Apolitical Staples

Actually…Yes. 2000 Pan Am games in Winnipeg…Canada won two big games …One against the the USA and One Against Cuba… Ironically the CDA/USA game was umpired by a Cuban who was obviously sucking up to the Americans…and making suspect calls in their favour. A big curfuffle took place with the CDN coach getting expelled, the Cuban Ump walking out, and eventually the good guys winning!

In spite of all this the final game ended up being USA vs Cuba through some unexplainable permutations of the tourney rules. I have not truly enjoyed a ball game since!

OK, here’s the long story on the tiebreak procedure.

First off, the top two teams from each pool advance to another round robin. So either way, if we go on we’ll play both Korea and Japan, as well as either Mexico or the US, in the second round. The top two teams from that round robin play each other in the semifinal.

Anyway, on to the tiebreaker. The first tiebreaker is head to head, which doesn’t matter when three teams are tied at 2-1, each having lost to another 2-1 team. So the tiebreaker then is runs allowed per inning in head to head games (ie. our games vs. the USA and Mexico). The US has completed those games an allowed 8 runs. Mexico allowed 2 vs. the US and we allowed 6. If we lose to Mexico by any score, Mexico is through because they will be ahead of us in that category. The only thing left to be decided is who joins them. If we lose 1-0, we give up 7 runs to the USA’s 8 and advance. If we lose 2-0 or 2-1, we’re tied at 8 and we advance on the basis of today’s glorious head to head win. Any other result, and we’re out a day after such a huge win. If we lose and give up 3 runs, the US will have been saved by that perfect relay by Francoeur and Utley.

This raises a really fun little scenario that, while far-fetched, is always possible. Say Mexico is the home team (they shouldn’t be. We were away in both of our first two games). Say the score is ties 1-1 in the bottom of the 9th when Mexico hits a walk off homer. The runner scores to make it 2-1. The batter now has the choice of rounding the bases, as he would traditionally do, making the final 3-1 and ousting Canada. Or he can stop at first, leave the field, let the score stand at 2-1 and eliminate the powerhouse Americans.

This sort of thing happening would raise all sorts of questions, that have never arisen because run differential has never mattered in big time baseball. Also, the outcry in the US would be so much fun to watch.