Could we really have hoped for more? Could we have imagined a French club dominating the Czech league leaders and securing a spot in the Champions Cup to take on Europe’s elite? No, we couldn’t. And we were right not to. French baseball in its rightful place, at the 2nd tier, unable for several seasons to keep up with the best nations.
Admittedly, our two representatives weren’t at full strength. It’s worth noting, given the heated debate about the number of foreign players, that in the European Cup, it’s three foreign passports in the roster, period. Rouen had to do without their slugger Nishikawa, opting instead for Megumi behind the plate and pitchers Ito and Taido, which makes sense. Savigny left Martin and Orzoco at home, with the Acuna – Nunez – Pena trio being indispensable, but the absence of their top reliever, combined with Chevet’s, weighed heavily in a test where arms are heavily taxed.
What’s the verdict? The Huskies are squarely in the glass-half-full-or-half-empty syndrome. Half full, they only lost by one run to the two finalists, beat the host team, and finished 3rd. Not bad for a team struggling in the league. Half empty, without dwelling on the nostalgia of the Huskies’ glory days in Europe when they went toe-to-toe with Amsterdam, Rotterdam, Parma, Nettuno, Draci Brno, or Regensburg, it’s their inability to win games within their reach. A few untimely errors, a few hits that didn’t come, and that’s how you lose in the European Cup. The level is higher, and forgotten fundamentals are costly. The hard-fought 2-1 victory on the final day against Karlovac made the pill easier to swallow, and the Huskies can take heart from some solid individual performances, including Lebouc, who confirmed his strong start to the season (.467, 3 RBI), Megumi, one of D1’s worst hitters, but who found his form (.313, 1 HR, 3 RBI), Rioux (just 1 error and a .389 average), or Martin Vissac, the France Challenge MVP, excellent with his .467 and home run.
It was far more painful for Savigny. Their defense, as in D1, struggled with 9 errors. The Lions managed 30 hits, but conceded 63, scored 20 runs, but conceded 54. Everything went well for the first 8 innings of their first match against Karlovac, with a very solid Pena leading his team to a 3-2 advantage. But Tom Dahan, with his 19.2 IP in D1 over 5 seasons (5.94 ERA), could do nothing but concede 5 runs, including the grand slam that sealed the victory. What followed was a via crucis, with two heavy defeats, barely offset by a decent outing against Brno (2-7).
We’ll draw a discreet and embarrassed veil over the match between Rouen and Savigny, which was a far cry from anything meaningful, 22-7 for the Huskies, 29 hits, 3 errors, in short, we were no longer in regional baseball but in the 2nd biggest European competition.
Both French clubs fell short due to their lack of power (where are the De Lannoy, the Johnson, the Herrera), their lack of pitching depth, their defensive jitters. Nothing new, alas, under the Croatian sun (and rain). The good news is that there should still be two French representatives at this level next season, with the Spanish representative withdrawing and thus relegated to the lower tier.
It’s hard to be satisfied with the recurring failures of French clubs in the European Cup, hard to deny the drop in standards, hard to believe the national teams will do better. But at least there’s suspense in the French Championship. So, we’ll look at ourselves and be satisfied, for lack of better options.
F. Colombier
