"The Cubans clearly had lost their poise. Manager Higidio Velez was forced to use three pitchers. Reliever Pedro Lazo lost track of the count and began yelling at the umpire, and then his teammates. The crowd was on its feet, waving so many flags and cheering so loudly it was as if someone had just announced that in addition to foul balls, fans could keep home runs hit over the fence, too. It was an exciting moment. This Greek team assembled over several years from both the highest levels of baseball (Bellinger played in the 2000 World Series) and the lowest (Mel Melehes pitches with the independent minor league London Werewolves) . . . this team with names so long (Koutsantonakis) that they stretch from under one armpit to under the other on the back of their jerseys . . . this team that lost its manager in June . . . this team was a home run away from beating mighty Cuba. Clay Bellinger is a long way from the 2000 World Series......