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A little bit of late WBC news for February 13, 2013

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Go here for earlier news of the day on the World Baseball Classic.

Cuba’s national team roster has been confirmed completely for the WBC now. The only way it will now change will be if there is a last-second injury:

The roster is the following:

Catchers:  Frank Camilo Morejon Reyes (IND), Yosvani Peraza (PRI), and Eriel Sanchez Leon (SSP).

Infielders: Jose Dariel Abreu Correa (CFG), Jose Miguel Fernandez Diaz (MTZ), Erisbel Arruebarruena Escalante (CFG), Yulieski Gourriel Castillo and newcomers Raul Gonzalez (CA),  Luis Felipe Rivera and Andy Ibañez, both from Isla de la Juventud.

Outfielders: Alfredo Despaigne Rodriguez (GRA), Frederich Cepeda Cruz (SSP), Guillermo Heredia Molina (MTZ), Alexei Bell Quintero (SCU), and Yasmani Tomas (IND).

Hurlers:  Odrisamer Despaigne Orue (IND), Freddy A. Alvarez Saez (VCL), Ismel Jimenez Santiago (SSP), Vladimir Garcia Escalante (CAV), Yadier Pedroso (ART) Norberto Gonzalez Miranda (CFG),  Alexander Rodriguez Matos (GTM), Yander Guevara Morales (CAV), Danny Betancourt (SCU), Leandro Martinez (Gr), Diosdani Castillo (Vcl),  Raciel Iglesias and Wilber Perez, both from IJV.

Victor Mesa will be the manager of the team.

What will Barry Larkin do before managing Team Brazil in the WBC? Why, he’s going to India to teach baseball as part of a State Department program. Between doing these while also doing work for ESPN and watching his son tear it up for the University of Miami basketball team, I must wonder: does he ever sleep?

More news tomorrow….

Picture of the Day: Fukuoka Dome

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The Fukuoka Dome will be the site of the Pool A games of the 2013 WBC, and normally is the home of the Fukuoka Softbank Hawks. Here’s what it looks like during a between-innings celebration:

This image is used under a creative commons license and was taken by “toooooool“.

Early WBC News for Feb. 13, 2013

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As we near the World Baseball Classic, I’ll be collecting news and notes about it. Due to length, it starts after the jump.

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(Not Exactly) Famous For Something Else: Josh Booty

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Tonight, MLB Network debuts a new show called The Next Knuckler, in which Tim Wakefield and MLB Network’s resident goofball Kevin Millar will host a group of ex-quarterbacks, who they will try to teach the magic of the knuckleball, with the winner having a chance to pitch in a spring training game with the Diamondbacks. The ex-QBs include Doug Flutie, John David Booty, David Greene, Ryan Perriloux and, my guess on the odds-on favorite to win: Josh Booty.

Josh Booty? Who is this Josh Booty you say? Well, Josh Booty played quarterback for Louisiana State, and then was a third-string quarterback/practice squad member from 2001-2007 for the Seahawks, Browns and Raiders.

But before his football career, he was a baseball prospect. In fact, he was a big-time prospect, the fifth-overall pick of the 1994 draft by the Florida Marlins. He made it up for three separate cups of coffee with the Marlins:

Year Age Tm Lg G PA AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB CS BB SO BA OBP SLG OPS OPS+ TB GDP HBP SH SF IBB Pos Awards
1996 21 FLA NL 2 2 2 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .500 .500 .500 1.000 169 1 1 0 0 0 0 /5
1997 22 FLA NL 4 6 5 2 3 0 0 0 1 0 0 1 1 .600 .667 .600 1.267 243 3 0 0 0 0 0 /5
1998 23 FLA NL 7 22 19 0 3 1 0 0 3 0 0 3 8 .158 .273 .211 .483 33 4 0 0 0 0 0 /5
3 Yrs 13 30 26 3 7 1 0 0 4 0 0 4 9 .269 .367 .308 .674 85 8 1 0 0 0 0
162 Game Avg. 162 374 324 37 87 12 0 0 50 0 0 50 112 .269 .367 .308 .674 85 100 12 0 0 0 0
Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Original Table
Generated 2/13/2013.

