of 3.86 in fourth right behind Canada (3.00). The Spanish hurlers didn’t have their best stuff during the last few days, finishing in eighth with a horrible ERA of 7.15.

Check for the complete statistics IBAF.tv

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The Final Olympics Qualifying Tournament (FOQT) ended on Friday with the closing ceremony after the conclusion of an interesting South Korea versus Taiwan game. The last day had not much drama because all decisions were made on Thursday.

Nevertheless they were all interesting. In the afternoon Mexico narrowly beat Spain, when Christian PRESICHI scored both runs for the Central Americans. Manuel OLIVERA’s third start of the tournament was also his best. But the offense struggled against the experienced Walter SILVA and the other pitchers of Mexico.

At the same time Australia had to fight to win a slugfest against South Africa, in which there young guns impressed with key contributions. The 17-year-old James LINGER got his first hits and scored twice. Brad TIPPET (20 years old) received the win with three one-hit-innings of relief.

Later in the afternoon Canada clinched first place in the FOQT with an extra-inning victory against Germany. It was another surprisingly good game for the European underdog, which only lost due to a bases-loaded walk in the bottom of the tenth. It was a major improvement in comparison to the Baseball World Cup, where they had lost in double-digits.

And finally the Asian duel had a few thrilling moments. Taiwan smelled the upset, after scoring two runs in the first. But South Korea came right back and hold on to the small lead to celebrate their sixth win.

Overall it is a big day for Asian baseball. They will have four participants at the Olympics this summer. They never had even three in the field. Besides South Korea and Taiwan, Japan plus host China are qualified for Beijing. Canada, the USA, the Netherlands and Cuba are their opponents.

The Olympic Baseball Tournament starts on August 13th and lasts ten days. They’re supposed to play a single round robin with the four best teams advancing to the semi-finals. Cuba, Australia and Japan won the medals in Athens 2004.

Final Standings
Complete Results

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Dirk Fries, pitcher of the German National Team and the Cologne Cardinals, will give us a daily report about his time at the Final Olympic Qualifying Tournament in Taiwan.

Friday March 14th

Today’s game got moved up on short notice. Because CANADA earned themselves a spot in Beijing, the organizing committee wanted them to participate in the closing ceremony, which took place in INTERCONTINENTAL STADIUM. Our Game against the CANADIAN TEAM therefore was played at 4:30 (local time).

ANDRE HUGHES pitched outstanding for us. He allowed one run in eight innings, striking out his fair share of CANADIAN batters (7). Unfortunately, his great effort went to waste when we lost the game in the 10th inning. I was able to get out of bases-loaded one out jam in the ninth, but kind of lost it the next inning. A walk to the first batter set up a bunt where we couldn’t get the out. With runners on first and second a balk on a botched play on my part sent both runners into scoring position. Coach FRADY was forced to intentionally walk the next batter to keep a force play in order. While the next batter was out on an infield fly, the next guy hit a sharp groundball to first that DONALD LUTZ threw home on. SIMON GUEHRING stepped on home plate but couldn’t complete a double play because he was hit by the sliding runner from third who unfortunately got hurt trying to break up the possible double play. After an injury related short delay the came continued and the next batter was walked, forcing in the winning run.

Our only run was scored by KAI GRONAUER, who scored from second on a double by JENDRICK SPEER, who had his first at-bat after just replacing LUDWIG GLASER. We had a couple of opportunities, but faced strong Canadian pitching, which wouldn’t allow us to score again.

The worst thing about today’s game is that they didn’t win the game, we lost it. Walking two batters, the leadoff man and walking in a run, balking on a play I’ve executed a thousand times and some other little things that annoy me most about my performance. And that’s what is so disappointing right now. It would be a lot easier to accept the result if they had just beat me with the bat. But instead I gave up my second free pass with two out in the bottom of the 10th to end the game. What an unworthy way to end this game, and in the same instance our tournament.

When the dust has settled and the disappointment fades a little more, I will probably be more adept to speak about the way we played again tonight. After all, CANADA is going to participate in the 2008 OLYMPICS, and after beating us tonight, finished first in this tournament. So playing straight up with them and forcing extra innings is very special and kind of puts an exclamation point behind our performance in this event. But right now, these thoughts are a little further back in my mind, knowing that we could have maybe scrapped out another win against such a team but instead suffered a heartbreaking loss.

Stay tuned for a complete review of our tournament, which will be posted a few days after returning home.

South Korea defeated Taiwan on Friday to clinch second place in the Final Olympic Qualifying Tournament. It was their sixth victory in the seventh match.

Chinese Taipei jumped out early and scored two runs in the bottom of the first to take a fast 2-0 lead. But their Asian rivals answered right away, scoring four unanswered runs in the next two periods. Taiwan cut the deficit to a run in the fifth, but failed to tie the contest afterwards.

Seung Youp LEE and Taek Keun LEE each had two hits for South Korea.

Chieh-Ming CHANG scored two runs for Taiwan.

Kwang Hyun KIM (W 2-0) allowed five hits, two runs (1 ER) and three walks in five innings, striking out six. Tae Hyon CHONG got the save.

Cheng-Chang LEE (L 0-1) was charged with four hits, four runs (2 ER) and a base on balls in 2 1/3 innings.

box score

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It was another good game for the German team. However they lost to Canada 1-2 through a bases-loaded walk with two outs by Emerson FROSTAD in the bottom of the tenth. It was the sixth win for the Olympics participant and secures the top spot in the tournament.

The few people in attendance saw a thrilling pitching duel with only a few scoring chances. Canada got on the board first, when David CORRENTE connected for a solo-homerun into the upper deck of the left field stands. But Germany answered right away. Kai GRONAUER hit a double, with the center fielder misreading the ball. Pinch hitter Jendrick SPEER followed with double himself to drive in GRONAUER. He later was tagged out at home, trying to score from second on a single by Simon GUEHRING.

Both teams had a few more opportunities to score but failed. Germany loaded the bases in third, Canada in the seventh and ninth frame. The match eventually went into extra-innings.

Canada loaded the bases in the bottom of the tenth through a walk, an error and an intentional walk. Reliever Dirk FRIES got two outs on an infield fly and when Stubby CLAPP (injured on the slide) was called out at home. What followed was the aforementioned bases-loaded walk, which ended the contest.

Germany’s starter Andre HUGHES, who already had impressed against Chinese Taipei, showed another great performance on the mound. He went 8 1/3 innings, allowing just six hits, one run and two walks. He struck out seven with his pitches of about 62 to 77 miles per hour. FRIES replaced him with three runners on and one out in the ninth. He induced a force out at home and a fly out into center field. But he got in trouble himself in the tenth and took the loss.

Brooks MC NIVEN started for Canada and gave up two hits and two base on balls in four innings. Steve GREEN received the win after striking out the side in the top of the tenth.

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It was not the brightest win for Australia. They defeated South Africa 13-11, finishing the tournament with a 4-3 record and in fifth place.

The game was tied 9-9 after six innings. The Aussies scored three runs and took a 12-9 lead. Daniel BERG provided the eventual winning run with a sacrifice fly. South Africa rallied in the ninth, scoring two runs on a balk and a throwing error by second baseman Luke HUGHES. The game ended when Allan RANDALL was picked off at first.

Overall it was an interesting match with poor pitching efforts and several mishaps in defense. Australia jumped out to a fast lead, but South Africa came right back and scored seven runs in the second. It went back and forth until the seventh period.

HUGHES hit a two-run-homerun, reached base four times and drove in three runs. James LINGER, Glenn WILLIAMS, Tom BRICE, Paul WEICHARD and Brendan KINGMAN each had two hits for Australia.

South Africa celebrated their biggest offensive outburst of the event. Jamie ROSSOUW had three hits, Anthony PHILLIPS, Kyle BOTHA and Brett WILLENBURG each two. Gavin RAY drove in two with a single.

Their starter Jared ELARIO was hit by a line drive of the bat of the fifth batter he faced and left the game due to an arm injury. He was charged with three hits, four runs and a walk in 1/3 of an inning. Kevin TOWNEND gave up the deciding runs to take the loss.

Australia’s starter Steve KENT allowed seven hits, seven runs (5 ER) and two base on balls in 1 2/3 innings. Brad TIPPETT stopped the South African offense and received the win after three one-hit innings of relief.

It was the seventh loss in the seventh game for South Africa. However they were competitive in nearly every game and gained much experience for the next tournament.

box score

MEX 000 001 010  2 6 0
ESP 000 100 000  1 3 0

Mexico narrowly defeated Spain 2-1. It was their fourth win and they will finish the event in fourth place.

