BARCELONA ’92 OLYMPICS / DAY 12 : Dismayed U.S. Beaten at Its Own Game : Baseball: Americans lose to Japan, 8-3, with bronze medal on line. Fraser bemoans team’s limited time to prepare.

The United States failed to win an Olympic medal in its national pastime Wednesday, losing to Japan, 8-3, in the bronze-medal baseball game.

The U.S. team was expected to challenge Cuba and Japan for the gold, but the Americans did not come close. The Cubans, who won the gold medal by routing Taiwan, 11-1, Wednesday in the championship game, had beaten the United States twice by a combined score of 15-7.

“We handled the Spains and Puerto Ricos but couldn’t handle the powers like Japan and Cuba,” said U.S. Coach Ron Fraser, who ended his 30-year coaching career. “I thought Taiwan was a good club. They beat Japan twice, and Japan beat us twice. The two best teams played for the gold medal.”

The Japanese were so upset by their loss to the upstart Taiwanese that they almost didn’t show up for the bronze-medal game.

“After we lost to them last night, we almost gave up,” said Masatake Yamanaka, Japan’s coach. “We were very depressed but decided to show up for the game at the very last minute. I’m happy we beat the American team for the second time.”

Where does the United States go from here?

Baseball had been played as an Olympic demonstration sport or exhibition game on seven occasions. No matter the format, Americans had been the best in every instance but one, a 1984 upset by Japan in Los Angeles.

But this was the first time baseball was a full medal Olympic sport, and the United States did not make a strong showing--for two major reasons, according to Fraser:

--The team had been together for only seven weeks before Olympic competition began, compared to the minimum of four years that the Japanese, Cuban and Taiwanese teams have been together.

--Major league owners have robbed the amateur ranks of the best players.

“It’s just not much time to prepare,” said Fraser, whose team included 11 No. 1 draft picks. “Our summer tour was grueling and we thought if we could win a medal, it would be a great success. I think if we had another two months, we could compete with Japan and Cuba.”

Yamanaka agreed, saying: “The U.S. team is very powerful, and I believe they have a lot of potential. But we beat them today, maybe because they are not so experienced. Maybe, if we play the U.S. team for a month, the U.S. team might win.”

Fraser said: “They dangle millions in front of a kid (in the United States) and they’re leaving the colleges early. Who can blame them? Nobody is going to turn down a million dollars. In turn, they have watered down the system.”

To win, internationally, Fraser added, the United States might have to imitate Taiwan or Japan.

“Taiwan froze players for two years, not allowing them to go to another level,” he said. “They had to play for their country, but I’m not sure agents in the U.S. will go for that. In Japan, companies lure them away, pay them to work and compete.

“Maybe IBM has to come along in America and say, “Hey, kid, we’ll pay you to compete and play for your country. I don’t think there’s going to be a dream team in baseball.”

Pitcher Jeff Alkire, who played for Fraser at Miami (Fla.), said: “Coach has some interesting concepts, but who knows if they will work. We’re talking about a different society.”

The U.S. team did not play badly against Japan, but it still was reeling from the 6-1 loss to the Cubans on Tuesday night.

“We were a little banged up, and I don’t really think our hearts were in it (Wednesday),” second baseman Chris Wimmer said. “Cuba is a real tough team to play. They take a lot out of a team, physically and mentally.”

Japan had two four-run innings. In the second inning, Hiroki Kokubo hit a run-scoring double, Yasunori Takami had a two-run single and Koichi Oshima singled in a run.

Oshima’s three-run double highlighted Japan’s four-run sixth inning.

The United States scored twice in the fourth and once in the fifth, but each inning ended with runners in scoring position.

“If somebody told us that we were going to come together, bust our butts for two months, come to Spain at 5 in the morning and not win a medal, I don’t think any of us would have come,” Alkire said. “It’s tough to leave here without a medal.”