If you are interested, here’s how he did in the minor leagues at the plate:

Year Age Tm Lg Lev Aff G PA AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB CS BB SO BA OBP SLG OPS TB GDP HBP SH SF IBB
1994 19 2 Teams 2 Lgs Rk-A- FLA 14 58 52 6 12 1 0 1 3 1 0 5 12 .231 .298 .308 .606 16 3 0 1 0 0
1994 19 Marlins GULF Rk FLA 10 42 36 5 8 0 0 1 2 1 0 5 8 .222 .317 .306 .623 11 2 0 1 0 0
1994 19 Elmira NYPL A- FLA 4 16 16 1 4 1 0 0 1 0 0 0 4 .250 .250 .313 .563 5 1 0 0 0 0
1995 20 2 Teams 2 Lgs A–A FLA 105 434 396 39 74 20 1 7 43 5 4 30 130 .187 .251 .295 .547 117 13 5 0 3 0
1995 20 Elmira NYPL A- FLA 74 313 287 33 63 18 1 6 37 4 4 19 85 .220 .278 .352 .630 101 12 5 0 2 0
1995 20 Kane County MIDW A FLA 31 121 109 6 11 2 0 1 6 1 0 11 45 .101 .182 .147 .329 16 1 0 0 1 0
1996 21 Kane County MIDW A FLA 128 529 475 62 98 25 1 21 87 2 3 46 195 .206 .275 .396 .670 188 11 1 1 6 0
1997 22 Portland EL AA FLA 122 480 448 42 94 19 2 20 69 2 2 27 166 .210 .254 .395 .649 177 12 1 0 4 1
1998 23 2 Teams 2 Lgs AA-AAA FLA 109 409 374 37 68 11 3 13 50 1 2 27 118 .182 .235 .332 .567 124 15 1 1 6 2
1998 23 Portland EL AA FLA 71 273 247 28 50 8 3 10 39 1 1 20 74 .202 .261 .381 .642 94 10 1 1 4 0
1998 23 Charlotte IL AAA FLA 38 136 127 9 18 3 0 3 11 0 1 7 44 .142 .184 .236 .420 30 5 0 0 2 2
5 Seasons 478 1910 1745 186 346 76 7 62 252 11 11 135 621 .198 .256 .356 .613 622 54 8 3 19 3
A (2 seasons) A 159 650 584 68 109 27 1 22 93 3 3 57 240 .187 .257 .349 .607 204 12 1 1 7 0
AA (2 seasons) AA 193 753 695 70 144 27 5 30 108 3 3 47 240 .207 .257 .390 .647 271 22 2 1 8 1
A- (2 seasons) A- 78 329 303 34 67 19 1 6 38 4 4 19 89 .221 .277 .350 .626 106 13 5 0 2 0
Rk (1 season) Rk 10 42 36 5 8 0 0 1 2 1 0 5 8 .222 .317 .306 .623 11 2 0 1 0 0
AAA (1 season) AAA 38 136 127 9 18 3 0 3 11 0 1 7 44 .142 .184 .236 .420 30 5 0 0 2 2
Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Original Table
Generated 2/13/2013.

And so, since he’s, to my knowledge, the only guy in this MLB Network show who actually has played professional baseball, he should be considered the favorite.

BREAKING NEWS: All of the WBC Games on MLB Network will be live- except for Korea vs. Netherlands

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I mentioned in one of my World Baseball Classic Q&As that MLB Network was going to broadcast the WBC, but noted that there was only one MLB Network and sometimes there might be more than one game going on.

So, to find out, exactly, whether all of the games on MLB Network were going to be live, I decided to… write to MLB Network. Here is their response:

Dan,

Thank you for your interest in MLB Network and the World Baseball Classic. All games will be aired live with the exception of the Korea vs. Netherlands game on Saturday, March 2 at 6:30 am ET. This game overlaps with the Japan vs. Brazil game at 5 am ET, so it will air in full starting at 8 am ET on Saturday, March 2.

Thank you,

MLB Network

 

I also wouldn’t be shocked if some games end up getting joined “already in progress” if some games go long, but that is so standard that I think we can assume that even if it’s not confirmed.

To the best of my knowledge, this is the first time that it’s been confirmed that all of the WBC games (save for Korea vs. Netherlands) will be live on MLB Network, although it made sense to presume so beforehand. So, I guess I can say that this is the first news ever broken by the Baseball Continuum, unless I missed a sentence somewhere in a press release awhile ago.

So, there you have it: MLB Network will be the LIVE home of every World Baseball Classic game, except for the Korea-Netherlands game, which will be on tape delay.