The Europeans had taken a 1-0 lead in the fourth, when Daniel FIGUEROA scored on a RBI by Marc CARILLO. But Mexico came back. They tied the match in the sixth and scored the go-ahead run in the eighth. Christian PRESICHI scored both runs. Luiz Alfonso GARCIA (3-3) had a RBI.

Mexico’s starter Walter SILVA allowed two hits and two base on balls in three innings. Victor ALVAREZ RAMIREZ received the win, striking out four in three no-hit-innings.

Manuel OLIVERA started his third game of the tournament for Spain. He was charged with six hits, a run and one walk in seven innings. He struck out four. Fernando GUTIERREZ took the loss, despite not giving up a hit.

box score

Photo: © International Baseball Federation (www.ibaf.tv)

The Final Olympic Qualifying Tournament is over. Oh, there will be four games on Friday. But they are all meaningless.

Canada upset South Korea thanks to two homeruns by Nick WEGLARZ and Matt ROGELSTAD in addition to a solid pitching performance. The Asian powerhouse tried everything and rallied for two runs in the ninth but lost for the first time.

Besides these two teams, Taiwan is the third squad to qualify for the Olympics. They already had clinched the spot yesterday. Though they defeated South Africa anyway. It took a few frames longer than usual to get on the board. But obviously the intense level was not that high, after clinching the berth on Wednesday.

Germany’s starter Enorbel MARQUEZ-RAMIREZ had another solid outing today. He allowed just three runs in eight innings against the powerful offense of Mexico. But they had an even better pitcher on the mound today, as Pablo ORTEGA shut them down. It was too late for the Central Americans, as they had lost all games against the top three teams.

It is the same with Australia. There chances were pretty slim before day six, as Canada had to lose their last two games. They crushed Spain on Thursday, though it was worthless, after losing to Taiwan and Mexico the days before. It is much more disappointing for them, because they had won the silver medal in Athens 2004 and should be at the tournament to get a chance to defend it. Started as favorites they didn’t get the job done.

Of course we will follow the final game day on Friday. In the afternoon, Spain faces Mexico and South Africa hopes for a win against Australia. Canada and Germany will follow at 16:30 as the organizers rescheduled the start time for their game. So they can attend the closing ceremony, which takes place after the conclusion of the Asian battle between South Korea and Chinese Taipei.

Photo: © International Baseball Federation (www.ibaf.tv)

Dirk Fries, pitcher of the German National Team and the Cologne Cardinals, will give us a daily report about his time at the Final Olympic Qualifying Tournament in Taiwan.

Thursday March 13th

Our ride has come to an end. The possible Cinderella story did not come true as we lost to MEXICO 0-4. We played a veteran team and gave it all we got, but it wasn’t meant to be. They had really solid pitching, and our offense wasn’t able to get much going. We had some opportunities, but just couldn’t capitalize. KAI GRONAUER had a double and was on third base with nobody out, but couldn’t score and a possible run scoring double by JENDRICK SPEER landed just foul. We just didn’t get the breaks we needed against a team this solid in every aspect of the game. ENORBEL MARQUEZ pitched great, as we have come to expect from him every time out. He held MEXICO in check pretty well, limiting them to three runs over eight innings.

Still, we feel pretty good about ourselves. The way we played and the way in which we conducted ourselves was very respectable. I believe that we gave every team a good challenge, with the Korea game being somewhat an exception. We made everybody work hard to beat us, and won some games along the way. And it wasn’t like those two wins came easily. We had really tough games against SPAIN and SOUTH AFRICA. It just shows how high-level this tournament is, when almost every team can beat anybody on a given day, depending on that day’s performances.

We came into the tournament thinking that we had a good chance against those two teams, and needed to find a way to possibly win two more. We knew it was a long shot, but believed in having a possible outsider’s chance. After all we were playing against traditional powerhouse baseball countries.

But even after being eliminated, our tournament isn’t over yet. Tomorrow we play CANADA, a real strong team that beat KOREA today and is already qualified for the OLYMPIC GAMES. But we cherish these high-level games, knowing that those are the games that make us better. Playing more often against those types of teams has moved this organization into the right direction. Participating in the World Cup gave us our first experience at this level, and we put it to good use this time. So we are striving to use this tournament to make even greater strides in the future. Already being qualified to the 2009 WORLD CUP gives us a great goal to work towards. We will do everything possible to try and even have a better showing at next year’s World Cup.

Regarding our match up with CANADA we will try our best to win and at least make it a close encounter. We play for our own pride, for earning respect and for gaining experience. As COACH FRADY mentioned in this diary before, these types of games, no matter their meaning, are our Olympic games. For most of us amateur players, this is as good as it gets. Therefore veterans like me enjoy their possible last go-around with the team, and the young guys gain experience every time out. So in many ways tomorrow’s game isn’t going to be a meaningless game at all.

TAI 000 010 120  4 4 2
SAF 000 000 000  0 5 1

Chinese Taipei needed a lot longer to score their first run than expected but beat South Africa anyway. The 4-0-shutout was their fifth win in the sixth game of the Final Olympic Qualifying Tournament.

After four scoreless innings to open the match, Taiwan came through in the fifth. They brought a few more runs on the board afterwards and held a fighting South African squad down. Kui-Hi LO, Chih-Hsien CHANG and Sheng-Wei WANG got RBI’s.

Chieng-Ming CHANG allowed three hits and two walks in six scoreless innings. He struck out six for the win.

Barry ARMITAGE was charged with three hits, three runs and three base on balls in seven innings. Despite this solid performance he took the loss.

box score

Photo: © International Baseball Federation (www.ibaf.tv)

KOR 100 000 001  3 8 1
CAN 300 100 00X  4 9 2

The Canadian supporters don’t need to wait until tomorrow. They defeated South Korea 4-3 today and secured a spot in the Olympic games this summer. They also took over the top spot in the standings of the Final Olympic Tournament.

The Asian team started strong. Jong Wook LEE drove in leadoff hitter Yong Kyu LEE for a fast lead. But the Canadians came right backand answered with three runs in the bottom of the frame. Mike SAUNDERS drove in Adam STERN to tie the game. Matt ROGELSTAD followed with a two-run-homerun. Nick WEGLARZ added a solo-homerun in the fourth.

This was their life insurance as South Korea started a rally in the ninth. Dae Ho LEE and Taek Keun LEE reached home through RBI’s by Jin Man PARK and Joo Chan KIM (3-4).

Starter James AVERY allowed one run on four hits in four innings, striking out four. Scott RICHMOND replaced him and received the win.

Hyun Jin RYU was charged with three hits and three unearned runs in 1 2/3 innings for the loss.

box score

Photo: © International Baseball Federation (www.ibaf.tv)

The Aussies scored three runs in three of the first four frames and defeated Spain by a score of 9-0. They now have to hope for a loss of Canada in the night session.

Ben RISINGER, Brendan KINGMAN and Luke HUGHES had RBI-singles in the first to take a fast 3-0 lead.

They added three more in the second through a two-run-homerun by RISINGER and a second RBI-single of KINGMAN.

After a scoreless frame they scored another three in the fourth. RISINGER got his fourth RBI with a single. KINGMAN’s third RBI-single made it 8-0. HUGHES followed with another RBI-single. Afterwards the Australian offense stopped scoring.

Spain never got going. Dewis NAVARRO had a single in the second, which counted for the only hit of the game for them.

Starter Greg WILTSHIRE struck out four in four one-hit innings. Chris MODWAY, Mark KELLY and Brendan WISE completed the one-hitter.

Yoel HERNANDEZ (L 0-2) didn’t match his performance from the loss against Germany. He was charged with eight hits, eight runs (5 ER) and a walk in 3 1/3 innings. Jorge BALBOA stopped the bleeding with a solid effort over the course of 4 2/3 innings of relief. He allowed just one run on five hits and three base on balls.

Australia meets with South Africa on Friday. Spain plays against Mexico.

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The dream is over. Mexico defeated Germany 4-0 and the European surprise of the Final Olympic Qualifying Tournament is eliminated as well.

The Mexican offense jumped out to an early lead. Leadoff hitter Christian PRESICHI started the game with a double and score through a single by Jesus Ernesto COTA. They added tow more runs in the third on a RBI-double by Luis Alfonso GARICA and a RBI-single by Karim GARCIA. Carlos VALENCIA sealed the victory with a solo-homerun over the left field fence in the top of the ninth.

The German batters didn’t hit the ball quit as hard as their opponents. They only managed to get four hits, highlighted by a double of Kai GRONAUER.

Starter Pablo ORTEGA (W 1-1) gave up just two hits in six innings to receive the win. He struck out five. Roberto RAMIREZ, Jose SILVA and Heber GOMEZ closed out the game.

