It’s time again for World Baseball Classic news! Go below the jump for the latest:
Early WBC news for Feb. 16, 2013
Reply
Tag Archives: World Baseball Classic
The COMPLETE Grand World Baseball Classic Question and Answer
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.
The grand World Baseball Classic Question and Answer (Part 4: Miscellaneous)
World Baseball Classic Update: Gio Gonzalez upgrades the USA rotation
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)
The grand World Baseball Classic Question and Answer (Part 2: The Game Rules)
Okay, if you saw yesterday’s post, you are no doubt prepared for another round of questions and answers about the World Baseball Classic. Today, we look at some of the rules and regulations of the tournament… after the jump:
The grand World Baseball Classic Question and Answer (Part 1: The Basics)
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.
Medlen out of World Baseball Classic… due to baby
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.
Picture of the day: Disconnect between perception and reality
The general perception of the World Baseball Classic is that, almost universally, fans want their favorite team’s players- and especially pitchers- to avoid it like the plague. Which is why it’s interesting when I saw poll results on ESPN.com:
Huh. What do you know. It seems like a majority of people, at least on ESPN, would be fine with it. Now, it’s hardly a runaway majority, but it is a majority. Perhaps this suggests that there is a “silent majority” in favor of the WBC that is overlooked by the fact that those who are against having their team’s players playing in it make a lot more noise.
(Now, admittedly, this is hardly a scientific poll, and isn’t exactly specific- for example, it isn’t something like specifically asking Tigers fans if they’d be okay with Justin Verlander pitching, or Mariners fans if they are okay with how Felix Martinez is pitching, but the fact remains: in general, it seems like a majority of people have no problem with their team’s pitchers playing in the WBC.)
WBC Roster Analysis: Australia
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:
The Baseball Continuum 