Category Archives: MLB

World Baseball Classic Update for 8/5/2022: Machado and Guerrero, Colombia’s manager, and more

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Still catching up on some of the WBC news from the past few days….

World Baseball Classic Update 8/4/2022: Catching up…

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Here’s some of the WBC news from the past few days.

There are a few other items that I’m working to confirm as far as finding links. You’ll see those tomorrow!

Post-deadline story at Pickin’ Splinters

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My post-trade deadline story is up at Pickin’ Splinters. Be sure to check it out!

Tomorrow, expect a delayed World Baseball Classic Update.

Two things at Nats Report

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I’ve got two articles up on The Nats Report from before and after the trade deadline. Check ’em out.

Aside: Wings and the deadline at Pickin’ Splinters

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Over at Pickin’ Splinters, I have an article about how the trade deadline may affect the Rochester Red Wings. Keep an eye open, because I’ll also have a Rochester Red Wings report tonight over at Nats Report.

Quick World Baseball Classic Update 7/26/22: Story is in

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I’ve been busy the last few days, so this isn’t as thorough as it should be. I haven’t been able to scour the non-English sites for World Baseball Classic news, for example. I’m hoping to have a more full update in the coming days.

Anyway, the main news is that Team USA has its second confirmed player: Trevor Story. The Red Sox infielder was confirmed yesterday. He hasn’t been hitting as well this season, but his overall pedigree and ability to play second or short will make a good asset for the team. He joins Mike Trout as players confirmed for Team USA.

Speaking of Red Sox and the tournament, manager Alex Cora says he expects that Rafael Devers (Dominican), Xander Bogaerts (Kingdom of the Netherlands), and Christian Vazquez (Puerto Rico) will also take part. Cora himself admitted he’d love to manage but can’t due to rules against current managers taking part.

Come back in the coming days for updated WBC projections and perhaps more WBC news.

Over at Nats Report: A Red Wings Report!

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I have a new Rochester Red Wings Report over at Nats Report. Check it out here.

Tomorrow on this blog: A World Baseball Classic update!

World Baseball Classic Update 7/22/22: Dominican and Korea get managers

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The big news since our last update is that Rodney Linares will manage the Dominican Republic team in the WBC. Currently the third base coach for the Tampa Bay Rays, Linares had a brief minor league career and has been coaching ever since. He managed for several years in the Astros system before joining the Rays.

Speaking of the Dominican Republic, don’t expect to see Albert Pujols suiting up to play for them next year. With him retiring after this year and the Dominican talent pool so deep, he says he wouldn’t want to take the spot of a more worthy player. Instead, he’s planning on getting some traveling and spending time off with his kids. It’s similar to what I noted Miguel Cabrera said a few days ago, although Cabrera didn’t completely close the door to some sort of involvement.

Meanwhile, over in Asia, it’s been announced that Lee Kang-Chul will manage the South Korean squad in the WBC next year. A longtime pitcher in the KBO, he was the league’s strikeout champ back in 1992 and who remains one of the leaders in the league’s history in strikeouts and win. Lee has been the skipper of the KT Wiz since 2019, including a Korean Series title last season.

Finally: As has been noted before here and elsewhere, an effort is being made by Cuban players in North America to be part of the WBC. Major League Baseball again has noted that it isn’t up to the league, though, since rules for international competition put such decisions with national federations.

World Baseball Classic Update 7/19/2022: Ohtani interested, Cabrera doesn’t want to take the spot of a younger player, and a note about some upcoming WBC stuff

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Some more WBC news that emerged from yesterday’s All-Star Game media availability:

  • Shohei Ohtani hopes to play in the WBC next year, although he does admit that his unique situation as a two-way player may make it a bit complicated.
  • Miguel Cabrera, who has previously said he wants to play for his native Venezuela next year, has hedged it a bit. In essence, while he wants to play a role, he also doesn’t want to take the spot of a more worthy younger player.
  • Finally, a programming note: Over the next ten days, I’ll have new versions of roster projections for Team USA and the Dominican. I might also have the long-gestating Venezuela projections.

Over at The Nats Report: A look at the Red Wings first half

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My work on the Red Wings here and at Pickin’ Splinters has caught some people’s attention, and so I’m proud to announce that I’ll be doing a (mostly) weekly Red Wings update for the folks over at The Nats Report. Click the link to read my first installment.