Rumors of defection

Posted on Mon, Mar. 20, 2006

WBC NOTEBOOK
Rumors of defection

BY KEVIN BAXTER
kbaxter@MiamiHerald.com

SAN DIEGO - Rumors that a Cuban player might have defected were
dismissed by two high-ranking major-league officials and a spokesman for
the Cuban team.

''There are no deserters,'' Pedro Cabrera, press director for Cuba's
national institute of sports, said Sunday morning. ``Absolutely not.''

Two major-league officials concurred, with one saying he had spent part
of the morning with the team and its coaching staff and that ``everybody
is in very good spirits.''

The team chose not to address the media Sunday, but major-league
spokesman Pat Courtney said the defection rumors had nothing to do with
that.

''They feel like they'd said everything that needs to be said,''
Courtney said. ``They just feel like they want to concentrate on the game.''

CUBANS SURPRISED

Two of Cuba's six games in San Juan were marked by anti- Fidel Castro
protests, so the players were surprised by the reaction they got in
Saturday's semifinal in San Diego. Many in the near-sellout crowd of
41,268 -- some of whom had painted Cuban flags on their faces -- clearly
were rooting for the Cuban team. Others waved signs that had messages of
support.

''We didn't expect the fans in the stadium [to be] with us,'' outfielder
Frederich Cepeda said. ``We could feel the warmth. We didn't know that
they appreciated Cuban baseball.''

BOOS ARE WELCOME

Japanese outfielder Ichiro Suzuki has been the target of boos from
Korean fans because of a comment he made three weeks ago that was
interpreted as a dig at that country's baseball program. When Ichiro
popped out to third base to end the ninth inning in Saturday's
semifinal, even the Korean players got in the act, with third baseman
Seong Hoon Jeong rolling the ball between Ichiro's feet as he walked to
the dugout.

''I welcome the boos from the fans, actually,'' Ichiro said through an
interpreter. ``They might have perceived my comments in a lot of ways,
but the comments will be perceived in that way anyway, so I don't really
mind.''

FAMILIAR FOES

Japan and Cuba are no strangers when it comes to amateur baseball. The
teams have met several times in major international tournaments such as
the Olympics and World Cup, so both managers said they have an idea what
to expect tonight.

''The style of baseball between Cuba and Japan is very similar,''
Japanese manager Sadaharu Oh said through an interpreter. ``The way they
played [in the semifinals] was more like the Japanese style than
American style . . . with a lot of speed and a lot of schemes in the game.''

Added Cuba's Higinio Velez: ``It will be a wonderful game.''

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