Final Olympic Slots Up For Grabs
Canada and Korea will be the favorites to claim berths to the 2008 Beijing Olympics when the Final Olympic Qualifier begins Friday in Taiwan. Other teams competing for Olympic glory includes Australia, Chinese Taipei, Germany, Mexico, Spain and South Africa.
(Photo courtesy of IBAF)
Canada finished their five game exhibition series against Australia with a 3-1-1 record and arrives in Taiwan full of confidence. Toronto native Jonathan Lockwood is set to be the team workhorse with James Avery, Jamie Richmond, and Steve Green set to play vital roles for Head Coach Terry Puhl pitching staff.
Among the 24 players selected by Baseball Canada for the event are five former members of the 2004 Olympic Team who are 2B Stubby Clapp, LHP Mike Kusiewicz, OF Adam Stern, OF Ryan Radmanovich and OF Jeremy Ware. The team also includes 17 players who represented Canada at the IBAF World Cup this past November.
Korea boasts a strong lineup of pitchers led by Hanwha Eagles ace Ryu Hyun-jin, former major leaguer Kim Sun-woo, and SK Wyverns southpaw Kim Kwang-hyun. However, skipper Kim Kyung-moon has a huge void in the bullpen with the injury of Samsung Lions and national team closer Oh Seung-hwan leaving the mop up duties to Doosan Bears 20 year-old releiver Im Tae-hoon.
Another key injury to Samsung Lions shortstop Park Jin-man, who has a sore shoulder, is another concern for Korea. But a powerful offensive lineup featuring Lee Seung-yeop, Kim Dong-joo and Lee Dae-ho makes Korea a favorite to win a ticket to Beijing this summer.
Australia will be led by five members from their 2004 Silver medal winning team including Former Major League player and two-time Olympian Glenn Williams. But several key players, including Major League pitchers Travis Blackley and Ryan Rowland-Smith, are busy in spring training in the United States and not available.
Australian Head Coach Jon Deeble will depend on 13 players under the age of 25, including three teenage sensations, to propel his team back to the Olympics. 19-year-old pitcher Liam Hendriks was the 2008 Claxton Shield top rookie performer, 18-year-old Steve Kent won the 2007 ABF Youth Player of the Year, and 17-year-old James Linger is one of Australia’s top baseball prospects.
The darkhorse of the tournament could be Mexico led by ace pitcher Walter Silva who tossed 4.2 shutout innings in a 2-1 victory over the Colorado Rockies split squad. Other top Mexican pitchers includes Pablo Ortega and former major leaguer David Cortes.
The tournament opens Friday at 12:30 with South Africa vs. Korea and Mexico vs. Canada at Intercontinental and Tou-Liou Stadiums, respectively. Intercontinental Stadium will later host the FOQT Opening Ceremony at 18:30, followed by host country Chinese Taipei vs. Spain at 19:00. In the other late game, Germany vs. Australia at 18:30 at Tou-Liou.
2 Responses to “Final Olympic Slots Up For Grabs”
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Greetings Marvin & Jhun,
There are actually 2 unrelated pitchers on the Canadian team named Richmond. Jamie is younger by about 5 years than Scott who is 28 and has arrived on the national scene a bit under the radar it seems.
After establishing himself as a reliever at Oklahoma State, he became a man without a visa, victim of the 9/11 fallout, and despite the interest of more than a dozen teams, he was forced to hone his skills for 2.5 seasons in the back woods of the Northern League, where he was back to back Pitcher of the Year for Edmonton as a reliever and then as a starter.
The Blue Jays finally got wind of him, and invited him to a tryout where he turned a lot of heads, and has continued to do so at Spring training in Dunedin, Fla, where he spent 2 weeks getting ready for this tournament.
The coaching staff have a lot of faith in his talent, his maturity and mental toughness, as they have him penciled to go against the talented Koreans.
Don’t be surprised if you witness a sparkling display of pitching from him on Thursday; this guy has all of the tools to make his mark in MLB.
Well, I have to say that I predicted it right on the button in my 1st post.
Big Canadian righty Scott Richmond took over in the 5th, and treated the Koreans to a pitching display for the next 4 innings, frustrating their talented batting lineup with a mixture of overpowering inside fastballs and well located variety of offspeed deliveries, giving up only 2 singles in the process.
He finished the tournament with a miniscule ERA of 1.35 and was arguably the best pitcher on display all week, going head to head with 2 of the top 4 teams that Canada faced, and coming away with the “W” on both occasions.
Marvin is also to be congratulated for his accurate prediction of the order of finish in the FOQT in Taiwan.