WBC Mets

[Edgy MD]

You love it, you hate it, but you ca ... OK, you mostly hate it, but it's competitive ball before competitive ball starts, and some familiar guys will be out there chasing the ball around, having fun, and pulling hammies. Let's take a look at the roster.

Australia
No Mets, past or present, on the Wallabees

Canada
2016 Met Jim Henderson will be bringing it for the Canucks

China
This team, formerly managed by Terry Collins, will be distressingly Metless.

Chinese Taipei
This "nation," which has no legal standing except as a sports entity, also lacks the advantages Metliness brings.

Colombia
2016 Cyclone/Firefly/B-Met swingman pitcher Nabil Crismatt will be suiting up for the Colombians, as well as 2015 Met Dilson Herrera, still the only Colombian in Mets history.

Cuba
No Mets will be playing for Cuba, as even after the US has returned international trade with The Pearl of the Antilles, their expatriate players are still considered traitors.

Dominican Republic
Paper Met Jose Bautista will join his Dominican hermanos, along with real flesh-and-blood Met José Reyes

Israel
Ike Davis, Met of 2010–2014 will join the Maccabean infield brigade, possibly fielding throws from current Met Ty Kelly, a native of the Stockton, California region of Israel.

Italy
Between pitches, Brandon Nimmo will be working on his Catalan dialect in the Italian outfield.

Japan
We don't need your stinking Mets.

Mexico
Every team needs a catcher, and 2016 Las Vegan Xorge Carrillo will be stopping pitches before they become passed balls. That might be a good skill to come to the table with, because 2006-2010 Met lightning rod Oliver Perez will be in the Jumping Beans' bullpen. Joining Oliver will be 2016 Met Fernando Salas and stone-faced 2013-2015 Flushing bullpenner Carlos Torres.

Netherlands
I don't know whether Kirk Nieuwenhuiss and Matt den Dekker are too good for the Dutch team or the Dutchmen are too good for them, but no familiar names appear on the Netherlander roster.

Puerto Rico
You just say the word, "Puerto" followed by "Rico," and Carlos Beltran is on a plane in 10 minutes, and he'll be representing his countrymen this year, hoping his post-season skills translate to pre-season tournaments. He'll be joined by Louisianan-Puerto Rican and 2016 Met, reliever Seth Lugo. Fellow 2016-er T.J. Rivera (Bronx' own) will be infielding.

South Korea
Utterly metless.

United States
Daniel Murphy loves his country and will fight for it in the WBC.

Venezuela
It's not a party without a guy name Asdrubal, so the Mets are loaning out Asdrubal Cabrera to the WBC, leading Venezuelans including Francisco Rodriguez into battle. Was that guy really a Met? Did that even really happen?

Join me in wishing our brave men luck and health.

[seawolf17]

Are the full rosters all announced?

[Ceetar]

I mostly like it actually.

[Benjamin Grimm]

I was surprised at how into it I was in 2006. And I was looking forward to it in 2009 and was then surprised at how disinterested I was. I didn't pay it any attention at all in 2013 either, and probably won't in 2017, unless I surprise myself again.

[Lefty Specialist]

Wish them health. I don't care about luck. I'm happy there are as few Mets as possible.

[MFS62]

I was floored by the use of x' as the possessive. I took 5 years of Spanish and never came across that. We used "de la Bronx". (of the Bronx)

Later

[Frayed Knot]

I just look at the WBC as being slightly more interesting than the usual spring training season.
I don't get all jingoistic about the results or anything, but it adds a small element of fun that's missing from typical run-of-the-mill ST.

[bmfc1]

Josh Satin is also on Team Israel.

[Edgy MD]

I must've missed that. Good catch.

Satin has retired from pro ball, citing diminished skillz due to head injuries, but apparently has enough left to do a few weeks of battling for the Israelis.

[batmagadanleadoff]

Frayed Knot wrote: I just look at the WBC as being slightly more interesting than the usual spring training season. I don't get all jingoistic about the results or anything, but it adds a small element of fun that's missing from typical run-of-the-mill ST.

To me, the WBC is slightly less interesting than spring training. And to give you an idea of how disinterested I am about spring training, I doubt that I saw even half an inning of spring training last year.

