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Cuban winning streak shattered by Puerto Rico
(Reuters)
Updated: 2006-03-11 14:16
SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico, March 10 (Reuters) - Cuba's 19-game winning streak in
international play was ended in spectacular style on Friday as Puerto Rico
pummeled the team from the communist-ruled island 12-2 in the World Baseball
Classic.
The humiliating loss was the first for Cuba's national team since it fell 6-3
to Japan at the 2004 Olympics in Athens.
Cuba -- whose performance at San Juan's Hiram Bithorn Stadium has been dogged
by talk about possible defections of prized but poorly paid players -- had
already advanced to the second round of the Classic before Friday's rout.
But the amateur team put some of its weaknesses on full display in the first
tournament the team has played against rich Major League stars.
Six Cuban pitchers combined to give up eight walks and 10 hits with four
strikeouts.
By contrast, Puerto Rico's Major League power and its homeplate advantage was
more than evident as it stacked the bases and hit three homeruns for the second
consecutive game.
Carlos Beltran, Bernie Williams and Alex Cintron each slugged in homers for
the squad from the U.S. Caribbean territory.
Puerto Rico will meet the Dominican Republic while Cuba goes against
Venezuela in second-round action on Sunday.
SIGNS BANNED
Major League Baseball and local organizers implemented new rules before the
game to ban signs and banners deemed to be in poor taste and "offensive or
political in nature." Dozens of signs were confiscated at the door of the
stadium.
The move came after a verbal altercation between a fan holding up an
anti-Castro sign and a member of the Cuban delegation during Thursday's game
between Cuba and the Netherlands.
The Cuban delegate was escorted out by security after demanding the fan
behind homeplate take down the sign, which said "Down With Fidel" and could be
seen by television viewers around the globe.
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