World Baseball Classic

USA v Japan



Midnight, Live on ESPN America (Part of Setanta Package)
(Roy Oswalt 1-0, 3.52 v Daisuke Matsuzaka 2-0, 1.80)

As the WBC comes towards a close, it seems that we have reached the final early. Now I am trying my best not to be disrespectful to Korea (and no doubt doing a very bad job on that score!) but these teams are two of the superpowers in world baseball and this would have made a very fitting final.

What more could we want really? Two genuine ace pitchers turning out for their country, lineups filled with batting talent and plenty of national pride at stake as there will always be much debate on which leagues hold the higher caliber of players.

In terms of batting I would definitely have to give team USA the edge and I believe that this could well be the decisive factor. Every single member of the batting lineup is capable of hitting home runs and with the exception of power house Adam Dunn (His aggressive nature often leads to a high level of strikeouts and a low batting average but when he does connect the ball often goes out of the park!), all are capable of batting for exceptional average too.

It is very interesting that Centrebet have decided to take a bit of a view and are offering 2.02 on a USA victory which for me proves far too tempting. Take on the Aussie bookmakers and side with the value option of the USA. Keep stakes to sensible levels though as 'Dice K' is capable of shutting out any batting unit.
 
Recommendations - 2 Point back of USA @ 2.02

Crafty Stan