OLYMPICS CONTINUUM: In which the IOC kicks out wrestling, basically the oldest sport there is

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Well, let it not be said that Olympics discriminates based on age: they have reportedly cut wrestling from the 2020 Olympics.

Yes, wrestling. One of the oldest sports in the world and one practiced unquestionably around the world, a mainstay of the Olympics since ancient times, has been dropped from the Olympics, while such sports as Modern Pentathlon, Rhythmic Gymnastics and Synchronized Swimming will remain.

In other words, yes, baseball and softball no longer have the biggest beef with the Olympics. Also, if I’m track and field or boxing, I’m starting to get worried about 2024, because if they can cut out wrestling, nobody is safe, even if the Ancient Greeks played it.

The grand World Baseball Classic Question and Answer (Part 4: Miscellaneous)

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If you haven’t seen the previous Q&A installments, you can find them here, here and here.

Today’s WBC Q&A covers basically everything else that is left on the World Baseball Classic that I haven’t covered elsewhere. Go below the jump for it.

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15 things guaranteed to happen in Spring Training

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The following things are guaranteed to happen during spring training:

1. At least one player per team will be declared to be in the best shape of his life.

2. On at least one day, basically every Grapefruit League game will be cancelled due to rain.

3. You will check the box score of every exhibition game against a college team, just to see if any MLB players were struck out by a college pitcher or a college pitcher got a hit off a MLB pitcher.

4. At least one game will be delayed due to a weird reason, like a tornado warning or a large swarm of bees.

5. At least one person will write an article questioning whether Michael Bourn‘s continued free agency is a sign of collusion, as opposed to the reality, which is that the Minnesota Twins basically removed Washington and Philadelphia- two of the most likely destinations for Bourn- when they traded Denard Span and Ben Revere, unintentionally destroying the demand for Bourn in the process.

6. Somebody will try to liken something going on in Spring Training to the going-ons in Vatican City, and it won’t make for a good metaphor.

7. A MLB player will tweet out a picture of what his NCAA bracket looks like.

8. There will be confusion when a player on a World Baseball Classic team plays an exhibition against his usual team.

9. While watching stock footage of players doing routine workouts, you will inexplicably get the theme from The Rookie stuck in your head.

10. Somebody will have an embarrassing injury that will have more to do with their own stupidity or bad luck then some sort of baseball activity.

11. After the Astros lose a Cactus League game, somebody on Twitter will declare that they have been mathematically eliminated from playoff contention.

12. We will hear about some humorous clubhouse prank.

13. At least one notable veteran will announce their retirement.

14. The Yankees will be declared doomed, the World Series favorites and a Wild Card contender… possibly all on the same day.

15. Everyone in Tampa, at Yankees’ camp, will be on 24/7 Alex Rodriguez watch.

Coming this week on The Baseball Continuum…

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Sorry, but the WBC Q&A’s final part has been delayed until sometime this coming week. So, for now, here’s a preview of stuff that (probably) will also be joining it:

  • The Continuum Baseball Rankings- In which I scrape together world rankings for baseball countries based on not just performance in tournaments but also how many MLB players they have produced and how well their teams have done in team tournaments like the Caribbean Series.
  • Spring Training stuff
  • A few new countdowns on the side of the page.
  • And possibly a new installment of Bizarre Baseball Culture. Possibly.

 

World Baseball Classic Update: Gio Gonzalez upgrades the USA rotation

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With Kris Medlen and Andy Pettitte out and Justin Verlander still making up his mind, the Team USA rotation was down to R.A. Dickey, Ryan Vogelsong and Derek Holland. Hardly a rotation of slouches (you could do very well in MLB with a front three that looked like that), but not exactly the names to strike fear into the hearts of the world’s hitters.

Well, yesterday, Team USA got an upgrade: Gio Gonzalez of the Washington Nationals. Although currently under a cloud of suspicion due to his name being on the Biogenesis papers (but apparently not linked to any banned substances), Gonzalez instantly gives Team USA’s rotation a good shot in the arm. He won 21 games last season while leading the NL in strikeouts per 9 IP and fewest HR per 9 IP. He’s left-handed, young, and a two-time All-Star.

And, more importantly, it gives Team USA two aces, not just one, as well as two left-handed starters, not just one.

And, what’s more, if Verlander decides to play, it could allow Team USA to have a rotation of Verlander, Dickey, Gonzalez, Vogelsong and Holland.

And that rotation would strike fear into the hearts of the world’s hitters.