I got a new baby at home. The country has been attacked and here I am going to play baseball. I was a completely different person. It was a such a tough time for me. Not that I didn't care. I just didn't have the fire in me.

The home-field advantage in baseball, to me, I don't understand. I had to play as well on the road as I did at home.

It helped out a lot. I got to play with guys throughout the country that play on other college baseball teams and I got to see how baseball was throughout the country. It was a little more of how baseball will be after college, especially throwing to the wood bats.

Their country doesn't exactly roll off the tongue like a great hockey nation. But they did play a mistake-free game.

Those guys were just like the rest of us; they were there to represent their country and play baseball. They're just human beings. It's (Cuban leader Fidel) Castro who's bad.

They know how important this tournament is for our country. We love to play baseball. What better chance to represent your country than to try to win the world cup? People here breathe, talk and live baseball.