Tag Archives: World Baseball Classic

WBC News for September 9, 2015: Some other stuff

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There’s some other World Baseball Classic news I forgot to get to yesterday:

First off, way back in April, Russell Martin said he’s totally up for another go-around for Canada in 2017. He infamously missed the 2013 Classic because he wanted to play middle-infield.

In March, Jon Morosi- the biggest WBC booster amongst mainstream MLB writers- talked a bit about it. The 12 teams that didn’t finish last in their groups (Canada, China, Chinese Taipei, Cuba, Dominican Republic, Italy, Japan, Netherlands, Puerto Rico, South Korea, United States and Venezuela) will automatically get a bid. No major changes are expected in the actual WBC itself, although the teams that finished last in their groups (Mexico, Australia, Brazil and Spain) will have to go through qualifiers to qualify again. He indicated that Mexico, Germany, Australia and Panama were the likely places to hold qualifiers, due to facilities and likelihood to participate. He estimated that most qualifiers would occur in September and/or November of 2016, although he says that Australia may host in February of 2016 after the end of their league’s season but before Spring Training.

Speaking of which, the New Zealand baseball federation’s twitter feed implied that, indeed, there will be an Australian-based qualifier in February next year. However, I personally e-mailed Australia’s baseball federation asking about where they stand as far as the WBC, and they said that they have yet to hear from WBC Inc. (the company formed by Major League Baseball, the MLBPA, the IBAF and other professional leagues to manage the tournament), although they do know they will, as expected, have to go through qualifiers. It’s possible, perhaps even likely, that there will be a qualifying round in Australia in February 2016, but it’s definitely not official yet.

Finally, there was some talk that the Mexican portion of the qualifiers would be held in Mexicali, Hermosillo, or Monterrey.

Remember to follow the Baseball Continuum for more WBC news as it comes out in the coming weeks, months and years.

 

WBC News for September 8, 2015: Managers/Coaches for Teams Nicaragua, Panama, New Zealand, and Israel, possible reveal of when qualifiers will be?

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Yes, it’s been awhile, but it’s time to start up the ole’ World Baseball Classic news machine, as over the past few weeks we got some of the first news about the 2017 WBC and it’s 2016 qualifiers!

First off, Brewers bench coach Jerry Narron will have some sort of coaching position on the Israeli national team. Narron’s daughter lives in Israel and all of this apparently was set into motion when she off-handedly remarked about her father’s baseball pedigree to the Israeli Baseball Association’s president. The manager for Team Israel, meanwhile, will be Jerry Weinstein, a coach in the Rockies system. Shawn Green will also be a member of the coaching staff. It’s mentioned that the heads of Israeli baseball hope that it’s qualifying round will take place during the off-season- in 2012 (for the 2013 Classic), it took place during the season.

Meanwhile, former Giant Marvin Benard, now a coach in the Padres organization, has been named manager for Team Nicaragua for the qualifying round for the 2017 Classic. According to the article (or at least my Middle School Spanish and a google translation), the qualifying tournament that Nicaragua will be in will be held in Panama in March of 2016, in the same bracket as Panama, Brazil and Colombia (in other words, the same four that were in this bracket in the previous WBC qualifiers). I haven’t seen any confirmation either way whether this is true, but at the very least the teams in the group sound about right.

New Zealand has also named it’s coaching staff.  Chris Woodward, a coach for the Mariners, will be the skipper in the qualifier. Ron Roenicke will be a bench coach, Josh Bard will be a hitting coach, NPB veteran Naoyuki Shimizu will be the pitching coach, and Chris Prieto and D.J. Carrasco will also help coach.

Finally, Carlos Lee will be managing Team Panama.

So, that’s your first news update on the 2017 World Baseball Classic. If you know any news that I don’t have here, let me know by e-mailing me at djgwriter@yahoo.com or on Twitter (@DanJGlickman).

Until next time!

Expanding on my idea for future WBCs

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Awhile ago, I briefly had some thoughts on how the World Baseball Classic could change and expand in the future. I figured I would expand a bit on that for this, the BASEBALL CONTINUUM 1ST ANNIVERSARY SPECTACULAR (or, rather, the overflow from it). This is something of a lengthy post, so go below the jump for it.

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And now, some thoughts and suggestions on the World Baseball Classic

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The Dominican Republic can lay claim to being the champions of the 2013 World Baseball Classic, going undefeated in the tournament and shutting out Puerto Rico in the final game, 3-0. Robinson Cano was rightfully named tourney MVP, although one could also have made a case for Fernando Rodney, who saved seven games during the tournament.

