World Baseball Classic Thread

[Guest Edgy DC]

"WBC" just means corrupt boxing to me. (Actually, "boxing" means corrupt boxing to me, but that's another issue.)

Anyhow, they announced games to be hosted by Los Angeles of Anahei, where "fans are some of the most enthusiastic in all of baseball," according to Bud Selig. The BOB is hosting first round games, and Davey Johnson is looking good to manage the team, depending on how he does with Lastings Milledge and the Olympic qualifying team.

[Willets Point]

I hope this works out. International baseball competition could be a lot of fun.

[Guest Edgy DC]

I'd like to see a non-MLB governing body.

[Frayed Knot]

I'd fear the alternatives.

[Guest Edgy DC]

Yes, but at least you'd get multiple interests competing against each other. It'dlikely take a generattion or two before a world body became institutionalized enough to develp its own interests as an institution, apart from those of the members nations and thier leagues and players.

[Guest Johnny Dickshot]

I can't imagine MLB allowing any participation in an entity that didn;t ultimately promote itself. As far as Selig is concerned, MLB is baseball, the only governing body that actually matters..

[MFS62]

Edgy DC wrote: I'd like to see a non-MLB governing body.

An International body? Wouldn't that be like Sweden (pointing to ABBA and) wanting to control the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame?

B'sides, I'm not sure the MLBPA would be too thrilled about it, considering the way those international sports governing bodies impose tough testing and penalties for substance abuse.

Later

[Guest Johnny Dickshot]

The analogy would be Sony Music controlling the RnR Hall of Fame.

[Guest Edgy DC]

Agreed. But the way the other countries could show they have as much juice as MLB would be for them to threaten to hold an international tournament without the US participation --- decaring the winner "World Champion" if MlB doesn't allwo some adequalte power sharing in WBC.

[Guest Edgy DC]

I don't think that Japan --- with over 100 years of baseball --- is analogous to Sweden.

And this wouldn't be ceding to a single nation, but an organization which includes delegates from all baseball-playing nations.

Works in soccer. FIFA has it's corruptions, but they put on a hell of a difficult show every four years. It's more or less fair, every nation on earth has a crack at qualifying, and no league begrudges its players their participation.

[Guest Johnny Dickshot]

But then we're back to MLB's wish not to trump their own product with shorter, less lucrative one that doesn't necessarily serve to promote it.

Baseball's FIFA is the IBAF, which is sanctioning the WBC, so maybe we're arguing over nothing:


http://www.baseball.ch/

[Guest Edgy DC]

I'd hope that the rest of the baseball world competing or threatening to compete without the US would create an interest for MLB.

I don't see anyting about the WBC appearing at the IBF page. The competittions it shows include:

The Baseball World Cup
The Women's Baseball World Cup
The International Cup
The Olympics
The Junior World Championship (called"AAA")
The Yourth World Champeioship (called "AA")
The World University Baseball Championship

[Guest Johnny Dickshot]

Q: Which leagues and/or organizations have been involved with establishing the World Baseball Classic?

A: Major League Baseball (MLB) and the Major League Baseball Players Association (MLBPA) have joined together to establish the World Baseball Classic. The tournament, sanctioned by the International Baseball Federation (IBAF), will be conducted jointly by MLB and the MLBPA in cooperation with Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB), the Korea Baseball Organization (KBO), their respective players associations and other professional leagues from around the world.

[Guest Edgy DC]

Missed that. Where's it from?

Ah, MLB's WBC page.

[Guest Johnny Dickshot]

mlb.com

[Guest Edgy DC]

It says something of the International Baseball Federation's actual role in this, though, that their site says nothing at all about it.

[Valadius]

They changed the name of the BOB!

It is now called Chase Field.

