Cuba's lineup to me was like a Triple-A team, no better. Of course, Ben Sheets can make anyone look stupid, he is just plain ol' nasty. I said from the very beginning, Cuba was not as good as everyone has said, but the other teams were not as weak either. It was a very even tournament, and a lot of fun to play in. Cuba's pitchers were the absolute real deal.
International baseball is like college basketball but on a baseball field.
Then playing single-elimination games is just unreal, the pressure is indescribable. That is why to me, Doug Mientkiewicz 's home run was the biggest home run of the Olympics, it was do or die, we were struggling and he picked us all up. Umpiring is also different, you never know what is going to happen. Sometimes you have a Spanish umpire, and us playing Korea, so three languages in one game. In Triple-A our umps are pretty good and we have good working relationships.