Late in Sunday night's game between the Nederland and the USA, Bryan Engelhardt of the Nederland hit a solo home run, the first for the Dutch team in the Classic. Engelhardt made the mistake of pausing to watch the arc of the ball, then hopped as he headed around the bases. That made David Wright, lounging on the bench, leap to his feet and start yelling. What a joke. Wright after all is on the Mets, a team that is known for its pimping. Can anyone say, Jose, Jose, Jose, Jose?
So what did pitcher Matt Lindstrom of the Marlins do? He threw behind the next batter. And the Nederland bench emptied onto the field. What a disgrace. The Dutch were down 8-3 in the 8th and their run was over. Was there any need for the American team to overreact as they did? It was simply pathetic and made me cringe.
I then heard Rick Sutcliffe drone on about what a leader David Wright was and how the Dutch just should not have acted that way. This guy is maybe the worst color guy in all of baseball. He was again drooling all over Derek Jeter. who DH'd in the game---and wasn't very happy doing it. At one point, when a Dutch pitcher struck Jeter out, Sutcliffe opined that the pitcher had learned something valuable about how Jeter plays the game. Maybe what the Dutch learned is that when the better shortstop--yes, Rollins---gets the start, the game is different.
Two WBC match-ups to watch: tonight's game between Puerto Rico and Venezuela and the rematch between Japan and Korea.