Germany had their ace on the mound. Enorbel MARQUEZ-RAMIREZ (L 1-1) allowed six hits, three runs and four walks in eight solid innings. Mirko HEID replaced him in the ninth.

They will finish the tournament with a match against Canada tomorrow. Mexico faces Spain.

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Chinese Taipei also should have clinched a berth, as they are now two games in front of Australia, Germany and Mexico. They have won against all three and the tiebreaker in a three-way tie with Canada and Australia is in their favor too.

Canada is needs just one win against either South Korea tomorrow or Germany on Friday to secure a spot.

Australia and Germany have to win the remaining games and have to hope that Canada loses both of theirs. The outcome of a three-way tie would depend on the result of the last game, between Germany and Canada. Australia does own the tiebreaker in a three-way tie with Mexico.

They are already out because they have lost both games against Chinese Taipei and Canada. In addition in a three-way tie with Canada and Australia, the latter would have the edge.

Spain and South Africa are eliminated anyway as they are a combined 1-9.

So tomorrow both, Australia and Germany, have to win against Spain and Mexico. Plus, Canada has to lose against South Korea.

We hope we did it right. Feel free to correct us in the comments section.

The second tiebreaker in a three-way-tie is the quotient of allowed runs to defensive innings in games against each other.

Complete Schedule
Complete Standings

SAF 000 000 000  0 2 1
MEX 001 200 02X  5 9 0

Mexico did their job and defeated South Africa 5-0. The pitching staff with starter Francisco CAMPOS gave up just two hits and the offense was led by Karim GARCIA, who hit his first homerun of the tournament.

CAMPOS struck out 18 (!) batters in eight innings for the win.

But the victory was too late. They only can get into a tie for third place, but they lost the duels against Chinese Taipei and Canada. And the tiebreaker in a three-way tie with Australia and Canada is not in their favor.

More later.

box score

Photo: © International Baseball Federation (www.ibaf.tv)

Chinese Taipei made a big step towards a berth at the Olympics in Beijing. They defeated Australia 5-0 and are now in third place right behind Canada, which has the tiebreaker on their side.

The Taiwanese offense needed one inning to get going. They scored four runs in the bottom of the fourth to take a commanding lead. Chun-Chang YEH hit a RBI-single for the first run. Chih-Sheng LIN reached home on a botched double play. Chieh-Ming CHANG and Che-Hsuan LIN followed with RBI-doubles.

They added an insurance run in the seventh, when Chen-Min PENG scored through a wild pitch.

Combined with a strong effort by starting pitcher Chien-Fu YANG, the host of the Final Olympic Qualifying Tournament was unstoppable on Wednesday. YANG threw a complete game shutout. He only gave up four singles and struck out six, while walking none.

The Aussies had sent Paul MILDREN out to start the match. He was charged with six hits, four runs and two base on balls in five innings. Liam HENDRICKS struck out five in the remaining three frames.

They are now 2-3, with games against Spain and South Africa left. They have the tiebreaker against Canada and Germany on their side. The two Asian teams would be placed in front of them, if they are tied in the standings.

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Dirk Fries, pitcher of the German National Team and the Cologne Cardinals, will give us a daily report about his time at the Final Olympic Qualifying Tournament in Taiwan.

Wednesday March 12th

Today we did not play our best. And facing a top team from KOREA, the game was lopsided almost all the way. KOREA scored twice in the first, and DONALD LUTZ hit a solo homerun in the second to cut he lead in half. So far, both of our homeruns in this tournament have come of the hands of the LUTZ brothers. Our starter, TIM HENKENJOHANN did not have his best stuff, and had to work really hard to get every single out. A couple of bad-luck defensive plays and mishaps didn’t help our cause as KOREA eventually won by ten-run-rule.

We know that we have a good team, but today was a reminder that we’re not yet where we need to be. Or want to go. KOREA took advantage of our mishaps, played errorless and was aggressive in every aspect of the game. Their pitcher put forth a great effort, keeping our hitters off balance all day long, until being replaced in for the seventh. Our offense could not get much going, managing only four hits.

JENS CORNELSEN came in to relief HENKENJOHANN, but couldn’t stop the bleeding in the fourth. He had some bad luck also, being replaced later by rookie BENEDIKT ANTWI, who was one of the bright spots in today’s game. He had his first senior national team appearance in a bad situation against a tough team, but was able to hold his own. PHILIPP HOWARD also got into the game, getting a base hit in his only at bat. MITCH FRANKE got a day off, and ALEX LAUTERBACH got the start at first, playing solid defense.

COACH FRADY labelled the game as a bonus game, meaning that a win would have been a plus, because the more important games are yet to come. From now on every game will be make-or-break for us. A loss against MEXICO would eliminate us from contention for the third spot for the Olympic games. A win on the other hand would most likely set up a decisive last game against a tough CANADA squad. So after all, we weren’t too discouraged after today’s loss. Sure we would have liked to win or give KOREA a tighter game, similar to the CHINESE TAIPEI game. Nonetheless we still believe in our chance.

Tomorrow we will go out and give all we got. It’s not going to be easy. MEXICO, after most likely winning today, also has a chance to finish third and will be highly motivated. They too have a team formed by mostly professional players. Going into the last two games with a chance to still make it is already a good feeling for us. So let’s see if we can’t take it a step further and make this an exceptional tournament for us!

We are sure that many German supporters will be following the game via the Internet and keeping their fingers crossed.

Team Canada used an overall dominant effort to cruise easily to an 11-0 shutout against Spain. They are now 4-1 and in pole position to take second place in the standings behind South Korea.

The favorites didn’t mess around and scored four runs in the first to take a commanding lead fast. They added a bunch of insurance runs until the sixth and the game was called due to the ten-run rule midway through the seventh.

Nick WEGLARZ (two runs, two RBI) hit his second homerun of the tournament. Emerson FROSTAD, Jimmy VAN OSTREND and Jeremy WARE each had two RBI. Stubby CLAPP scored twice.

Starter Aaron WIDEMAN allowed three hits in four innings. Alexandre PERIARD completed the shutout with three one-hit innings of relief.

Remigio LEAL allowed five runs on eight hits in three innings, taking the loss. Ivan GRANADOS, Rhiner CRUZ and Fernando GUTIERREZ also appeared in the game.

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The German team didn’t get much going against the South Korean squad. Their offense pounded them easily and won 12-1. They now have five victories and secured one of the three Olympic berths.

South Korea was ready from the start. They scored two runs in the first through RBI-singles to take a fast 2-0 lead. Donald LUTZ cut the deficit in the top of the second with a solo-homerun over the right field fence. But the Asian powerhouse answered right away. They scored three runs in the bottom of the frame through a passed ball, a RBI-groundout and an error.

After a scoreless third they added six more in the fourth, through a bases-loaded walk, a two-run-single, a RBI-single and a two-run-double. A RBI-groundout in the fifth made it 12-1. The game was called after the top of the seventh due to the ten-run-rule.

Starter Min Han SON (W 2-0) received his second win of the tournament. He allowed four hits, one run and one walk in six innings, while striking out nine.

Tim HENKENJOHANN (L 0-2) was charged with five hits, six runs and three base on balls in three-plus innings. Jens CORNELSEN relieved him after a leadoff walk in the top of the fourth. He was hit hard and only got one out. Benedikt ANTWI replaced him on the mound and closed out the game for Germany.

They are now 2-3 and have to hope for two wins in the remaining matches against Mexico and Canada.

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Photo: © International Baseball Federation (www.ibaf.tv)

Dirk Fries, pitcher of the German National Team and the Cologne Cardinals, will give us a daily report about his time at the Final Olympic Qualifying Tournament in Taiwan.

Tuesday March 11th

Today I would like use this platform to thank all people interested in our team for following us. This goes for all Germans as well as all the international readers that have visited my diary. I want to thoroughly thank you very much for your posts, the good luck wishes and the positive remarks about our style of play and the way in which we conduct ourselves representing Germany in this tournament and in baseball in general. It makes me proud to be a part of this program knowing that so many of you appreciate our efforts. Also, its great that German baseball has come to greater recognition and respect throughout the world. This is exemplified in the fact that last night a Korean magazine reporter came to the team hotel to meet with me and discuss my Blog as well as our team, wanting to know more about baseball in Germany.

