World Cup of Softball: good news for current, past Wolverines
Sierra Romero and Sierra Lawrence are currently playing in Brampton, Ontario for the US Junior Womens National Team, and participated in a demolition of the UK earlier today, 10-0 in 4.5 innings. Romero went one for two with an RBI triple and a walk, Lawrence was also one for two with an RBI. The Junior team plays the Czech Republic early tomorrow.
Amanda Chidester is playing for the US Womens National Team, and will be playing in a nationally televised game, July 11 on ESPN at 7:00. That game is called the Border Battle and will be played against the Canadian Womens National Team. Knowing two of the girls from Canada, this will probably be an easy win for the US, much like the rest of the tournament if there aren't any surprises.
http://www.pointstreak.com/baseball/boxscore.html?gameid=158338
http://www.teamusa.org/USA-Softball/News/2013/July/01/Junior-Women-run-…
Is there anyone who can put up even a remote challenge to the US teams? The way its always been told to me is that softball was dumped by the Olympics because no one else plays it even reasonably well enough to give the US a game.
The big reason softball is out of the Olympics (in my understanding) is because it was tied to baseball and the IOC made the decision to drop baseball. For this tournament, nobody should challenge the US. Pitching is the most important thing and the US rosters are stacked top to bottom.
Looking at it comparatively (I tend to think dynasties are more common for women than men) I don't think it's anywhere near as bad as mens basketball in the Olympics, but the US should still be favored in every tournament, especially if they dipped into the professional ranks, which they didn't for this tournament as far as I can tell.
The IOC did tie baseball with softball. However, softball is DOMINATED by the US. Japan did win in '08 and Austrailia is fairly good too. The Philipines are runner's up. That is all there is to say about that.
No European countries can even compete with a D1 powerhouse let alone Team USA. I was disapointed to see the IOC drop softball. However, I will be the first to admit; in the spirit of fair competition, I understand why it was dropped. We "bitch-slap" the world in softball.
I can't take the fairness argument seriously when US dominance in basketball is trending down to the point that they only average a 32 point victory in Olympic play. Especially taking into account that the best womens teams seem to be more prone to dynasty level play, softball was nowhere near that bad. I'm not emotionally invested in it seeing it return like a lot of softball players seem to be, but it's ridiculous to say basketball is competitive enough to sponsor and softball isn't. I say if enough countries want to sponsor a team, hold the tournament, if not, that's fine too.
One more item to consider is that basketball is a much "easier" sport to play than softball. I dont want to offend by basketball brothers/sisters. Basketball is played in third world countries at a much higher rate than softball. Softball and baseball need real estate to build a diamond. Whereas basket ball just needs a small area that can be outdoors with a dirt floor. Softball/baseball needs several thousand dollars worth of equipment as well. Soccer is in, basically, the same situation. All one needs is some tarps and a ball.
Baseball is a little different in that many Carribean countries play the game well. This influence is seen by many Latio players in MLB. So I am a little surprised the IOC does not take that into account.
I, like you, am not emotionally invested. I really enjoy watching softball but I understand the arguements both pro and con. I did get involved by sending an email to the USOC as a courtesy for my softball commrads but I have no control over the IOC's decision. Would I like to see them keep softball/baseball? Yes.
...many people forget that Japan bested the US in the gold medal game at the '08 Olympics -- the last Olympics in which softball was contested.
Great news for all the Wolverines involved! After the powers they faced in the WCWS, the opposition here is probably a nice respite for the Sierras. :) In seriousness, though, getting more playing time, and especially getting to practice & work with all the other young stars from around the USA has to be great for their development. I don't foresee either of these young women resting on the laurels of their impressive debut seasons - they're only going to get better, which is exciting for us and scary for everyone else!
The Treasure Of The Sierras, Madre. , , , Apologies for Pun-tificating. Might be "time to go to sleep and dream about piles of gold getting bigger and bigger and bigger."