Mexico showed Pool B just how talented it was by going 2-1 during the round-robin tournament, to secure the No. 1 seed heading into the second round.
"With this performance, that tells you what kind of talent we have in Mexico," second baseman Jorge Cantu said, after Mexico\'s 9-1 win over Canada on Thursday.
The team took a well-deserved day off on Friday, and will leave for Anaheim, Calif., on Saturday morning, where it will take on Korea, the No. 1 seed from Pool A on Sunday.
Mexico lost, 2-0, to Team USA in its first game of the tournament, but rebounded to beat South Africa, 10-4, before finishing up against Canada.
Pitching was the strong point for Mexico during the first round, but the offense began to show signs of life in the final two games.
"It feels like the bats are warming up now," Cantu said. "You have to have not only defense, you have to hit the ball, too. We have confidence now in the bats, because we\'re feeling better and it\'s coming to us."
Mexico will need its bats plenty warm against the Koreans, who allowed a combined three runs in their three Pool A games.
The Mexico coaching staff was set to meet on Friday to discuss who would get the starting nod in the first game of the second round. Rodrigo Lopez started the team\'s first game of the Classic, and was followed by Francisco Campos and Esteban Loaiza.
Mexico\'s schedule |
| Round 2, Pool 1 Anaheim, Calif. |
| Sunday vs. Korea, 11 p.m. ET |
| Tuesday vs. Japan, 7 p.m. ET |
| Thursday vs. USA, 7:30 p.m. ET |
| Full schedule > |
The right-handed Loaiza dominated in the game against Canada, as he allowed just one run in five-plus innings.
"So far, we don\'t have a [pitching] plan," Mexican manager Paquin Estrada said. "We\'ll talk to all the players, talk to the coaches, and think who\'s going through a good moment, who has a good arm, who feels good on the mound.
"There\'s no worry for me. We have 15 quality pitchers, first-class pitchers, and we\'re just going to talk about it."
With the Asian Pool having played last week, the Korean team has been working out in the Phoenix area all week, as well as doing some advance scouting, something the Mexicans haven\'t been able to do.
"We don\'t know anything about the Asian teams, but the most important thing is what your team is like at this moment," Estrada said. "You have to understand your team. That\'s the way I manage. It doesn\'t matter who you are facing, as long as you know your team."', tagline: 'Steve Gilbert is a reporter for MLB.com.', summary: null, article_photo: { caption: 'Vinny Castilla (right), Jorge Cantu and Team Mexico are looking forward to the challenge of facing Team USA.', credit: 'Jed Jacobsohn/Getty Images', path: '/images/2006/03/10/2XgKI63I.jpg' }, sub_headline: 'Squad continues quest to show country\'s baseball prowess', alt_headline: 'Mexico gets set for Pool A No. 1 Korea', related_links: null, headline: 'Mexico gets set for Pool A No. 1 Korea' }