The Braves Blog

I for one really enjoyed watching the World Baseball Classic. I think one reason it was so appealing is because after going a while without any baseball, it was a chance to watch some real games again.

As a Braves fan, I was very pleased to see how Chipper played. After we were eliminated by Mexico, it was at least some consolation in the way Villarreal pitched, knowing he would be returning to the MLB as a Braves.

The USA not even making it to the semi-finals was a bit of a disappointment, but the whole tournament they played like the Braves in the post season, so it was a little easier to handle after having experienced something similar for the last 15 years.
The question is why were the eliminated so early? The obvious reason is their lack of production in clutch situations, but why were they not able to produce?

I have a few theories:

1. Its Spring Training – Perhaps everyone wasn’t in full form yet. I definitely think that was the issue with Willis, because he is too good of a pitcher to have two games like that. Maybe the offense just wasn’t ready yet. Maybe they needed more time to work on their swings, get used to seeing pitches, etc.
2. It wasn’t a well balanced team – I really don’t think this was the issue, but I am going to throw it out there anyway, because its something you risk anytime you have a team of superstars. Baseball teams need to be balanced. You need just the right balance of speed, power, and contact. Perhaps we didn’t have that balance.

I am curious what everyone else thinks about these things. Did you like the WBC? Why did the USA bow out so early?