GUANGZHOU - In the wake of Thursday's 7-2 loss to the Republic of Korea, members of China's baseball squad admitted they were somewhat in awe of Choo Shin-soo, the ROK's star player from Major League Baseball's Cleveland Indians.

China kept it close early, trailing 2-1 after two innings, but Choo's solo homer in the bottom of the third opened the floodgates as the ROK cruised to a berth in the gold medal final of the Asia Games tournament.

"We had a special plan to contain Choo before the game," said China left fielder Wang Chao, who formerly played for the Seattle Mariners. "But his homerun broke open the game."

China's team leader Shen Wei said Choo made a great swing to hit the ball out of the park.

"I think it was a very difficult hit because the pitch was very low," said Shen. "Not many hitters would swing at a pitch like that. He simply proved his star power."

Shen said he was happy with China's performance, considering the depth of the ROK team.

The majority of the Korean players were members of the gold medal-winning team at the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games and the silver-winning squad at the 2009 World Baseball Classic.

"I think we put up a decent fight today. This ROK team is stronger than the one that won at the Olympic Games two years ago," added Shen.

China will take on Japan in the bronze medal game on Saturday, while defending champion Chinese Taipei will square off with the ROK for gold.

"We have made some progress. We have better defense and better players and we are getting stronger. We probably can get the bronze," said Thomas James Lawless, China's American manager.

Lawless said he hopes China can catch up with its Asian neighbors in the long term and give the sport a higher profile in the nation - especially at the grassroots level.

The former MLB player, remembered for his dramatic game-winning home run for the St. Louis Cardinals in Game 4 of the 1987 World Series, took over the helm of the Chinese team just a month ago.

"We gained some knowledge from the US, but we need younger kids to play baseball. We have to tell them what baseball is and how baseball could be. The Chinese should start playing baseball from a younger age," said Lawless.

"I hope we can become as good as the three Asian powerhouses (Japan, ROK and Chinese Taipei) in the future."

His players are similarly upbeat.

"China is always considered No 4 in Asian baseball behind Japan, the ROK and Chinese Taipei. I think we can elevate ourselves this time in Guangzhou," Wang said.

China Daily

(China Daily 11/19/2010 page)