Looking East for influence

ANAHEIM, Calif. -- Korea has become the throwback team in the World Baseball Classic, which is why US manager Buck Martinez, who watched his team exit the tournament with a 2-1 loss to Mexico Thursday, thinks his players need to go back to fundamentals if they want to last longer in the future.

Korea, which meets Japan in one semifinal tonight in San Diego, after Cuba takes on the Dominican Republic, showed the world how baseball was played in the 1950s, '60s, and '70s, when an eye for detail and physical preparation were the norm.

Korea, which had a large and boisterous contingent of fans in Anaheim, has won all six of its games with smart pitching, sharp defense, and good field presence.

''Obviously, you see the value of their practice regimen where they take hundreds of ground balls a day," said Martinez, who had a 17-year major league career. ''They swing a hundred times a day more than we do in North America. I think it is time to say, 'You know what? That's not a bad idea.'

''I think what I would like to see in baseball is a return of infield [practice]. We don't see outfielders throw because they don't throw enough during infield practice. All the great throwers of the '70s and '80s were throwing every day during infield. I think that is a routine that allows you to get better.

''I think some of the things that the Japanese and the Koreans do as a regular practice routine could benefit major league baseball clubs."

Jeff Francoeur's base-running blunder with two on and nobody out in the fifth inning Thursday effectively crushed the US team's spirit. Francoeur wandered off second base after a pitch to Michael Young and was tagged out in a rundown between second and third.

You won't see that kind of mistake while watching Korea or Japan.

''I don't think it's a stretch to think that we have expanded the boundaries of baseball. And when you have 30 Team USA players watching a game between Japan and Korea with as much interest as if it were determining their postseason fate during the regular season, I think that speaks to how successful this tournament has been," said Martinez.

Martinez believes the Asian countries will likely continue to impact the game. ''The double-play combination of Japan [Tsuyoshi Nishioka and Munenori Kawasaki], the DH [Nobuhiko Matsunaka] for Japan, I think they're high-quality major league players. [Daisuke] Matsuzaka, without question, could be a front end of the rotation pitcher in the major leagues.

''Several of the Korean relief pitchers, especially [Seung Hwan] Oh, are very capable of helping major league teams. They have very good lefthanded relief, and I think the middle infielders, when you look at the Korean shortstop [Jin Man Park], very sure-handed, very confident, very tough player. [Akinori] Iwamura of Japan, the third baseman, outstanding player, great hands."

Korea and Japan played a beauty of a game Wednesday night with Korea pulling out a 2-1 victory to improve to 2-0 against its rival and set up a semifinal rematch.

Korean outfielder Jong Beom Lee says the Korea-Japan rivalry is as heated as Yankees-Red Sox. Japan has always been the baseball standard in Asia, but the Koreans are coming on fast.

''Up to now, Japan has been known to be a top team in Asia, but we work harder to beat Japan," Lee said. ''I think because of that, because of our strong will, the zeal to beat the Japan team, maybe there is some hidden power that comes out when we fight against the Japan team."

Korea was also miffed by recent comments made by Ichiro Suzuki, who said he didn't think Korea had enough talent to beat Japan. But after Wednesday's loss, Japan manager Sadaharu Oh knows better.

''We lost both games, but those were very close games, and I believe either team could have won either game," he said. ''We'd like to show our best performance the third time, and we will try our best to win this one."