Las Tunas.-With the third edition of the Premier 12 in dispute for a few days, the Cuban team concluded its preparation in Chinese Taipei, headquarters of Group B, with ambitious aspirations, despite the debts of results in previous competitions. Players with performance in foreign leagues, including the Minor League circuit of Major League Baseball (MLB), in addition to the main exponents on the Island, make up the roster of the Greater Antilles, in a contest that brings together the 12 countries better located in the ranking of the world of the World Baseball and Softball Confederation (WBSC). But does Cuba have real options to be included in the top four?
According to what was explained in the tour of Asian properties, several lessons are obvious. The level of understanding, flexibility and development of the game in Japan and South Korea is a step above the rest, largely due to having the fundamental pieces of their tournaments and an evolution over the years. The Japanese take on the challenge with the intention of retaining the title and prolonging the triumphant thread extended since the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games and continued in the V World Classic. Meanwhile, the southerners of the Korean Peninsula debuted the competition with the glory of lifting the trophy nine years ago.
To achieve the initial goal, which is none other than advancing in the group stage, Armando Johnson’s troops will have to overcome at least one of the two. In this sense, the confrontations with the South Koreans marked the realities on both sides of the ocean, above all, with the score of the last match of 13 points to three.
Although, at that time, the Cubans were still going through a stage of adaptation to the time zone and without some key players in the lineup, the terrain exposed certain alarms, because while the Caribbeans aspire to achieve optimal physical shape as the only purpose, the staff of rival coaches and specialists maneuver to profile the characteristics of pitchers and hitters, in a common act today, but under the radar in these parts. The study of opponents has become the fundamental weapon for team sports, in order to take advantage of the opponents’ deficiencies with their own capabilities.
Likewise, the development of the national team has been marked by the lack of power connections, if the role of these players in their respective teams is taken into account. A possible crisis in the immediate future that awakens the ghosts of 2019, in a similar event, when tenth place in the table was also accompanied by the absence of extra-base hits and an offense of just 163. Statistics that are an insult to the rich history of the hobby Cuban, who boasted of producing hitters by the arrobas.
The numbers of the most recent experience remove the worst qualification from those of the first incursion, which are still below what the fans expect and the same projection of the line upwhen evaluating man to man. With a average of 252, 11 two-shots, a couple of three-corner hits and the same number of home runs, coming from the bats of Stayler Hernández and Alfredo Despaigne, the four-letter army achieved three wins in 2015, at the hands of the Netherlands (6 to 5), Puerto Rico (8 to 7) and Italy (2 to 1), all by the slightest advantage.
Right in that friction, on the verge of suicide, the great merit has become: the accurate work of the streamers. However, on several occasions during the matches it has become evident that such a state of perfection constitutes a chimera, given the high rank of the opponents and any slip is reflected in the outcome of the challenges; Therefore, the demands circulate for the three factors, although with special emphasis on the creation of runs, which is not only achieved with the opportune hit, but also with decision making with runners on the pads.
In addition to the “giants” of Asia and the hosts, Cuba will face the Dominican Republic, as soon as this Wednesday the 13th, and Australia. Although the Professional Baseball League (LIDOM) represents a difficulty for the call, the Quisqueyans have a solid youth field to stand in the way of any opponent. For their part, the Australians have never been an easy nut to crack, as they know how to optimize their opportunities well, therefore, trust does not find a place in that matchup either.
Dispelling into oblivion the image of 2019, when they anchored in the basement of the knockout round and tenth place in the general table, seems the most attainable goal. The halfway point of the fair, equivalent to the sixth seat, demands a commitment out of reach due to the disastrous antecedents of the Creoles. Even so, sport reserves the most unthinkable events, hence only the seams of the ball know the final verdict.
