World Baseball Classic Thread

[Frayed Knot]

Due to pitch count limits that's going to be everyone's strategy. It virtually has to be.


Always fun to see Mt. St. George erupting all over the papers today about this tourney and about his "disappointment" in the few of his players who the Yanx didn't threaten (I mean encourage) out of participating. I wonder what he's actually more mad about?: that they might get hurt; or that those marquee names won't be in Tampa to ramp up attendance in ST games.

[Guest abogdan]

Right, but you could have 10 starters and have each do a tandem start like some teams do in the low minors, instead of using 7 pitchers a game.

[metirish]

I read an interesting bit of info today in ESPN the mag, Carlos Lee is of course one of the big stars on the Panama squad, his younger brother is also part of that roster, his name?...Carlos Lee...weird.

[metirish]

Bob Klapisch on Pedro....I hope he doesn't pitch for the DR...

] Sunday, February 19, 2006 By BOB KLAPISCH PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. -- After watching Pedro Martinez long-toss for 15 minutes on Saturday, it's a dead heat who's being more cautious -- the Mets' ace, who's clearly still in pain, or the Mets' hierarchy, which is inexplicably afraid to order Pedro out of the World Baseball Classic. Say what you want about George Steinbrenner and his off the charts buffoonery quotient: The Boss is the only owner who's honest about his fears of the upcoming international tournament. When The Boss blasted the WBC the other day, he wasn't just taking on Bud Selig, he was challenging Derek Jeter, Alex Rodriguez and Johnny Damon to remember their priorities. The Mets, who have six players headed for the tournament, have no stomach for this fight, even though in Pedro's case they have everything to lose. Martinez himself says he's a week behind the other Met pitchers, still unable to run or move side to side -- and most significantly, not yet throwing off a mound. The long-toss session in the outfield at least proved there's nothing wrong with Pedro's arm, but his big right toe remains mysteriously sore, even though it's been almost five months since his last start. With the first round of the WBC scheduled to begin in two weeks, it's virtually impossible to envision Martinez pitching for the Dominican Republic. But he nevertheless prattled on about his plans to leave the Mets in early March. "I would love to represent my country and to actually be a part of it even if it's not in the first round," is what Martinez said. Any Met official should've cringed, remembering that Pedro is already in his decline phase -- 34 years old and no longer topping 90 mph on the radar gun. The potential crisis here is obvious: without a healthy Martinez, the entire off-season resurrection could crumble. That's how questionable the rotation might be, given the age of the Nos. 2 and 3 starters (Tom Glavine and Steve Trachsel are a combined 75 years old) and the fact that Jae Seo and Kris Benson are gone. If Martinez is headed for a long summer looking for special-fitting shoes or different painkillers, the Mets will need the help of two potential saviors. The first is A's general manager Billy Beane, who eventually could decide to trade Barry Zito. The other is rookie Mike Pelfrey, who impressed everyone in camp with his blistering fastball on Saturday. While Pedro was reduced to a game of catch with manager Willie Randolph, the Mets' No. 1 draft pick offered glimpses of why he's the club's best pitching prospect of the last two decades, and why he was able to hold out for a $3.55 million signing bonus on top of a total contract worth $5.25 million. The 6-foot-7, 210-pound Pelfrey is blessed with near-perfect mechanics -- straight over-the-top release point, long, loose follow-through -- although the right-hander modestly says, "This is still a work in progress." The Mets made no attempt to hide their enthusiasm. When asked about Pelfrey, Randolph said, "He's huge. I was impressed with how the ball flew out of his hand." There are some baseball people who believe Pelfrey already is the franchise's most talented pitcher -- even today, without having thrown an inning in the minor leagues. But don't expect the Mets to hurry Pelfrey to Shea in 2006 or even 2007, no matter how great the temptation. Instead, they'll wait for Pedro's contract to expire to anoint the next ace, even if Martinez, creakier with each passing summer of his four-year deal, becomes just a 12-15 game winner. In the meantime, the Mets would be doing Martinez a favor by muscling him out of the WBC, giving him a face-saving way out of his commitment to the Dominican Republic. The political pressure on Martinez is, of course, enormous. Just ask Alex Rodriguez what it's like to say no to an entire country obsessed with beating the Americans. Even though fellow countryman Bartolo Colon is the AL's reigning Cy Young Award winner, it's Pedro who's considered the Dominicans' No. 1 pitcher and their best hope of becoming world champs. Those close to Martinez insist he's no dummy, that he would love to get out of the tournament -- and will do so in the first round, as he's already hinting. But he first needs someone to take the heat for him, either Randolph or general manager Omar Minaya. But so far, neither one of Pedro's superiors has taken the initiative. Minaya, in fact, continues to champion the tournament, saying, "If it's good for baseball, then it's good for the Mets." The GM is sticking to his belief that "no one knows Pedro's body better than him. We trust him to make the right decision." Pitching coach Rick Peterson is similarly downplaying Martinez's dilemma, likening him to an Indy 500 race car that simply needs more maintenance than a family sedan. It's not quite that simple, of course. If Pedro is a race car, then his tender sesamoid bone is proof that he's paying the price for years of running at super-high RPMs. The pitching coach said as much, describing the "violent" rotation of Martinez's right foot during his delivery. It's been bothering Pedro since 2004 and forced him to end his season prematurely last September. Now the Mets are left wondering what to do about 2006 and beyond. Keeping Pedro in camp in March is the first step on the road map to prosperity. And then, sooner or later, the Mets will come to their turning point moment, choosing between Zito or Pelfrey, officially ushering in the post-Pedro era. E-mail: klapisch@northjersey.com

