Tag Archives: 2013 WBC

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.

The COMPLETE Grand World Baseball Classic Question and Answer

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If you don’t want to read the WBC Q&A posts one by one, feel free to go below the jump to see the whole thing. In addition, don’t forget that Joe Connor’s WBC Guide remains on sale.

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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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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.

The grand World Baseball Classic Question and Answer (Part 3: Nationality and other eligibility stuff)

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Part one can be found here, Part two can be found here.

Today’s Q&A is about the World Baseball Classic’s roster rules, you can see it after doing the jump:

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The grand World Baseball Classic Question and Answer (Part 1: The Basics)

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The World Baseball Classic, and people’s coverage of it, is often filled with innuendo, missed information or taking hearsay as fact. It’s happened to me, it’s happened to the actual media, and it’s happened even to Major League Baseball itself.

It’s not hard to see why. It’s still a relatively new event, after all, not a yearly decades-old baseball mainstay like the All-Star Game, or like other events like the Olympics, which have been going on for over a century. In addition, it isn’t as centralized, and information is often crossing linguistic and national borders. So something about a roster change in one country might not reach the rest until later, or a claim by a player in one language might lose it’s nuance when translated into English.

So, anyway, to clear things up, go after the jump for part 1 of a Q&A on the WBC.

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Medlen out of World Baseball Classic… due to baby

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Well, scratch Kris Medlen off of Team USA’s starting rotation, as he won’t be pitching due to the fact that his wife will be having a baby any day now.

Now, there have been plenty of people who have complained about players who drop out of the World Baseball Classic, but I have to say, this is probably the best reason possible to miss the WBC. It’s actually happened before: Wei-Yin Chen declined a chance to pitch for Taipei for similar reasons, and Nick Markakis, if memory serves, passed on Team USA in 2009 because his child was due in March.

WBC Roster Analysis: Australia

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In 2006, Australia went 0-3 and in 2009 the Australians only did slightly better, going 1-2 (upsetting Mexico and then losing two straight, although they came close to upsetting Cuba). So how might they do this time around?

Well, Australia won’t have it’s most notable pitchers, but it’s still a team that could pull an upset or two, although it’s unlikely that they will get past the first round group that also has Korea, Taipei and the Netherlands.

Go below the jump for the analysis:

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WBC Roster Analysis: Puerto Rico

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While Puerto Rican baseball has, as I’ve said before, seen better days, the roster that Puerto Rico has in this WBC will have plenty of MLB experience, and will have at least two genuine stars: Carlos Beltran and Yadier Molina. So as they host the first round Pool C, they won’t be lacking for talent.

The question, though, is whether that talent will be enough to help them escape the “group of death” that also features the Dominican Republic and Venezuela. While on paper they seem to be the third-best team, this is baseball, and it certainly is possible that Puerto Rico will be able to escape the first round… and perhaps beyond.

Go below the jump for the rest of the analysis.

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WBC Roster Analysis: Dominican Republic

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The Dominican Republic, like the USA and Venezuela, has yet to live up to it’s baseball pedigree when it comes to the WBC. They went down in the semifinals in 2006, and were embarrassed by the Netherlands twice in 2009. Can they do better this time around?

Well, that remains to be seen. For one thing, the roster for Team DR that was released is only 23-men strong, probably due to the fact some players (most notably Albert Pujols) are still of an uncertain status due to various issues, such as insurance clearance. For another, they will be in a group of death, as Pool C also has Venezuela, Puerto Rico and (to a much, much lesser degree) Spain.

So, how’s it look? Go after the jump to find out:

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