USA Edges Canada in WBC Opener

The World Baseball Classic got underway for the United States yesterday and went well. Team USA was able to escape with a 6-5 victory over Team Canada yesterday in Toronto.

Jake Peavy started for Team USA and went three innings, allowing two runs and two hits. He walked three and struck out four.
“This is a playoff atmosphere,” Peavy said. “Everything is on the line, you’re doing everything you can to win and advance in this tournament, and playing for your country just takes that through the roof. It’s as good an atmosphere as it gets, I believe.”

Kevin Youkillis of the Boston Red Sox added a homerun for America in the 4th inning. Atlanta Braves catcher Brian McCann added a two-run shot a couple batters later.

The Yankees' Derek Jeter went 2-for-3 in yesterday's opening game.

There were numerous spots in the game in which both teams had chances with runners in scoring positions but couldn't deliver. Team USA had the bases loaded twice and couldn't score.

In the ninth inning, the Mets' JJ Putz closed out the game for Team USA but in typical Mets bullpen fashion, he made it interesting. Putz gave up an RBI double to the Reds' Joey Votto that brought Canada within 6-5. Then Putz got the Twins' Justin Moreanu to ground out for the win.
“I just tried to get ahead of him and we were able to,” Putz said. “We tried to get him to chase some sliders and he laid off a couple of good ones. With (Matt) Stairs sitting on deck, he’s a guy that I’ve had some trouble with in the past, so I really wanted to focus in and try to get Bay to end the game.”

If you watched this game you could feel the emotion going into the game. This was surely not your average exhibition game.
“It was one of those situations where you’re on the edge of your seat,” Jeter said. “It’s a lot more nerve-racking watching, I think, than it is playing.


As the tournament continues, so will the intensity. Team USA is off to a good start, lets see how far they can go from here.



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Pedoria Wins AL MVP

The AL MVP was announced this week and went to Dustin Pedoria of the Boston Red Sox. Pedoria in his second year captures the league's top award a year after he was named the American League Rookie of the Year.

G AB R H HR RBI AVG OBP SLG OPS
157 653 118 213 17 83 .326 .376 .493 .869

Dustin received 16 of 28 first-place votes. The runner-up Justin Morneau recieved seven. Along with leading the league in hits, runs and doubles, Pedroia was successful on 20 of 21 steal attempts.

In a season where David Ortiz wasn't Big Papi and Manny Ramirez decided Boston wasn't for him and didn't play up to his capability, Pedoria was a constant strength in the Red Sox lineup. When Ramirez was traded in July, Pedoria was inserted as the no 4 hitter in the lineup and responded with a couple big performances. He also won a gold glove this year.

Congratulations to him and the season he had.
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