WBC 2023

[Just Regular]

Love it or hate it, it's here.    It has a brisk pace of games (even if the play is No Pitch Clock slow), will all be over in 2 weeks.

Is Cedric Mullins a better CF than Mike Trout?    That's up to Mark DeRosa.     Messing with Mike is part of what got Joe Maddon into trouble.

Just saw the pitching matchups for the 0500 China-Japan game tomorrow - Ohtani is the scheduled start for his 65 pitches.

One thing I like about the WBC is it is one thing MLB and the MLBPA agree on.    Baseball doesn't have a David Stern, but this is at least something to try and grow the game globally.

I believe Pitcher Yao Ming is coming sometime before mid-Century, and that kid might be watching his national team against Ohtani in the dawn's early light over here.

[survivedc]

Hyun Soo Kim is still going for Korea, playing left field. Guy has had a very good career in his home country.

[Can_of_corn]

Australia beats Korea on a caught stealing in a huge upset.

https://streamable.com/eep9g6

Sorry haters that's just great baseball.

[Just Regular]

17 minutes ago, Can_of_corn said:

Australia beats Korea on a caught stealing in a huge upset.

https://streamable.com/eep9g6

Sorry haters that's just great baseball.

Close play - wonder if replay review part of the tournament?

Not Babe Ruth getting thrown out to end the World Series, but a thrilling way for a game to end.

That down 1 run, one out to go, man on 1st scenario with a singles hitter up is one of those fun circumstances where both the baserunner (if minimally competent) and the catcher have a pretty strong clue a SB attempt is coming.     Break even more like 50/50 than normal 80/20 given opportunity to change needing 2 hits to needing 1 hit.

[Number5]

49 minutes ago, Can_of_corn said:

Australia beats Korea on a caught stealing in a huge upset.

Crikey!

[SteveA]

Cuba was heavily favored to win Pool A and they are now 0-2, after losing to Italy 6-3 in extra innings.   Matt Harvey started for Italy and threw 4 good innings.

[Orioles4Life21]

Cuban here. This team has disappointed me greatly. Wayyyyyy past time to de-politicize baseball in Cuba and give the Cuban people the team they deserve to see. They could be one of the best teams in the tournament if they had their full arsenal.

Although Moncada and Robert have been pretty terrible so far in the 2 games. 

[CharmCityHokie]

2 hours ago, Orioles4Life21 said:

Cuban here. This team has disappointed me greatly. Wayyyyyy past time to de-politicize baseball in Cuba and give the Cuban people the team they deserve to see. They could be one of the best teams in the tournament if they had their full arsenal.

Although Moncada and Robert have been pretty terrible so far in the 2 games. 

I'm curious about Team Cuba and the requirements/rules on playing or the team. I kind of figured guys like Moncada and Robert, who have to defect in order to play in MLB, would be more or less blackballed from the team? I realize they're not playing on Cuban soil, so that has a significant effect on availability of players who have previously defected, but are they welcomed back to the national team with open arms every few years for the WBC? 

(Realize you may not have all the answers to that O4L21, just something I was curious about).

Edited March 9, 2023 by CharmCityHokie

[Orioles4Life21]

10 minutes ago, CharmCityHokie said:

I'm curious about Team Cuba and the requirements/rules on playing or the team. I kind of figured guys like Moncada and Robert, who have to defect in order to play in MLB, would be more or less blackballed from the team? I realize they're not playing on Cuban soil, so that has a significant effect on availability of players who have previously defected, but are they welcomed back to the national team with open arms every few years for the WBC? 

(Realize you may not have all the answers to that O4L21, just something I was curious about).

Since a vast majority of the talent has left the island in recent years, they had no choice but to invite players back so that they could field a competitive team. However they had some stipulations. Nobody who left the national team during competition was invited. This includes guys like the Gurriels, our own Prieto, Yoelqui Cespedes, Oscar Colas and plenty others I can't think of off the top of my head lol. I'm also assuming they didn't invite anybody who has openly expressed negative opinions about the regime.

Maybe this poor performance will cause even more change and they'll field a better team next time around. Imagine the lineup they could have thrown out there.

C- Grandal

1B- Abreu

2B- Yuli Gurriel

3B- Moncada

SS- Jose Iglesias, Aledmys Diaz

LF- Lourdes Gurriel

CF- Luis Robert

RF- Adolis Garcia

DH- Yordan Alvarez

 

They would be a bit thin with pitching compared to the top teams, but still might have enough to get far in a short tournament. 

[CharmCityHokie]

3 minutes ago, Orioles4Life21 said:

Since a vast majority of the talent has left the island in recent years, they had no choice but to invite players back so that they could field a competitive team. However they had some stipulations. Nobody who left the national team during competition was invited. This includes guys like the Gurriels, our own Prieto, Yoelqui Cespedes, Oscar Colas and plenty others I can't think of off the top of my head lol. I'm also assuming they didn't invite anybody who has openly expressed negative opinions about the regime.

Maybe this poor performance will cause even more change and they'll field a better team next time around. Imagine the lineup they could have thrown out there.

C- Grandal

1B- Abreu

2B- Yuli Gurriel

3B- Moncada

SS- Jose Iglesias, Aledmys Diaz

LF- Lourdes Gurriel

CF- Luis Robert

RF- Adolis Garcia

DH- Yordan Alvarez

 

They would be a bit thin with pitching compared to the top teams, but still might have enough to get far in a short tournament. 

Thanks for the details, very interesting (and also depressing).

[Orioles4Life21]

Maybe Yuli at second at his age would be a bit of a stretch but he's Cuban royalty so I had to include him lol. Now looking back there are many other options for the squad that I didn't even mention like Arozarena or Jorge Soler

[Orioles4Life21]

1 minute ago, CharmCityHokie said:

Thanks for the details, very interesting (and also depressing).

Very. Everything with Cuba is political.

[Just Regular]

They don't have the MLB counting stats of contemporaries, but I believe in some of the multiverses Jose Abreu and Yuli Gurriel are Hall of Famers not as different as Miguel Cabrera as a casual fan might think.

[CharmCityHokie]

1 hour ago, Just Regular said:

They don't have the MLB counting stats of contemporaries, but I believe in some of the multiverses Jose Abreu and Yuli Gurriel are Hall of Famers not as different as Miguel Cabrera as a casual fan might think.

I know that Kevin Goldstein, when he was still at FanGraphs, said in a chat that if Yuli Gurriel had come up in the MiLB/MLB system he would have been a no-doubt Hall of Famer, and while he may be biased due to being employed by the Astros at the same time they brought Gurriel on board, he doesn't seem to generally the type for that amount of hyperbole if he doesn't believe it.

[SteveA]

Czech Republic playing China right now, Czech's are up 3-1 in the 6th.

Czech catcher is Martin Cervenka, who was once in the Oriole system.