Tuesday afternoon\u2019s World Baseball Classic game between Canada and Colombia became a must-win for both teams after Monday\u2019s action. With Colombia\u2019s loss to Great Britain and Canada\u2019s mercy rule loss to USA, they have identical 1\u20131 records. To avoid tiebreaker scenarios, both teams need to win three games. Furthermore, they both have tough games Wednesday, with Canada facing Mexico and Colombia facing USA.<\/p>\n
Canada manager Ernie Whitt<\/strong><\/a> is at ease, as this was what they planned for from the beginning. \u201cComing into the tournament, we knew that we had to win three games to guarantee us going forward,\u201d he smiled. \u201cAnd the three games were Great Britain, Colombia, and Mexico. It’s right on the table. If we do that, then we’ll move forward.\u201d The squad also knows the importance of this game \u2014 not only for themselves but for Colombia. \u201cThey\u2019re professionals,\u201d Whitt confidently stated. \u201cHopefully the stage is not too big for them. And they know what they have to do to win. Naturally we’d like to get the bats going early and kind of take the other team out of it. But (Colombia is) in the same situation, too. I mean, it’s two good teams going against each other.\u201d<\/p>\n It is human nature to try harder when put in a high-pressure situation. But trying too<\/em> hard \u2014 also known as pressing \u2014 is counterproductive. Both teams have taken a mindset that aims to avoid that. Colombia infielder Dilson Herrera<\/strong><\/a> said, \u201cThere’s always going to be pressures to win. There’s always going to be that we have to win forcefully, basically. But it’s a team that’s very at ease even though there’s a lot of inexperience, a lot of young people. There’s experience as well. And then we try to manage the calmness, everybody’s positive, and we know that today’s going to be a great day.\u201d<\/p>\n A big part of that has been the calming influence of Cabrera. Herrera said about his manager, \u201cHe’s very important. He’s very important for the team since he’s the head of the team. And he always tries to control \u2014 he tries to keep us calm. He’s always talking positive.\u201d<\/p>\n Whitt said there isn\u2019t much of a message he can give his players to keep them from pressing. Instead, the staff is \u201cup front\u201d with the players. \u201cYou tell them this is what we need to do. And you either go out and you do it, or you don’t. It’s a very simple thought, basically.\u201d<\/p>\nCanada, Colombia to Avoid Pressing<\/h3>\n
\u201cLike Any Other Game\u201d<\/h3>\n