Further I am honored to let today’s report come from none other than our head coach himself, Mister GREG FRADY:

Often I have been called a dreamer and somehow I think it fits me. I have had a dream for all of my baseball life to coach or play in the Major Leagues and the Olympics. I wish the Yankees would call, but so far nothing and the possibilities are not good for the future. However, the Olympic chance is right before our German team with just three games to go. Our team came into the World Olympic Qualifying Tournament as a long shot according to some experts, but no one within our very proud organization believed that. Our story has been told over a four year period and continues to get bigger each day as we continue to have success. The first part of this tournament has seen many heroes from the German team. Against Australia TIM HENKENJOHANN, MIRKO HEID and KAI GRONUAER each had big games. Next came the Spain game and our first win! In the history of German baseball no one player has ever pitched a greater game than ENORBEL MARQUEZ this night in my opinion. It was very difficult to score, but SASCHA LUTZ hit a huge home run for our only run.

Oh how sweet the night victory was for all of us! Confidence plays such a big part of athletics and we had it going into the Chinese Taipei game. The crowd was loud, but provided our team an opportunity to prove we can play with the best in the world in front of 20,000+ spectators. ANDRE HUGHES was the star this day. He pitched at a very high level and the crowd gave him a standing ovation when he left the game. DOMINIK WULF played outstanding at third base and he and JENDRICK SPEER was our offensive leaders. KAI GRONAUER just missed a homerun on a great catch by their center fielder and they got a ball to drop in beyond SIMON GUEHRING that was the difference in the game. Our relievers MARTY ALMSTETTER, PHILIPP HOFFSCHILD and MARKUS WINKLER shut them down and gave us a chance at the end of the game. We had runners on base in the bottom of the 9th, but couldn’t get the big hit. Our team has always played in a professional manner and commanded respect from each team we have played along the way and this game was no different. At the conclusion of the contest the fans gave our Deutschland team a standing ovation out of respect for the world class caliber baseball we are playing. In the media interview after the game the reports were very impressed with the poise and confidence the team showed. I told them that this is nothing new; it has been growing over the past four years.

Our South Africa game had heroes where you normally don’t expect it, our rookies! DONALD LUTZ and LUDWIG GLASER played so great and provided the team with the energy level that it takes when everyone is tired. The veterans have the knowledge and experience, but the rookies always provide the excitement. This was a very hard game, because of fatigue and a total change in crowd environment (no fans). But, like a champion our team had a greater will to win on this day and our veteran pitcher DIRK FRIES came in and closed out the win for us. Our second win in the biggest tournament in German baseball history and puts an Olympic berth in reach for us. Call me a dreamer, but I believe we can achieve a spot in the 2008 Olympics and we are only three wins away. Everyone on the team, veterans and rookies are doing their part to make our dream come true. Maybe, I will never coach in the Major Leagues, but I know for sure that the German Senior National Team is Major League to me.

It is an honor to coach this team and seeing them have this level of success is so rewarding. We are starting to adjust to the culture, food and the people after our time in the 2007 World Cup this past November and now the World Olympic Qualifying Tournament here in Taiwan. Just three wins away and we will be rewarded with a trip back to China for the 2008 Olympics. It will be a great challenge to defeat Korea, Mexico and Canada over the next three days, but I believe our team can do it. This can happen because we have no shortage of German baseball heroes. Wish us luck as we go for an Olympic berth and play out our Major League dream!

GREG FRADY
Head Coach Deutschland Senior National Team

South Korea sits at the top of the standings after beating Spain easily. They are still undefeated and should have the Olympic berth secured. It is not over mathematically. However they were dominant throughout the tournament, so it is unlikely that they would lose all three remaining games.

The most thrilling match of the day and of the whole event was the clash between Chinese Taipei and Canada. It was an exiting and dramatic with three lead changes, a benches clearing incident, a two-out game tying rally in the ninth and a win in extra-innings in front of a sell-out crowd. Though the 30.000 people in the stadium wanted a different outcome. Both are now tied in second place with a 3-1 record. They will be hunted the rest of the week.

When we are speaking of interesting games. The Australia versus Mexico meeting was as much entertaining than the aforementioned one. The winless Mexicans came into the contest with their backs against the wall. But they will not give up. Their manager was ejected and the offense reacted, scoring six runs after the fifth to seal the first victory. Their chances are still slim, but they are alive. Especially with Germany, Spain and South Africa still on their schedule.

The Aussies also need a spark as they are now tied with Germany, which showed some offensive abilities, defeating South Africa 4-3. However the remaining three days are going to be tough, facing Mexico, South Korea and Canada. They started as one of the big underdogs and were competitive in every of the four games. We will see if the Cinderella story has a happy end.

CAN 020 011 001 1  6 16 2
TAI 200 003 000 0  5 10 1

In the most exiting and dramatic match of the Final Olympic Qualifying Tournament so far, Canada defeated Chinese Taipei 6-5. They tied the game in the ninth and scored the winning run in the tenth. Both are now 3-1 and right behind South Korea (4-0).

It was a memorable performance of both squads. Taiwan overcame a 2-4 deficit in the sixth and took a 5-4 lead thanks to a three-run-homerun by Kuo-Hui LO.

Canada threatened to tie the game in the eighth. Baserunner Jimmy VAN OSTRAND (3-5) tried to score of second and run over catcher Chun-Chang YEH. He held on to the ball, but flipped it back to VAN OSTRAND, who turned around to confront YEH. The benches cleared and the sell-out crowd threw debris onto the field. The police had to come in to control the scene. After a delay of several minutes the game was continued.

Chinese Taipei took the advantage into the ninth. But former major leaguer Stubby CLAPP reached base with a headfirst dive with two outs. He came around and scored on a RBI-single by Mike SAUNDERS to force extra-innings.

Matt ROGELSTAD led off the tenth with a single and scored the go-ahead run on VAN OSTRAND’s RBI-double. Chinese Taipei didn’t go down without a fight. They started a comeback in the bottom of the tenth. They had runners on first and second with one out, but Yi Chuan LIN grounded into a game-ending double play.

Ryan RADMANOVICH had two RBI. CLAPP scored twice.

Steve GREEN received the win, Mike KUSIEWICZ the save. Chien-Min CHIANG (1-1) took the loss.

After the off day on Tuesday, Canada faces Spain on Wednesday afternoon. Taiwan meets with Australia in the night session.

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Photo: © International Baseball Federation (www.ibaf.tv)

Sometimes an ejection of a manager gives extra motivation for a squad. The Mexican skipper Jose FRANCO was sent to the clubhouse in the fifth for arguing a non-balk-call. Moments later his team took a 3-1 lead. Australia eventually tied the game. But Mexico stayed aggressive and scored the go-ahead runs in the eighth to take a 7-4 victory against the Aussies.

It was a much-needed win for them. But it was by no means easy. Australia came back two times to tie the score. Mexico went up in front through a sac fly by Luis GARCIA (2-3) in the first. The Aussies answered with a RBI-single by Andrew UTTING in the fourth.

In the aforementioned fifth period Carlos VALENCIA (3-4), led off with a double off the left field wall. Australians pitcher Adam Blackley tried to pick him off, which caused the ejection of FRANCO. After a sac bunt, they loaded the bases. A groundout by Heber GOMEZ (2-5) and a passed ball were responsible for the two runs.

But Australia rallied again. Tom BRICE cut the deficit to one run with a RBI-double and scored the third run on a RBI-single by Luke HUGHES (3-3, BB).

But then came the eighth. Adam BRIGHT, who impressed with two perfect innings on Sunday, replaced Liam HENDRICKS. In difference to the game against Canada, BRIGHT was very much hittable. Mexico loaded the bases again and pinch runner Geronimo GIL forced in a run, when a pitch hit him. They added two more through a RBI-single by VALENCIA and a fielder’s choice by Jose RODRIGUEZ.

The silver medallist from 2004 tried to come back a third time in the bottom of the frame. HUGHES provided his second RBI-single of the day but was stranded on first.

Mexico added another insurance run in the ninth to build up the advantage again. Ivan TERRAZAS sealed the win with a RBI-single. Closer Rafael DIAZ came in and completed the game with two strikeouts and an easy popup to short.

Javier LOPEZ started for the North Americans. He allowed three runs on seven hits in 5 2/3 innings, striking out six. Jose SILVA relieved him and got the win.

BLACKLEY, who is in the Red Sox organization, impressed with nine strikeouts in five innings. But the southpaw also gave up five hits and three runs (2 ER) in his start. Fellow lefty BRIGHT took the loss.

Tuesday is off for both teams.

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Dirk Fries, pitcher of the German National Team and the Cologne Cardinals, will give us a daily report about his time at the Final Olympic Qualifying Tournament in Taiwan.