[seawolf17]

Everybody run over to mlb.com and order your Dominican Republic #9 REYES jerseys!

[metirish]

] Pedro to miss first round WBC BY JON HEYMAN AND DAVID LENNON STAFF CORRESPONDENTS February 23, 2006 PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. -- Pedro Martinez's lingering right big toe injury will keep him out of at least the opening-round games of the World Baseball Classic, Newsday has learned. Martinez said yesterday he is hoping to join his Dominican team for later rounds "if everything goes perfectly." "Without a doubt my country's people expect me to perform, but only if I'm healthy," Martinez told Newsday. "They know in the long run it's better to see me pitch every five days than not at all, even if it's the Classic." Mets officials met Tuesday with officials from the Dominican team and are closely monitoring the situation involving their star pitcher. They say they are putting their "trust" in Martinez to make the prudent calls. "We have full trust in Pedro," general manager Omar Minaya said. "I think he wants to play, and he's going to do everything he can to play. But he is very understanding of the bigger issues. We're confident he'll be OK as far as the season goes. He's not going to risk his career or his year for the sake of playing." Interest in Martinez's participation is high in his homeland, where he is an icon. Martinez said he would "love to play," but he understands his importance to the Mets and stressed he will not do anything to risk further injury. He has been diagnosed with cartilage damage in the toe, the same injury that hampered him late in the 2004 and '05 seasons. Martinez pointed out several steps remain before he's ready to pitch. "I'm optimistic, but I'm still trying to work my way through things," Martinez said. "Hopefully, my toe gives me the right signs. I need to work, and hopefully everything goes perfectly. If I'm not in position to help them, I don't want to mess it up." After his long-toss session on the outfield grass yesterday at Tradition Field, Martinez said his toe is "improving." He said he hopes to throw off harder ground or the front slope of the mound by the weekend. However, he also said, "I can't put a timetable on it. My body reacts differently every day." Martinez used plastic cleats for yesterday's sessions and is working his way up to his metal spikes, which have been modified by Nike to accommodate his injury. The Dominican team, a WBC favorite, plays first-round games against Venezuela March 7 and vs. Italy March 9, in Orlando. Stan Javier, general manager of the Dominican team, understands the uncertainty of the situation despite Martinez's strong desire to play. "Right now we have to wait and see how he feels," Javier said. "That's why it's so important to have the first week of spring training. He knows what he needs to do. He's been in the game a long time."

