Cuba's 'big red machine' recapture baseball gold

Cuba's regained their Olympic baseball throne as the Athens Games proved to be an unlevel field of dreams in the absence of US Major League stars.

Cuba's "big red machine" regained their Olympic baseball throne as the Athens Games proved to be an unlevel field of dreams in the absence of US Major League stars.

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Despite the defections of top players since losing to the United States in the 2000 final, two-time champions Cuba dominated the eight-nation tournament in both batting and pitching.

They beat unfancied Australia 6-2 for the gold medal on Wednesday.

But the level of commitment to Olympic baseball has differed among baseball powers, a discrepancy that could make it difficult to prevent baseball from being excluded from the Olympic programme.

The world leaders United States refuse to release Major League players for the Olympics in the middle of intense penant races. As a result, a team of US minor leaguers faded in the regional Olympic qualifying round.

Baseball-crazy Japan, fielding an all-professional team for the first time following a disastrous fourth place in Sydney, didn't get the hoped-for golden payoff as they fell to Australia in the semis before outclassing 11-2 in the bronze-medal game.

Canada as well as Australia, who grabbed their first medal since the sport made its Olympic debut in 1992, counted on a legion of players based in the US minor leagues.

But, when asked about the fact that Japan were bolstered by premier-league players, Canada manager Ernie Whitt said: "Very simply put, I think the Olympics are for amateurs, not for professionals."

Japan manager Kiyoshi Nakahata admitted that even his team did not represent the cream of the crop in his country, aside from a drain of talent to the US Major Leagues.

Japan's professional baseball commision refused to stop their matches during the mid-summer Olympics and only allowed two players from each of the 12 clubs to compete in Athens.

"I doubt it is enough to create a dream team," Nakahata said. "For competition among professional organizations, there can be an event such as a World Cup, apart from the Olympics."

US Major League chief Bud Selig has been pushing to inaugurate such a World Cup next year, but a major obstacle is the resistance of his players to random doping tests in accordance with international standards.

For Cuban baseball, the Olympics must come first and foremost. "Baseball is our national sport and it's very important for us to win," Cuban power-hitter Frederich Cepeda said.

The silver medal for Australia resulted from a special programme for Athens after they bowed out in the preliminary round in the three past Olympics.

"There's been a lot of exposure for the Olympics," said catcher David Nilsson, who has played in the US major leagues for Milwaukee and helped the game take roots in his country.

"Hopefully this will be a stepping stone for Australian baseball," the 34-year-old said.

Baseball, along with its sister softball and modern pentathlon, has narrowly avoided exclusion from the Olympics until the next Beijing Games but its fate beyond 2008 is subject to debate.

The participation of the "best athletes" is part of the criteria for a sport's survival in the Olympics.

The MJB chief has said he would not shut down his leagues for the Olympics but try to find a solution.

"We will certainly continue to reason and try to do everything we can to make sure that baseball is in the Olympics."