Monday 10th

Every game is special while we are here. For one because it is so important in itself, and also because of its own little peculiar reason. Yesterdays´ game was different because it was against the tournament’s host country, and against Spain because we owed them from our past encounters. And today was special because quite a few of our guys have gone down to South Africa to play over winter, just as their players have come up to play in the BUNDESLIGA. So their are some existent friendships as well as a certain familiarity between some of the players. I myself have played against South African second baseman BRETT WILLEMBURG, when he played for the now defunct COLOGNE DODGERS. Also well known is JONATHAN PHILLIPS, who played with MARKUS WINKLER, ROBERT GRUBER and SIMON GUEHRING during his time with the HEIDENHEIM HEIDEKÖPFE.

It was weird playing in the same stadium as yesterday because the circumstances and surroundings were so different. We went from a noisy sell-out crowd back to about 50 quiet spectators. This time you could actually hear the commands and cheers from both dugouts. It was a totally different atmosphere. Just this change of scenery posed a challenge to our team. You needed to remind yourself of the great importance of the game, even though it felt more like playing a backyard baseball game compared to the Chinese Taipei game. Another challenge was playing for the fourth straight day. It’s really harder to focus and concentrate, especially for the position guys, when you feel tired and running and throwing don’t come as easy as on day one.

And as a matter of fact, it showed in our performance. I’m not trying to take away anything from our opponent, but especially in the first part of the game, we played flat. As coach FRADY mentioned after the game we just didn’t have the same energy as the day before. I cannot trace it back to anything specific, but you could really sense it in the dugout. We needed a wake-up call, and after it came we answered. We were much louder and more aggressive late in the game, and were able to turn the game around, earning the much-needed win. MANNY MOELLER got the start, but didn’t have his best stuff.

He was replaced by MARTIN ALMSTETTER after four innings but South African was leading 3-1. Kai Gronauer drove in a run before we levelled the score in the 7th. MITCH FRANKE drove in SASCHA LUTZ through a sac fly, and ANDY JANZEN executed a perfect squeeze to score SIMON GUEHRING. Then in the 8th we were able to take the lead. Team South Africa threatened in the 8th and 9th, getting runners to 2nd base with two outs. But they failed to score, which meant that we now own a 2-2 record, and are still in the picture for 3rd place. It really was hard work to win today. But it feels good knowing that we came away as a winner even while not playing at out best.

Tomorrow we have a day off. We’ll have a light practice to stay in rhythm. But nothing to taxing, because we can use some rest. Maybe we’ll take some time to explore the city of TAICHUNG. So far, we haven’t seen much other than the hotel, the baseball fields and the nearby 7-11 convenience store.

South Korea already has sight of the Olympics in Beijing. They crushed Spain 14-5 and go into the off day with four victories out of four games.

The Asian powerhouse scored at least once in seven of the nine frames. A five-run spot in the fourth was the highlight. The Spanish squad had some hope during the middle of the game, when they rallied for five runs and cut the deficit to 4-8 and 5-10. But South Korea scored some insurance runs to seal the expected win.

Young Min KIM had three hits, scored twice and drove in four. Joo Chan KIM was 4-for-4 with three runs scored. Seung Yuop LEE hit a two-run-homerun.

Pedro MENDEZ had three hits for Spain. Ricardo RODRIGUEZ scored two runs. Dewis NAVARRO had two hits and two RBI.

Sun Woo KIM gave up seven hits, four runs and a base on balls in five innings for the win.

Manuel OLIVERA, who already had his second start, took the loss. He allowed seven hits, three runs and a walk in three-plus innings.

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SAF 200 100 000  3  3 0
GER 001 002 10X  4 10 1

Nobody would have thought that the German team is still alive after four game days. But they are. They overcame a 1-3 deficit to defeat South Africa 4-3. It is their second win of the tournament.

However it was not an easy victory. South Africa started strong and scored two runs in the top of the first through two RBI-singles by Brett WILLENBURG andWilliam LIEBENBERG, taking advantage of some control issues by starter Manuel MOELLER. Kai GRONAUER put Germany back into the game with a RBI-single to score Sascha LUTZ, who had reached with a double.

But the African representative answered right away and got the old two-run lead again, Brendon MITCHELL reached home on a wild pitch by reliever Martin ALMSTETTER. Though it was not over. Germany rallied in the sixth, loading the bases with no outs. They tied the game through a sacrifice fly of Michael FRANKE and a perfect squeeze bunt to first base by Andy JANZEN.

One period later Dominik WULF (2-4) reached base on a single, advanced to third though a wild pitch and a sac bunt. A moment later he scored the go-ahead run through a single by the Cincinnati Reds prospect Donald LUTZ.

Ludwig GLASER (LA Angels) had two hits and a walk.

MOELLER was charged with three hits, two runs and four walks in 2 2/3 innings, striking out three. Dirk FRIES received the win after 3 1/3 no-hit-one-walk innings of relief. South Africa had a runner on second in the ninth with two outs after a throwing error. But FRIES came right back and closed out the game with his third strikeout.

South African starter Jared ELARIO was responsible for six hits, three runs and four walks in five innings. Garth TERRY took the loss.

Tuesday is of in Taiwan. Germany has games left against South Korea, Canada and Mexico.

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Photo: © International Baseball Federation (www.ibaf.tv)

For six innings, Germany smelt an upset against Taiwan. However two runs in the top of the seventh sealed the loss. They received a third straight stellar performance by their starting pitching, which again didn’t get any run-support. They have scored now just two runs in 27 innings. This is not enough. Although they are much better than expected.

South Korea smashed the high hopes of Mexico today. Like in November, the latter started with three defeats into the tournament. Of course, their schedule was much tougher than from the other squads. But their chances now are really slim, besides three remaining games against the underdogs. With Australia they will face another favourite tomorrow.

The Aussies are right back in the mix after defeating Canada due to an outburst by their offense, which brought ten runs on the board and held against three more homeruns from the maple leafs. Both stand now at 2-1. The team from Northern America though has the best shot because of the fact that they still have two games left against the – on paper – lighter hitting Europeans. Next one for them is host Chinese Taipei.

Spain finally found a way to get a positive result, narrowly beating South Africa. On Monday it should be difficult for a repeat, while facing the South Korean team. The African representative meets with the other European country at the Qualifier.

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After losing a close game against Germany, the Spanish team decided a nail biter into their favour on Sunday. They defeated South Africa 2-1 and celebrated their first victory of the tournament.

The African representative, who is doing much better than last November, got off to a hot start, scoring the first run of the game in the first frame. However Spain wasn’t shocked as they tied the game right away. They came around and scored the winning run in the fifth. Daniel SANCHEZ and Daniel FIGUEROA got the RBI.

Besides a few offensive highlights the game featured an old-fashioned pitcher’s duel. Remigio LEAL received the win

Barry ARMITAGE pitched a complete game, giving up two runs on five hits, striking out six.

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MEX 000 010 000  1 7 1
KOR 000 101 04X  6 9 0

South Korea followed the footprints of Asian rival Taiwan and won their third game of the Final Olympic Tournament. They defeated Mexico 6-1, which is nearly eliminated.

Mexico had high hopes on starter Walter SILVA, after he had beaten the Colorado Rockies last Sunday. He didn’t disappointed as he allowed only two runs of South Korea in the first seven innings. But offensive wise only Miguel OJEDA produced with a solo-homerun in the fifth to tie the game for a minute. The Asian powerhouse answered with a run in the sixth to take the lead again. They added four more in the eighth to put all hopes for a Mexican comeback on ice.

Seung Yuop LEE, Jong Wook LEE and Taek Keun LEE each had two RBI. Kwang Hyun KIM received the win.

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Photo: © International Baseball Federation (www.ibaf.tv)

Dirk Fries, pitcher of the German National Team and the Cologne Cardinals, will give us a daily report about his time at the Final Olympic Qualifying Tournament in Taiwan.

Sunday March 9th

Today we played another good ballgame. But unfortunately, we lost. Chinese Taipei scored two runs in the seventh, and beat us 2-0. One could sense a feeling of severe disappointment in the dugout after the game. After coming away with the win last night, things didn’t turn our way this morning. We had hoped for more, but two doubles and bloop single in the 7th Inning were enough for them to win and chase starter ANDRÈ HUGHES. He pitched incredibly well. And not only our team recognized this, but so did the spectators who awarded him with a standing ovation and thorough applause.

The stadium was packed today. It was the first time for us, as we didn’t play Chinese Taipei in the World Cup. Just like any Chinese Taipei game, there were few seats left unoccupied, and the capacity of 30.000 was almost reached. Unlike most places that I’ve been to so far during my time in Baseball, Taiwanese fans cheer constantly. Not only do they celebrate every single out, but also on every strike thrown by their pitcher the whole place literally erupts. It was an awesome atmosphere just being in the dugout, and incredibly noisy. It was hard communicating with your fielders and I’m not sure they even heard our bench supporting them and cheering them on.

