U.S. ASKING: WHOA, CANADA?

Byline: KEVIN MODESTI

PHOENIX - Well, I guess it always was a crazy dream that this ragtag band of American kids could hang with the greatest ballplayers in the world.

Wait. I'm confused. My head is spinning.

Of United States infielder Derek Jeter and a Canada infielder named Stubby Clapp, which one is the journeyman minor-leaguer, again? Of U.S. center fielder Johnny Damon and Canada center fielder Adam Stern, which one is the Red Sox rookie, again? Of U.S. starting pitcher Dontrelle Willis and Canada starter Adam Loewen, which one has never pitched above Class-A ball, again?

In the biggest, nuttiest, dizziest story of the first-ever World Baseball Classic, Canada not only defeated the United States 8-6 on Wednesday at Chase Field but left the whole sport's home team in danger of being knocked out of the tournament before it plays another game.

This is either the greatest thing to happen to the competitive image of international baseball, or it's a huge blow to U.S. baseball's self-esteem.

Anybody for both?

``I feel bad whenever we lose,'' said Willis, who'd been anticipating his WBC start for months but gave the game away by allowing five runs and failing to get out of the third inning. ``Regardless of whether it's in a USA uniform or a Marlins uniform.''

But surely, this was a little worse than the Marlins dropping one to the Brewers.

Canada had to come from behind to defeat fledgling South Africa the night before. Maybe that gave the Americans the impression they could walk all over Canada, though they deny taking anybody in the event lightly.

The United States had beaten Mexico handily the day before in its first round-robin game. Ticket buyers for the second round of pool play, in Anaheim, and for the final four, in San Diego, had no reason to think the team of Alex Rodriguez, Ken Griffey Jr. and Roger Clemens might not even make it to those cities.

Yet here we were, 27 hours into the era of U.S. major-leaguers in international competition, and they were facing a scenario in which a low- scoring Mexico victory over Canada tonight in Phoenix could freeze them out.

Since Roger Clemens is scheduled to start Friday, and the greatest active pitcher has hinted at retiring without playing another major-league game, it could be that his final mound appearance would be a meaningless springtime game against South Africa.

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How big a jolt would it be if the United States couldn't get past Canada and Mexico in baseball?

``It would be as big as you guys make it out to be,'' Jeter said to reporters.

For weeks, WBC participants have dutifully talked up the event's importance. Now, they'd better not try to say the result carries no more meaning than a Marlins score.

This was Bode Miller in spikes.

For all the postgame talk about how anything can happen in a single baseball game, it was not a case of one hot pitcher shutting down the Americans, or one lucky big inning giving the Canadians all their runs.

By the top of the fourth inning, everybody in Canada's batting order had at least one hit off U.S. pitchers Willis, Al Leiter and Gary Majewski. The hits included a first-inning triple by Clapp, who scored a first run that looked like a novelty at the time, and second-inning back-to-back triples by Aaron Guiel and Stern. For a punchline, there was an inside-the-park homer in the fifth on a pinballing fly to left by Stern.

Canada has major-leaguers Jason Bay, Justin Morneau, Matt Stairs and Corey Koskie. But it also got a hit and a run from somebody named Pierre-Luc Laforest, let go by the Devil Rays after last season, and 3 2/3 shutout innings from Loewen, an Orioles property who has been pitching at Frederick, Md.

The crowd, 16,993, was half the size of the one for United States-Mexico. The U.S. fans booed after Stairs' two-run single made it 7-0 in the fourth, then cheered sarcastically when Majewski popped up Laforest to break Canada's string of four hits.

The only chest-thumping moment for the red, white and ultimately blue fans came when Jason Varitek's 448-foot grand slam in the fifth made it 8-6. Chase Utley's bid for a three-run homer in the eighth landed in Stern's glove at the wall in center and the shocker was all but official.

``It's very quiet in the locker room right now,'' U.S. manager Buck Martinez said, but he added later: ''I don't know that there is such a thing as an embarrassment.''

Maybe there is, maybe there isn't. A test of how seriously fans are taking the World Baseball Classic is whether they care that Alex Rodriguez's team lost on Wednesday and Stubby Clapp's won.

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2 photos

Photo:

(1 -- color) U.S. pitcher Dontrelle Willis, right, reacts after allowing a triple to Canada's Stubby Clapp.

(2) A fan holds the American flag upside down in the stands at Chase Field during Wednesday's U.S.-Canada game.

Jed Jacobsohn/Getty Images