[nymr83]

9PM Friday on UPN- China v. Korea!
yikes, i cant believe they are putting this on primetime television especially for a game between 2 teams clearly in the lower half of the pool.

[Frayed Knot]

Nationals P Brian Lawrence was diagnosed with a torn labrum and is out until after midseason.

Dammit, I knew this was going to happen as soon as the WBC got going.
Oh, wait a minute!

[nymr83]

Obviously he got hurt getting ready to watch the tournament.

[Guest Rotblatt]

Clay Davenport over at BP weighted Pool A (first game this Thusday) in what was a pretty instructive look at how to handicap teams without having much first-hand knowledge of them.

It's subscribers only, but he picks Japan as the favorites, with Korea suprisingly close behind. From Davenport's projections, Taiwan won't even come close, and China's a joke.

http://www.baseballprospectus.com/article.php?articleid=4809

Maybe it's the Chiba/White Sox thing, but I really want Japan to kick ass and take names in the WBC.

Does that make me un-American?

[Guest Rotblatt]

I finally took a look at the rosters, and this could be kind of fun. I'm curious as to which players are going to come from out of nowhere to impress us . . .

Pool B sucks aside from the US, but the DR & Venezuela should both be pretty good from Pool D. Puerto Rico looks like it'll be the best in Pool C, but Cuba's kind of a dark horse candidate . . .

My best guess so far: Korea, Japan, US, Canada, Mexico, Puerto Rico, Cuba, DR & Puerto Rico advance to Round 2.

Of those, Japan, US, DR & Venezuela advance to the Semi's. Clearly, the US & DR have the best players, but I think Japan has a bit of an advantage in that they'll be taking this more seriously than the scattered US players.

I'm really looking forward to this. I had joked with my girlfriend about buying tickets to Puerto Rico to see this, and I kind of wish I had done it now.

[Guest ABG]

I'll actually be in Florida for work over next week. I was really hoping to catch Venezuela-D.R., but it appears to be sold out. I'll probably check out Signore Piazza's squad against Venezuela instead.

[metirish]

ties?

] NEW YORK (AP) -- Get ready for ties in the first World Baseball Classic. Organizers said Tuesday that games in the first two rounds of the tournament will be ended after 14 innings, even if teams remain tied. In addition, the tournament's technical committee may suspend semifinal games after 14 innings if "pitcher availability for both teams would be substantially jeopardized by not suspending the game and pitcher availability would be substantially enhanced by resuming the game as a suspended game on the next day." Ties would count as half a win and half a loss in determining a team's winning percentage, organizers said. Rain also could cause situations that deviate from normal major league rules. Game can be suspended, even if they have not gone long enough become regulation games. If the game affects which teams will advance, organizers will attempt to schedule the completion of the game for the following day. If it the game is suspended again during the first two rounds or the game isn't finished, the team that is ahead would be declared the winner if it is a regulation game, it would be a tie if the teams are even or it would be ruled "no game" if it hasn't become a regulation game.

[Willets Point]

="metirish"]ties?

[Guest SI Metman]

I was looking at the ol' TV Guide and saw that UPN 9 will be airing China vs Korea live on Friday night at 9 PM. ESPN2 will be airing a condensed version at 12:30 AM and has Taipei vs Japan at 4 AM. Both games are from the Tokyo Dome.

[Frayed Knot]

The entire grid for those jonesing for your TV baseball fix.

There will prolly be local stations - like the Ch 9 example from SI's post - that will pick up games listed as only available over ESPN Deportes.

[Guest Johnny Dickshot]

Another guy I met in line for tixx the other day was explaining he was born in the Domincan Republic and didn't know much about baseball (?) till became a Met fan during the 1986 series.

His advice: Get the pulse of interest in the WBC at Barber Shops in upper Manhattan. Nobody will be getting a haircut, but they will be packed anyway.

