AFTER THE SHOCK LOSS AGAINST TAIWAN, THE TEAM SWITCHED TO THE WBC SYSTEM, JOINED TWO COACHES AND SEVEN...THE MANAGER WILL PROBABLY WATCH BASEBALL THE NEXT MORNING, AND A WARM-UP MATCH AGAINST THE NETHERLANDS IN MARCH NEXT YEAR

Hirokazu Ibata, 49, the manager of the Japanese national baseball team, Samurai Japan, said Monday, "One day must have felt very long. Japan lost 0-4 to Taiwan in the Premier 12 final at Tokyo Dome on the day. Japan won all eight games from the group qualifying round to the Super Round, but collapsed helplessly in the final match. An unexpected sit