When the game turned in their favour in the seventh, all hell broke loose. On the other end you could sense the fans getting a little nervous when we got runners on the corners with nobody out in the ninth. JENDRICK SPEER had a double down the line, and DOMINIK WULF moved him to 3rd with a single to left. Unfortunately the heart of our lineup could not get another hit against the Taiwanese closer.

Coach GREG FRADY recognized our disappointment, but reminded the team of the positives: the great performance in the last three days, the respect we have been earning not only since the World Cup and the fact that we still have a chance.

That our team has come quite a long way in the last couple of years is maybe best reflected in our own expectations. Now we aren’t satisfied giving other teams a good game, we want to win badly, have the needed confidence and bring a positive and competitive attitude to the field every time.

Winning today would have strengthened our case for a berth in Beijing, and after losing the odds did not get any better. So tomorrow really is going to be important. Beating South Africa is essential to staying alive in the tournament. So far, Korea and Chinese Taipei seem to be the frontrunners to occupy the top two spots, because so far both are unbeaten. Behind them are Canada and Australia, both with a 2-1 record. Before tonight’s games we are fifth at 1-2. So a win tomorrow would put us back at .500 and let us stay in the race for third place. We know we can get it done.

CAN 010 000 220   5  8 3
AUS 004 040 020  10 13 1

Australia bounced back after the discouraging 2-16 loss against South Korea and defeated Canada 10-5. Both squads are now 2-1.

Jimmy VAN OSTRAND put Canada up in front with a solo-homerun, leading off the second. However Australia overcame the deficit, by scoring four runs in the third. They added four more in the fifth. The maple leafs rallied through two-run-homeruns by Ryan RADMANOVICH and Matt ROGELSTAD. It was too little too late. The Aussies sealed the victory with two insurance runs in the bottom of the eighth.

The Australian offense was led by Glenn WILLIAMS and Daniel BERG who each had three hits and combined for four RBI. Brett RONEBERG hit a three-run-triple.

The 18-year-old Steven KENT (W 1-0) didn’t falter under the pressure. He gave up six hits, three runs and a walk in six innings. Adam BRIGHT pitched the last two to earn the save.

Brooks MCNIVEN (L 0-1) was charged with four runs (2 ER) on five hits in three innings. Reliever Jamie RICHMOND allowed seven hits and four runs in four innings.

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Photo: © International Baseball Federation (www.ibaf.tv)

Chinese Taipei takes advantage of the crowd, beats Germany 2-0 and is the first team with three victories at the Final Olympic Qualifying Tournament. However the European underdog showed another impressive performance.

After six scoreless innings to open the match, Taiwan came through in the top of the seventh frame. They scored two two-out runs on a RBI-double and a RBI-single by Kui-Hi LO and Chih-Kang KO. Germany tried to rally in the ninth, put runners on the corners with no outs, but failed to bring them home. Jendrick SPEER and Dominik WULF had two hits.

Andre HUGHES (L 0-1) started for Germany. He allowed two runs on eight hits and no walks in 6 2/3 innings. Philipp HOFFSCHILD, Martin ALMSTETTER and Markus WINKLER completed the game.

Starter Chih-Chia CHANG allowed five hits in five innings. Ko-Chien LIN received the win.

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It was quit an interesting day two at the Final Olympic Qualifying Tournament. Besides the expected 10-0 romp of Canada, there were some surprises.

South Korea made a statement against Australia, scoring 16 runs in just four innings. And this was not against an underdog. But it was just a win, nothing more. At least on paper.

The second interesting match was the European clash between Germany and Spain. The Cuban-born southpaw Enorbel MARQUEZ-RAMIREZ put on a show against Yoel HERNANDEZ and put his team back into the mix. HERNANDEZ didn’t disappointed either, but received no run support. What can he do more than seven-plus innings of one-run-ball?

However if Germany wants to clinch a spot at the Olympics they have to top their performance on Sunday, when they are facing Chinese Taipei. Manuel MOELLER or Andre HUGHES are expected to start.

Taiwan is the third team with two victories. They beat Mexico, who is right under the same pressure, like four months ago. They came back at the Baseball World Cup (BWC) after a 0-3 start and reached the quarterfinals. But this March only the top three teams will advance. They have to win tomorrow against South Korea. And this is not the easiest opponent, which you can get, when you allowed 31 hits in the first two games.

Australia, which has split the first two, faces Canada tomorrow. Both met each other in front of the Qualifier, with the maple leafs winning three out of five games. It should be interesting.

The fourth match on Sunday is between two 0-2 squads. Spain has good recollections of South Africa as they defeated them 7-4 at the BWC to earn their only real victory. The second came through a disqualification of Panama.

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Photo: © International Baseball Federation (www.ibaf.tv)

Dirk Fries, pitcher of the German National Team and the Cologne Cardinals, will give us a daily report about his time at the Final Olympic Qualifying Tournament in Taiwan.

Saturday 8th

We were geared up and ready for a close game, but this one really it turned into a nail biter. A classic pitcher’s duel between ENORBEL MARQUEZ and YOEL HERNANDEZ developed, with both hurlers dominating through long stretches. While HERNANDEZ was lifted in the 8th Inning, MARQUEZ finished the game, earning the win in a complete game effort that coach GREG FRADY deservingly labelled as one of the best in the history of German Baseball. After all it came at the highest level and most important tournament that we have ever participated in. Just as you come to expect when two high level teams square off, the game was decided late and by one run. That run was provided by SASCHA LUTZ, who took HERNANDEZ deep leading off the 8th.

So finally, after losing to SPAIN in our last couple encounters, we were able to beat them when it counted. They played well, but this time so did we. So after coming up short when coming to this tournament and a European medal were on the line, this time we set the record straight. It is a great feeling being able to show that we are as good a team as them, sometimes we have been wanting to prove to ourselves and our fans for a while now. Sure it took an exceptional effort from our pitcher, but sometimes that’s just the way the cookie crumbles sometimes.

So like I had hoped yesterday, we got our first win of the tournament. Tomorrow we will take on CHINESE TAIPEI. It would be a major upset beating them, so we are giving it a shot. Playing in front of a stadium packed with avid Taipei supporters cheering and chanting their team and possibly booing us is going to be great fun. Let’s see if we can’t pull a rabbit out of hat and surprise them.

On another positive note we won’t have to travel to the DOULIOU Stadium, which is an over an hour away. Taichung Intercontinental Stadium is only 15 minutes away, so playing the early game isn’t all that bad.

When Glenn WILLIAMS drove in the first Australian run in the first with a single, nobody had though what would happen afterwards. The South Korean offense took over in the bottom of the same period and pounded the opposing pitching with 16 runs over the next four frames. They won by a score of 16-2 in seven innings and cemented their status as heavy favorite with this lopsided victory.

Seung Yuop LEE (3-3) hit a three-run-homerun, scored three times and got four RBI. Dae Ho LEE had two hits and three RBI. Joo Chan LEE delivered a bases-clearing double. Yong Kyu LEE had three hits and drove in three.

Hyun Jin RYU (W 1-0) needed only a solid start to receive the win. He allowed one run on seven hits and a hit by pitch, striking out four in 4.1 innings pitched. Ki Joo HAN, Woon Sam JANG and Doo Sung HWAN finished the game.

Aussie starter Greg WILTSHIRE (L 0-1) was charged with three hits, four runs and two walks in just one period. However Chris MODWAY and Mark KELLY also could not stop the pouring. Paul WEICHARD struck out three in two perfect innings at the end. But it was too late. By the way,WEICHARD also led the offense with three hits.

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Enorbel MARQUEZ-RAMIREZ and Sascha LUTZ led Germany to a 1-0 victory in the European duel with Spain. It is somewhat a surprise with the short preparation time the German team had.

Center fielder LUTZ delivered the lone run of the game with a solo-homerun, leading off the eighth frame.

MARQUEZ-RAMIREZ won the pitching duel against Yoel HERNANDEZ (L 0-1) with a five-hit complete game shutout, striking out three.

HERNANDEZ was charged with one run on six hits and three walks in 7 1/3 innings.

Neither team had much going offensive wise. Former minor leaguer Michael FRANKE had two hits for Germany, Ricardo RODRIGUEZ two for Spain. But only LUTZ found a way home.

Head coach George FRADY praised the performance as one of the best in German Baseball history. However they have to top it on Sunday against Chinese Taipei to have chance for a victory. Spain faces South Africa

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Photo: © International Baseball Federation (www.ibaf.tv)

TAI 002 200 020  6 13 0
MEX 000 001 000  1  8 0

Chinese Taipei starts off the tournament with two victories. The host of the Olympic Qualifier defeated Mexico 6-1 and stays on top of the standings. Taiwan scored twice in three different periods. Mexico put just one run on the board after ten on Friday.

