Tag Archives: preview

2013 MLB Preview, Part 1: First Things That Pop Into My Mind

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Okay, time to play a bit of a game with myself: For every team in Major League Baseball, I type out the first (printable) thought I have on them. Sometimes they will actually have to do with the coming season, other times they will just be random observations or the name of their best player. This is acting as part 1 of a series of unknown length that will constitute my preview of the 2013 season.

So, here we go:

Arizona Diamondbacks: Kirk Gibson likes guys who are gritty.

Atlanta Braves: No Chipper but 2 Uptons.

Baltimore Orioles: There’s no way they can do it again, right?

Chicago Cubs: Will trade Alfonso Soriano sometime.

Chicago White Sox: Won’t be better than the Tigers.

Cincinnati Reds: Could win the division again.

Cleveland Indians: Terry Francona.

Colorado Rockies: Carlos Gonzalez. Todd Helton is still playing.

Detroit Tigers: World Series favorite.

Houston Astros: Welcome the American League, enjoy last place.

Kansas City Royals: Better but not going to be nearly good enough.

Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, California: Great lineup, suspect pitching after Jered Weaver and C.J. Wilson.

Los Angeles Dodgers: Magic, Money, and Matt Kemp.

Miami Marlins: Pity poor Giancarlo Stanton.

Milwaukee Brewers: Major League Baseball is coming for Ryan Braun.

Minnesota Twins: Rebuilding in progress.

New York Mets: David Wright.

New York Yankees: Robinson Cano and some old guys. Also: Mariano Rivera‘s last stand.

Oakland Athletics: The beard of Josh Reddick.

Philadelphia Phillies: Is Roy Halladay over the hill?

Pittsburgh Pirates: Andrew McCutchen.

San Diego Padres: Chase Headley.

San Francisco Giants: The defending champs.

Seattle Mariners: Felix Hernandez.

St. Louis Cardinals: Albert who?

Texas Rangers: Not what they have been.

Toronto Blue Jays: I need to get a passport so I can go watch them play.

Washington Nationals: The other World Series favorite.

Come back in the coming days for more thoughts and previews of the 2013 MLB season.

WBC Finals Preview: Dominican Republic vs. Puerto Rico

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It’s all come down to this:  Dominican Republic vs. Puerto Rico for the WBC title. The Dominican is going for a perfect tournament, but Puerto Rico, with a win, could make all those previous games for the Dominican irrelevant. It’s one game, winner take all. Go below the jump for the tale of the tape:

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WBC Semi-Final Preview: Dominican Republic vs. Kingdom of the Netherlands

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It’s a showdown tonight, a grudge match four years in the making. In one corner, the mighty Dominican, now by far the biggest fish in the increasingly small WBC pond. In the other corner, the Kingdom of the Netherlands, the upstart amalgamation of the Netherlands, Curacao and Aruba. Four years ago, the Dutch upset the Dominican twice, and now the Dominican has a chance for revenge. They probably will get it, but as we saw in Puerto Rico-Japan (and Puerto Rico-USA, and Netherlands-Cuba, and… you get the idea), there are no guarantees in baseball.

Go below the jump for the tale of the tape:

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Coming up on the Baseball Continuum (March edition)…

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As the WBC continues and Opening Day draws near (Thank the Baseball Gods!), here’s a look at what you can expect from the Continuum by the end of the month:

  • Perhaps the most out-of-left-field (pun intended) “Bizarre Baseball Culture” since Rockets Rigby. And considering that series has had Martians, exploding baseballs, and Atomic Super-Wood, that is saying something.
  • A list of 162 things I think will happen in the 2013 season, both honest and facetious.
  • A few ideas on things that would make good baseball movies (I’ve done similar things in the past, but this will be more in depth).
  • More of the usual features of the Continuum, such as “Famous for Something Else”, “Cool Baseball Links”, “Picture of the Day” and “Video of the Undetermined Amount of Time”.
  • And, of course, the latest WBC coverage and overall coverage of baseball in general.

 

WBC Round 2 Preview: Pool 2 (Miami)

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Japan and the Netherlands have already qualified for the final four of the WBC, but who will join them? That will be decided in Miami, where three of baseball’s traditional powers are joined by the surprising Italian team to determine who will escape to San Francisco. Go below the jump for my preview of the double elimination round:

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In Case You Missed It: WBC Pool C, D and 1 Previews

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With Pools C and D of the WBC’s first round starting, and Pool 1 of the second round (it is happening earlier so that there is less jet-lag later on) also beginning, here are the previews of those pools. Note that in some cases they (whether they are rosters that have had last-minute changes or information about a country) are out of date- for example, the preview of Venezuela mentions that Hugo Chavez is the country’s president, since I wrote it before he passed away.

Pool C Preview (Venezuela, Puerto Rico, Spain, Dominican Republic)

Pool D Preview (USA, Canada, Mexico, Italy)

Pool 1 Preview (Cuba, Japan, Taipei, Netherlands)

So, there you go.

WBC Round 2 Preview: Pool 1 (Tokyo)

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Well, Pool 1 of Round 2 of the World Baseball Classic is all set. Go below the jump for a preview of the pool, and also consider looking back at my predictions for Pool A and Pool B of the first round, which include a good amount of other information, such as the history and culture of the nations.

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The Baseball Continuum’s 2013 WBC Preview Coverage

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Below are links to all of the Baseball Continuum‘s WBC preview coverage (but not the news coverage, since that was more time sensitive):

Pool Previews (includes looks at each team and their nation’s baseball history and culture):

Pool A (Fukuoka)

Pool B (Taichung)

Pool C (San Juan)

Pool D (Arizona)

The COMPLETE Grand World Baseball Classic Q&A

WBC Twitter List

Me on Twitter

And, finally, Five Questions Ahead of the WBC.

World Baseball Classic Preview: Pool D (Arizona)

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USA. Canada. Mexico. Italy. Those are the four teams in the D Pool of the World Baseball Classic.

Go below the jump for the preview:

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World Baseball Classic Preview: Pool C (San Juan)

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Pool C is sure to be an interesting pool, with three big baseball countries that have plenty of history against each other as well as a Spanish team that will be able to call on some ringers that could make things interesting.

Go below the jump for the whole preview.

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