While it was far from a perfect tournament, it had some great moments. There were the honkbal Dutch, proving that 2009 was far from a fluke by making it to the semi-finals, defeating the mighty Cubans twice on the way. There was Italy’s similarly amazing run. There were the great fans, who even in the less-attended games made the crowd seem several times bigger. And it had high drama, with Davids facing Goliaths, the old facing the young, and, in some cases, entire nations sitting on the edge of their seats.

And, yes, all of my reasons while the WBC is going to be sticking around are still valid.

Still, the WBC does definitely have room for improvement, so go below the jump for some of my suggestions:

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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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Picture of the day: WBC Trophy

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The first two World Baseball Classic trophies went to Japan, where will this one go?

This picture was taken by Geoff Livingston, and is under a creative commons license.

WBC Semi-Final Preview: Japan vs. Puerto Rico

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The game between Japan and Puerto Rico, on paper, should belong to the Japanese team, a seasoned squad that relatively breezed into the San Francisco round and which will be playing with far more rest than Puerto Rico, which will be playing it’s third game in as many days. But, as has been shown time and time again, in baseball weird and unexpected things can happen. Go below the jump for a more in-depth preview.

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Games aren’t played on paper

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With Team USA’s 4-3 loss to Puerto Rico and elimination from the World Baseball Classic, there are certain to be many theories as to why, once again, the Americans failed. Some are legitimate (lack of conditioning compared to teams from Asia and Latin America, the various dropouts from the event), some aren’t (the claim that the American players “didn’t care” about the games or their outcomes is easily disproved by Vinnie Pestano‘s post-game Tweet), and some are probably somewhere in between. But, ultimately, the fact that Team USA fell can be brought down to this:

It’s baseball, and in baseball, games aren’t played on paper. And that means weird things can happen, and even small mistakes can doom giants, especially in settings such as tournaments where the margin of error is small.

Consider: Who could have expected that the Team USA lineup would be so anemic (sans David Wright, now resting from his wounds in a S.H.I.E.L.D. Heli-Carrier until he is needed in 2017, and Joe Mauer, who reminded the world about how beautiful a swing he has) for much of the tournament? On paper, you wouldn’t have expected it, but the games aren’t played on paper.

Or consider Nelson Figueroa, who hadn’t thrown a pitch in the Majors since 2011. Who could have expected him to have the night of his life? Or that the umpiring would have had such a… unusual strike zone? Nobody. There are countless other variables that determine this tournament and any given game. And tonight, those variables helped put Puerto Rico on top.

So, before you go ripping into Team USA, or calling for the WBC to be cancelled (it won’t be), just remember: this is baseball. The best team doesn’t always win. Some of the greatest teams in baseball history* haven’t won. It’s what makes the sport great. It’s why we watch. And sometimes, it can be very cruel and fickle game.

So enjoy the rest of the World Baseball Classic, people, because, like all baseball, we have no idea what’s going to happen.

*The 1906 Cubs, the 1954 Indians, the 1969 Orioles, the 2001 Mariners…

Jurickson Profar will be playing for Team Netherlands after all- here’s why that matters

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Jurickson Profar will be playing for Team Netherlands after all, taking over for the injured Yurendell de Caster.

So why does that matter?

Well, for one Profar (a switch-hitting middle infielder) is the top prospect in baseball, according to MLB.com and other sources such as Baseball America. He’s only 20, but has already played a short stint in the majors last season, even having a home run in his first AB. But it’s what he’s done in the minors that is especially impressive… take a look:

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
2010 17 Spokane NORW A- TEX 63 288 252 42 63 19 0 4 23 8 3 28 46 .250 .323 .373 .696 94 8 0 6 2 0
2011 18 Hickory SALL A TEX 115 516 430 86 123 37 8 12 65 23 9 65 63 .286 .390 .493 .883 212 7 11 6 4 2
2012 19 Frisco TL AA TEX 126 562 480 76 135 26 7 14 62 16 4 66 79 .281 .368 .452 .820 217 11 5 2 9 5
3 Seasons 304 1366 1162 204 321 82 15 30 150 47 16 159 188 .276 .367 .450 .817 523 26 16 14 15 7
Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Original Table
Generated 3/13/2013.

And, what’s more, it provides another MLB-level (or close to it) bat into the Dutch lineup, something that will come in handy against whoever they play in the semi-finals. Okay, that isn’t really that much of analysis, but it is true. And, what’s more, it could provide a psychological boost for the Dutch: they are now heading into the semi-finals round and now they are going to be joined by one of the best future stars of baseball.

Should be interesting to see how it all turns out.