[Guest OlerudOwned]

]Six managers named for WBC By Barry M. Bloom MILWAUKEE -- Major League Baseball said on Tuesday that six managers already have been selected to head some of the 16 teams that are participating in next year's inaugural World Baseball Classic, the first international hardball tournament ever to include Major League players. The games are scheduled to be played from March 3-20 in Japan, the United States and Puerto Rico. The list is headed by legendary home run hitter Sadaharu Oh, who will manage the Japanese squad. Former Major Leaguer Jim Lefebvre leads the budding Chinese national team and has done so since it was formulated two years ago with an eye toward the 2008 Bejing Summer Olympics. Former Yankees coach and player Luis Sojo will guide the Venezuelan team. Former Major Leaguer Roberto Kelly will head his native Panama. Francisco Estrada is Mexico's manager. And Manny Acta, the Mets third base coach, was announced on Monday to lead the Dominican Republic, replacing Tony Pena, who recently signed a contract with the Yankees to be their first base coach next season. "I feel grateful and happy that the Mets ... are giving me the opportunity to manage for my country," Acta told The Associated Press during a telephone interview from his home in Kissimmee, Fla.

So our 3rd base coach will get a chance to manage the potential Dominican Powerhouse. Good luck to him. (Though he may not need it if he has Pujols, Vlad, Tejada, Papi, Pedro, and Colon.)

[Guest Spacemans Bong]

Edgy DC wrote: I'd hope that the rest of the baseball world competing or threatening to compete without the US would create an interest for MLB. I don't see anyting about the WBC appearing at the IBF page. The competittions it shows include: The Baseball World Cup The Women's Baseball World Cup The International Cup The Olympics The Junior World Championship (called"AAA") The Yourth World Champeioship (called "AA") The World University Baseball Championship

That may tell you something about how crap the IBF is if their website has no mention of the WBC or MLB.

[Valadius]

HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!

The WBC. The IBF.

Do the corrupt boxing federations need to be perpetuated throughout other sports? Honestly. This is too much.

[Guest Edgy DC]

I still don't like MLB running this party.

MLB announces the team managers?

[Valadius]

It's just more pennies for Bud Selig's piggy bank.

[metirish]

Bonds to play for Team USA

Bobby Bo involved, I hadn't known that.

[Guest Edgy DC]

Our new firstbaseman, by the way, has already made a commitment to compete for Puerto Rico in the WBC.

I'm not keen on Puerto Rico competing as if they were a seperate nation. Even with all the precedent of them standing alone on the international stage, it still sends a mixed message.

Instead they should be kicking ass as a state in my invitational US Baseball Classic tournament, featuring a field of 64 teams, representing each of the 50 United States, rounded out with teams from, let's see, American Samoa, the District of Columbia, Guam, the Mariana Islands, Native America, Puerto Rico, and the US Virgin Islands.

Need seven more: Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines, Coast Guard, Merchant Marines, and, uh, the Peace Corps.

It'd rock and it's long overdue --- seeing Sergeant Shriver pitching to Delgado.

[MFS62]

Related to the Bonds story:
In an interview with Keith Olberman, he said that he was "losing 40 pounds because it will put less stress on his knees."

The cynics among us will say his new svelte look will be because he's off the 'riods.

In any event, if he participates in the games, all players will be subject to the comprehensive Olympic drug testing program.

Stay tuned for the next exciting chapter.

Later

[Willets Point]

]Need seven more

Easy. The seven largest metropolitain areas in the US compete seperately from the rest of their states. The biggest cities are bigger than the smallest states and you got to imagine that upstate New Yorkers would love it if their team knocked-out the New York City team.

[Guest Edgy DC]

Nah, I'm sticking with my service teams playing the role of noble patsies. The David-and-Goliath angle will be all over California-Montana matchups, and that'd be no fun if Montana were to win and Cali cried that their player pool was watered down by all their best players playing on the LA, SF, and Long Beach squads.

I'm sending out the invites this afternoon. Finals in Van Cortland Park.

[MFS62]

Sounds like the Little League World Series playoffs.

Later

[Willets Point]

The seven largest metro areas are New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Philadelphia, Dallas, Miami & Washington (although then Washington, DC would have two teams so we'll give a team to metro area #8 - Houston).

[Guest Edgy DC]

The integrity of the staes must hold.