[Elster88]

How do you pronounce Taipei?

When playing Little League World Series for Nintendo, we always went with "tie-PAY".

[metirish]

I'll watch no doubt, Spring Training games get me excited this time fo year,I wonder if people in Holland care.

[Frayed Knot]

we always went with "tie-PAY".

Yup!

[metirish]

Great, now it's Pedro's turn.

] THE ASSOCIATED PRESS March 1, 2006, 2:44 PM EST PHOENIX -- Mets closer Billy Wagner and Cleveland pitcher C.C. Sabathia withdrew Wednesday from the U.S. roster for the World Baseball Classic and were replaced by Washington right-hander Gary Majewski and Yankees left-hander Al Leiter. Leiter becomes the fourth player from the Yankees on the 30-man roster, joining shortstop Derek Jeter, third baseman Alex Rodriguez and center fielder Johnny Damon. Two other Nationals are on the team: closer Chad Cordero and catcher Brian Schneider. The roster for the first round, initially announced Feb. 14, has to be finalized by noon EST Wednesday. "Although I would love to pitch in the inaugural World Baseball Classic and am proud to represent my country, I will not be ready to pitch in a competitive-game environment when play begins on March 7," Sabathia said in a statement released by the Indians.

[Frayed Knot]

Wagner also playing the "not ready" card. Also talked about wanting to get more familiar with his new team.

If these players continue to defect like this it's not going to be a good sign for the WBC as a whole. The players - as a whole - signed off on this but now too many individuals aren't so enthusiastic and this pulling out just gives credence to the nay-sayers who claim it's too much too soon even as MLB tries to promote it as something everyone's on board with.

[Frayed Knot]

Pedro now apparently out for all rounds in addition to the previously announced 1st-round no-show. I suppose he'll remain on their roster so could conceivably decide that he's OK and parachute in in the DR reaches a final, but he's almost certain to skip the whole thing.

Big bad Vlad also out due to recent deaths in the family.



BA presents the WBC's five best players you've never heard of

[Benjamin Grimm]

I'm starting to relish the idea of this being a major flop.

[Guest Rotblatt]

Frayed Knot wrote: Pedro now apparently out for all rounds in addition to the previously announced 1st-round no-show. I suppose he'll remain on their roster so could conceivably decide that he's OK and parachute in in the DR reaches a final, but he's almost certain to skip the whole thing. Big bad Vlad also out due to recent deaths in the family. BA presents the WBC's five best players you've never heard of

Cool. Note that there are two Japanese players in that list of five.

I'm totally rooting for them.

[metirish]

Manny Acta on Pedro.

] "It's a shame, but Pedro won't pitch in the Classic," Dominican manager and Mets third-base coach Manny Acta told ESPNdeportes. "I met with Pedro to talk about this; he did everything he could, and he was ready to join the team later in the competition, but his injury delayed his preparations."

[Elster88]

]Pedro now apparently out for all rounds in addition to the previously announced 1st-round no-show. I suppose he'll remain on their roster so could conceivably decide that he's OK and parachute in in the DR reaches a final, but he's almost certain to skip the whole thing.

From what I'm hearing, they weren't leaving this option open to players. They wanted guys who were healthy out of the gate on the roster. I could have that all mixed up.

[Frayed Knot]

No you're right, I had it wrong.

Turns out there's even a rule for this WBC where a player who participates in an exhibition game with his reg team CAN'T then go join his national WBC team. Not that Pedro has been in an official ex-game yet (nor have the Mets even had one) but the speculation I heard (and then repeated) that he had the option of doing one then the other isn't true.

Bottom line: he's out of WBC entirely.

[metirish]

FK, I'm watching the Phillies play the yanks on YES and Benie Williams is playing, Kay just said Bernie will be leaving the team after the game to join up with the PR WBC Team.

[Frayed Knot]

OK, maybe that rule applies to exhib-games after a particular date.
ARod, Jeter & Damon are playing too.