The struggle of the Mexican pitchers with starter Pablo ORTEGA (L 0-1) continued. They had allowed 15 runs on 18 hits against Canada and gave up 13 hits and six runs against Chinese Taipei today. ORTEGA gave up ten hits, four runs and a base on balls in 5 1/3 innings.

Chen-Min PENG led the Tawanese offense with three hits and two RBI. Chieh-Ming CHANG and Tai-Shan CHANG drove in the other four runs.

Jesus Cota CADENA had two hits and drove in the run for Mexico.

Chien-Fu YANG allowed one run on five hits and three walks in five innings to receive the win.

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Photo: © International Baseball Federation (www.ibaf.tv)

Canada stays undefeated as they celebrated a 10-0 shutout against South Africa in their second game of the Final Olympic Qualifying Tournament in Taiwan.

After two scoreless innings, leading off the contest, the Canadian offense produced nine runs in the next three. Chris ROBINSON ended the game with a solo-homerun in the seventh due to the ten-run-rule. He was 4-for-4 with a triple shy of the cycle and three RBI. Mike SAUNDERS, Matt ROGELSTAD and Adam STERN had sacrifice flies. Emmanuel GARCIA (2 RBI) and Stubby CLAPP added RBI-singles.

Brett GRAY pitched flawlessly to receive the win. He is hindered by an injured shoulder but threw four scoreless innings to start the game, giving up just three hits and a walk, while striking out three. Alexandre PERIRARD and Aaron WIDEMAN completed the match.

Mathew DANCER was solid in the beginning, but took the loss anyway. He was charged with four hits, two runs and three base on balls in 3.1 innings pitched.

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The fist day of the long anticipated Final Olympic Qualifying Tournament is over. There were not many surprises. Of course nobody had thought that the game between Canada and Mexico would end in a slugfest. Nonetheless everything else went like expected.

South Korea delivered a message that their pitchers are already in midseason form. A little scare at the beginning didn’t bother the Aussies in their opener. The host Chinese Taipei feed from the screaming crowd to win easily. And Germany, South Africa and Spain are still the underdogs despite some promising signs.

What do we expect from game day two on Saturday. Canada is facing South Africa in the afternoon and should be on their way to win number two.

At the same time, Mexico is already under pressure against Chinese Taipei. Both faced each other in two matches at the Baseball World Cup (BWC) in November with the North Americans winning twice.

In the night session we will see the European duel between Germany and Spain. They met last September in the European Championship. Spain won 11-3 behind three RBI of Jose CRUZ and six strikeouts by Yoel HERNANDEZ.

The more interesting game, if you are looking from outside of Europe at the Qualifier is the South Korea – Australia match. They split their two clashes at the BWC. However the Asian team has a much better roster on hand this time.

Complete Schedule
Complete Standings

Photo: © International Baseball Federation (www.ibaf.tv.)

Dirk Fries, pitcher of the German National Team and the Cologne Cardinals, will give us a daily report about his time at the Final Olympic Qualifying Tournament in Taiwan.

Friday March 7th

Rumor has it that TAICHUNG is a hotbed for crime. That’s why every team is being escorted to the stadium by a police car. So far I can neither confirm nor deny this. But besides this little anecdote let’s talk about today’s game. We lost to AUSTRALIA, by a score of 4-1. We played well, but unfortunately not well enough. So consequently we are disappointed, but in no way disheartened. We know we have a good team and won’t back off our goal, which is to try and go to the Olympics, until we are mathematically eliminated after all, it is the only chance for my generation of Ballplayers to become an Olympian. With no baseball being played in London, 2012, the next possible chance would be 2016, if Baseball can make its way back.

We were able to watch the end of the Mexico-Canada game, which surprisingly turned into a slugfest. After that we were allowed onto the field and got in our regular pregame routine, having batting practice on the field. The playing field is really nice, and pretty big. It’s 400 feet in centerfield, with 330 down the lines. The field is surrounded by enormous stands, which, coming as no surprise, remained almost empty throughout the day.

We, as home team, took the field first, with TIM HENKENJOHANN starting. He turned in a very solid performance, yet did not have his best day. Opponent hitters hit only a few balls hard, but capitalized on walks and wild pitches, executing well when they had opportunities. We played really solid defense, committing only one error (the scorer was of different opinion on that play), with ROBERT GRUBER making a spectacular diving catch in the outfield and KAI GRONAUER throwing out four Australian base runners.

Offensively we struggled a little at first, but starting swingeing the bats better towards the end, hitting balls hard and right at fielders quite a few times. We had a chance for a rally in the 8th, but could not score. Overall, KAI GRONAUER was excellent in this rescet also.

After losing today, tomorrow is going to be a big game for us we haven’t played well against SPAIN in our last few matchups, which we are looking to correct. In Prague in 2005 and most recently last year’s European Championships, where a lopsided loss actually cost us a medal and at first left us out of this tournament, we didn’t play up to our own standards and expectations. Also a win would give us some momentum and significantly raise our chances. Most likely four wins in this tournament will get the job done. With six games left to play, we are still very much in it.

ESP 200 001 0   3  6 1
TAI 231 600 1  13 12 0

The host of the Final Olympic Qualifying Tournament, Chinese Taipei, got off to a perfect start. 10.000 people were on hand as they defeated Spain 13-3, using the ten-run rule to shorten the contest to seven innings. After struggling during exhibitions in front of the event, the offense came through in the opener.

Spain started strong, leading off the match with two runs, but felt apart afterwards. Taiwan evened the score in the bottom of the first and took the lead in the second. They scored in every of the first four frames and build up a 12-2 advantage. Both teams added another run until the game was called after the seventh period.

Chien-Ming CHIANG received the win, Manuel OLIVERA the loss.

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Photo: © International Baseball Federation (www.ibaf.tv.)

Considered as one of the favourites the Australian team had to defeat Germany. They needed to work harder than expected but won nonetheless by a score of 4-1.

Germany, which is handicapped by a short preparation time for the Final Olympic Qualifying Tournament, started strong into the game. After two strikeouts to lead off the bottom of the first, Dominik WULF walked and scored through a double of the left field wall by Kai GRONAUER.

However the Aussies didn’t mess around and answered right away. Tom BRICE, who had reached on a fielder’s choice, advanced to third on wild pitches by starter Tim HENKENJOHANN. Brendan KINGMAN brought him home through a single to tie the game.

They went up in front in the third, when Glenn WILIAMS drove in Brett RONEBERG with a RBI-single. Luke HUGHES and Paul WEICHARD added two more runs in the fourth with a RBI-single and a RBI-double.

Neither team scored afterwards as the pitchers took over.

Southpaw Paul MILDREN dominated through five innings. He gave up only one run on four hits and one base on balls, while striking out seven. Scott MITCHINSON completed the game with four two-hit innings to earn the save.

HENKENJOHANN (L 0-1) was pretty wild with five walks, one hit batter and five wild pitches. He also gave up five hits, striking out three in six innings. Mirko HEID, who finished the game, allowed just two more hits.

Australia faces South Korea on Saturday. Germany will clash with Spain.

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Play-by-Play

All nine batters Canada had at least one hit, six got two or more. Matt ROGELSTAD was 3-4 with three runs scored and three RBI. Jimmy VAN OSTRAND (3-5) drove in four.

Mexico didn’t disappoint offensive wise either. Carlos VALENCIA hit a two-run-homerun during the eighth-run outburst in the third. Geronimo GIL had three hits and two RBI.

As good as the offense of both squads was, their defense and pitching was on the other side of the scale. They committed a combined six errors and used eleven pitchers in the first match of the tournament.

Jamie RICHMOND received the win. Victor ALVAREZ took the loss.

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KOR 102 000 011  5 12 0
SAF 000 000 000  1  2 0

The South Korean team opened the Final Olympic Qualifying Tournament with a flawless performance, beating South Africa 5-0. They scored three runs in the first three innings and the pitching staff allowed just one hit in a shutout.

Starter Min Han SON (W 1-0) impressed with six one-hit innings, striking out six. Dae Ho LEE led the offense with three hits and a RBI.

Brett WILLENBERG and Jamie ROSSOUW had the lone hits for South Africa. Pitcher Robert VERSCHUREN (L 0-1) pitched solid in the loss.

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Photo: © International Baseball Federation (www.ibaf.tv.)

TAICHUNG, Chinese Taipei – A press conference featuring Chinese Taipei delegates and representatives from each participating team kicked-off the 2008 IBAF Final Olympic Qualifying Tournament (FOQT).