[bmfc1]

I hope that the players from the other countries are allowed in the United States.

[Edgy MD]

There'll always be a different standard for the rich than the poor.

As for minor league players, well, they're the rich's cheap, unorganized labor pool. I think they'll get in!

[Frayed Knot]

WBC updates as apparently the rosters are now set.
Mets have the second most players in the tourney (13) and the most (9) from their 40-man roster.



Dom Rep: Jose Reyes, Hansel Robles, Jeurys Familia

Israel: Ty Kelly

Italy: Nimmo & Cecchini

Peurto Rico: Seth Lugo, Rene Rivera, TJ Rivera

Colombia: Nabil Crismatt*, Exequiel Zabaleta*

Netherlands: Nelmerson Angela*

Mexico: Xorge Carrillo*



* non 40-man roster guys

[Edgy MD]

The top two teams in each group advance. Pool A seems to be the softest, where South Korea stands out as the favorite, with Chinese Taipei a distant second. The toughest group seems to be Pool D, with Puerto Rico stacked and Venezuela always a threat, but Mexico a proud, competitive baseball nation that has depth, not just with MLB and MiLB players, but unknowns (to us) who toil in the Mexican League and NPB. My Daddy taught me to never, ever bet against Ollie Perez.

[fimg=750]https://i.kinja-img.com/gawker-media/image/upload/bi7wl54ib05m0ujcfibg.png[/fimg]

[Guest LeiterWagnerFasterStrongr]

So... the good news is, we keep Ass-drubbin' for the entirety of ST... and he'll be highly motivated to f£ck sh#t up.

(Getting edged out by Alcides Ecobar and Galvis and Yangervis Solarte? Yeesh.)

[A Boy Named Seo]

I'm starting to get "buy WBC bullshit!" emails from MLB every day and I'm guessing that MLB is exclusively in charge of all logos/uni's/merch for half or soof the teams, the exceptions being Cuba, Japan, Australia, China, South Korea, Chinese Taipei? Anyone know if that's the case? All the logos, etc. that they sell seem to be mostly the same as years previous, but this year all the uniforms are of the sleeveless variety (except Japan).

Of what I've seen and is for sale on MLB's site, I like Japan's home jersey best, followed closely by Italy and their classic, Dodger-y look (minus the stupid sleeves).





USA's jerseys are still garbage. I don't remember for certain, but their road uni's look darker now, borrowing from the Diamondbacks "Garbage Men from Space" look:



I still love Mexico's green hat.



Israel's is pretty cool, too, but reminds me of the box that carries this delicious Jewish cake we get every year around the holidays. I wish I could find a picture of that box, too.



Gun to your head, if you had to buy one WBC piece of merch, what would you buy?

[Ceetar]

I mean, I'm not buying non-USA stuff, so probably that.

I own, and almost fit into, a Wright-4 shirtsey from 2009 that I bought at the USA-PR game.

[Edgy MD]

Ireland got knocked out in the prelims. Their jerseys weren't much, but I salute them for eschewing the shamrock and the tricolor and instead adorning their hats with the more traditional symbol of the harp.

It could have been executed more cleanly, and with some more definition, but still, it's insignia'd in there, rather then patched.

[nymr83]

just took a look- who the heck is paying $300 for a replica Freddie Freeman Canadian jersey?

[A Boy Named Seo]

I like the harp!

[nymr83]

i like the concept but that is a poorly done graphic

[Benjamin Grimm]

A Boy Named Seo wrote: Gun to your head, if you had to buy one WBC piece of merch, what would you buy?

Whatever was cheapest, and I'd deliver it straight to the clothing donation dropbox.

[seawolf17]

I'd buy an Italia PIAZZA 31 shirt. Wanted to buy a USA JANKOWSKI 6 shirt when he was on the team a few years back but they never made custom shirts available.

[Guest 41Forever]

At first I liked the Australian team, but I thought it borrows a little too much from the Athletics. The stars are cool, through!


I do like the China team cap. It's an original color scheme, the C is pretty cool.

Edited March 1, 2017 by Guest

[Guest John Cougar Lunchbucket]

I kinda dig the Mexico sombrero

[Edgy MD]

Spotted on the Taiwan/Chinese Taipei roster: 2011 Met Chin-lung Hu, now an outfielder.