Here is the opening to my Monday column about the WBC semifinal between Japan and Puerto Rico:

SAN FRANCISCO — Let’s end the suspense right at the top. Puerto Rico defeated Japan 3-1 in the semifinals of the World Baseball Classic Sunday night at AT&T Park.

OK, that’s out of the way. Breathe easy now.

What the teams played was baseball, definitely baseball. And the game, to its credit, was a tense, tight affair involving players many in the crowd seemed to be familiar with. Angel Pagan played center field and hit lead-off for Puerto Rico just as he does for the San Francisco Giants who usually inhabit the real estate at Third and King Streets.

It hardly mattered that the players, except for a few exceptions like Pagan and Carlos Beltran, are pretty much at the Triple-A level.

To read the full column click here.

(Visited 1 times, 1 visits today)