The press conference, held in the Evergreen Laurel Hotel in Taichung, was opened by Jan Esselman, IBAF Tournament Director for the event.

“I have heard that good things come in three’s,” said Esselman, referring to this being his third tour as tournament director of an IBAF event hosted by the Chinese Taipei Baseball Association (CTBA).

“And I think that this will be the best tournament ever.”

Esselman was followed by members of the CTBA and local government officials, and each team coach/manager also had opening statements for the standing room-only press conference.

Play opens tomorrow at 12:30 with South Africa vs. Korea and Mexico vs. Canada at Intercontinental and Tou-Liou Stadiums, respectively.  Intercontinental Stadium will later host the FOQT Opening Ceremony at 18:30, followed by host country Chinese Taipei taking on Spain at 19:00.  In the other late game, Germany takes on Australia at 18:30 at Tou-Liou.

Dirk Fries, pitcher of the German National Team and the Cologne Cardinals, will give us a daily report about his time at the Final Olympic Qualifying Tournament in Taiwan.

Thursday March 6th

On Wednesday we, meaning the German Team and its medical and administrative staff, arrived in TAICHUNG, Taiwan, checking into the Hotel where the Mexican, the South African and the Spanish teams have also been accommodated. Due to a late arrival after a stopover in Hong Kong there was no time for a workout in order to get accustomed to the climate and time difference. The team did have a practice session today, before the tournament kicks off on Friday.

Before coming to Asia, our team spent 5 days in TIRRENIA, Italy, preparing for the tournament. There, led by head coach GREG FRADY, we worked out twice a day, trying to shake off the winter rust. Besides practicing we played intra-squad games as well as a team from the ITALIAN ACADEMY located in Tirrenia. Our team is very similar to the team that participated in the 2007 World Cup, having exchanged only a few players. Among the new guys is young newly-signed DONALD LUTZ, who joins his older brother Sascha on the Team. BENEDIKT ANTWI, a promising REGENSBURG pitcher, also made the squad.

As a team we used the time in Italy to get into rhythm and review our team´s defensive and offensive strategies. Due to the German weather players have only been able to work outside for a couple of weeks. Therefore Pitchers needed a few Innings to get ready and the Hitters needed to see some live pitching. But we are confident that we are ready for tomorrow, for our first game against Australia.

Compared to the other teams our preparation time has been rather short and maybe less elaborated. But we are in the tournament on short notice, being notified of our participation about 7 weeks ago. Still one can rate our team as a deserving participant after a strong but unlucky 4th place finish at the European Championship. Coach FRADY has the team in a positive mode, believing that we will play a solid and successful tournament. As of right now, we the players are less concerned about the results of the games than the type of baseball they play. Sure we are aware of the unbelievable chance and opportunity this tournament entails, but nonetheless we feel that we only need to focus on playing the best possible baseball that we can play, meaning good pitching and errorless defense. Everything else will fall into place.

Australia, Canada, South Korea and Mexico should be considered as the favourites for this event. Chinese Taipei also has chances as they are playing in front of their home crowd. The European teams Germany and Spain in addition to the usual African representative South Africa are considered as heavy underdogs.

Australia
After surprisingly winning a silver medal in Athens 2004, Australia is now considered as one of the best nations in international baseball. However the Olympic qualifier is going to be a difficult tournament for them. They will miss their biggest stars, as Travis BLACKLEY, Justin HUBER and Brad HARMAN all attend Major League Spring Training camps. Their roster features 13 players, who are younger than 25 years old. Red Sox prospect Adam BLACKLEY is among them. Most of them played over the winter in Australian Baseball Leagues and the Claxton Shield. The National Team did two exhibition series against a regional selection and Team Canada. Although they struggled with a batting average of .183 and an ERA of 6.43 against the maple leafs, they got their work in.
Keys to success: Veterans like Glenn WILLIAMS, Luke HUGHES and Ben RISINGER have to produce early to take some pressure of the younger players.

Canada
Canada is bringing a roster to Taiwan, which should be stronger in comparison to the Baseball World Cup in November. Led by Adam STERN, who impressed at the World Baseball Classic 2006, the team is filled with Minor League players and former Major Leaguers like Stubby CLAPP or Steve GREEN. During their friendship series against the Aussies last week they already worked on all cylinders. After losing the first match, they won three out of four (one tie) afterwards, batting a combined .310. Their pitchers also showed promising signs with an ERA of 3.35. James AVERY and Jamie RICHMOND are a good one-two punch at the front of the rotation. Their durability is somewhat a concern as these games now are the first for them since last year.
Keys to success: Their bullpen needs to step up, as the starters can’t go deep into the games this early in the season.

Chinese Taipei
They can rely on something, which no other participant can. The host will have the crowd behind their backs. This is definitely an advantage because only games with Taiwan will be played with significant attendance. However their six-game series against Chinese Professional Baseball League (CPBL) teams revealed some concerns. Their heart of the order with Tai-Shan CHANG and Chih-Sheng LIN struggled a bit and with them the whole offense. But they got better in the end and played nearly flawlessly in their last warmup against the Sinon Bulls (10-0). Jien-Fu YANG is expected to start on Friday against Spain. Keys to success: They need to lead off the tournament with victories to thrive with the home crowd.

Germany
They have the most difficult job to do of all eight teams. The German team received their invitation after the withdrawal of Great Britain as early as January, leaving just two months for preparation. Despite the fact that the players didn’t expected to play baseball in March they got a pretty good roster together. Only Rodney GESSMANN (Minnesota Twins organization) is missing, as his club didn’t allow his participation. Manuel MOELLER, who had missed the Baseball World Cup due to professional reasons, will replace him. They also only could work together a couple of days and played only a single test match against a Italian Baseball Academy selection. It should be even a miracle if they are winning at least one game.
Keys to success: The starters Enorbel MARQUEZ-RAMIREZ, Tim HENKENJOHANN and Manuel MOELLER have to be on top of their game to give Germany a small chance.

Mexico
Most of the players are coming fresh of a full winter league season in their home country. This is a big advantage, as most of their opponents didn’t play at all. The roster should be better than at the Baseball World Cup. Walter SILVA, Pablo ORTEGA, Roberto SAUCEDO and the former Major League catcher Miguel OJEDA and outfielder Karim GARCIA impressed in test games against Mexican Summer League teams. After this series they went to Tucson, Arizona and faced the reigning National League champion. After being crushed in the first match, they defeated the Colorado Rockies by a score of 2-1. Mexico is definitely one of the favourite teams at the Qualifier and as good as anyone.
Keys to success: They need to find their rhythm faster than in November as they are facing the favourites in the first four games.

South Africa
They are relying mostly on the same roster as in the Baseball World Cup. The team travelled earlier to Asia and met with Chinese squads to see some game action. They also squared of with Spain during workouts this week. Among Germany those three are considered as heavy underdogs. South Africa lost all seven games last November and was overmatched against nearly every opponent. They featured a .222 batting average and an ERA of 7.90. They are only getting a chance versus the Europeans.
Keys to success: Pitchers Carl MICHAELS and Robert VERSCHUREN have to bring their best performances to the mound.

South Korea
South Korean manager Kyung-Moon KIM selected several big name players for the tournament. They are missing only Chan Ho PARK, who is trying to restart his MLB career with the Dodgers, and Jae SEO, who is injured. Nevertheless they are having one of their best rosters on hand since a long time. The sluggers Seung-Yeop LEE, Dae-Ho LEE and Dong-Joo KIM are forming a formidable heart of the order. Former San Francisco Giant Sun-Woo KIM along with Hyun-Jin RYU and Min-Han SON leads the pitching staff. Like Chinese Taipei they have played a series of warm-ups against CPBL clubs, winning all three relatively easy. They have some concerns regarding their middle infield and the depth of their bullpen as key players like shortstop Jin-Man PARK and closer Seung-Hwan SO are injured.
Keys to success: The defense has to make all the plays, as the pitching staff features no strikeout artists.

Spain
Spain received a berth at the Qualifier due to an impressive performance at the European Championships last September, finishing in third place in front of a enthusiastic home crowd. The roster consists mostly of players, who played for the squad at the Baseball World Cup. They held a productive training camp in South California and played a series of test matches against College teams of this area. Their pitchers Manuel OLIVERA, Yoel HERNANDEZ, and Audi NUNEZ are already in good shape. Closer Fernando GUTIEREZ along with Jorge BALBOA and Remigio LEAL struggled a little bit, giving away leads at the end of games. They also have some concerns about protection for their best hitter Dewis NAVARRO in the batting order.
Keys to success: The offense needs to show some power to support the pitching staff.

Prediction:
South Korea
Canada
Mexico
Australia
Chinese Taipei
Spain
South Africa
Germany