WBC - 1st Round

[MFS62]

bmfc1 wrote: In the WBC, you can have a walk-off HR to win the game 11-0 (because of a "slaughter" rule). That's our TJ Rivera: http://m.mlb.com/video/topic/31426364/v1235174983/venpur-rivera-enacts-mercy-rule-with-gameending-hr

Earlier in the game, he hit a ball to the centerfield wall that was caught.
Homey's showing some power.

Later

[Frayed Knot]

Andrew Miller clearly hates America

[G-Fafif]

Team Israel is real. Ty, Ike and the gang took it to Cuba, 4-1.

[MFS62]

G-Fafif wrote: Team Israel is real. Ty, Ike and the gang took it to Cuba, 4-1.

Did any of the Cuban players defect to Israel?

Later

[Guest John Cougar Lunchbucket]

Awesome Houdini by Robles. Tied in b9th, 2 on, 0 out. Got 2 double plays. First wasn't turned making 1st and 3rd 1 out then a bang bang 7-2 play to end the inning that to put it mildly upset the Columbians

[Frayed Knot]

Not quite sure what the Colombians were all nuts over, the dude was clearly out.
Had to send him though, even though the FO wasn't that deep.

[Guest d'Kong76]

I'm tuned in since the 7th or so, fun stuff. Yeah, no idea what the hub
bub was over play at the plate... cool slow-mo hi-def replay stuff, gets
better and better each year.

The funny thing was in the 8th or so the talking-head in the booth says
he's not sure the Colombian fans in the stands grasp (paraphrasing, I
forget how he put it) the importance of the game. I was like, wuh??,
you saying Colombian fans are stupid bro? It was funny, you had to be
there maybe...

[ashie62]

Saw something about Yadier Molina complaining about security in the Mexico's players families section.

So much so the team allegedly wanted to fly out pronto. It may be the WBC but they are still mostly millionaires and fear kidnapping and such I assume.

[Guest d'Kong76]

Feel bad for Colombia, and their under-informed fans...

[Centerfield]

Nimmo goes down with a hamstring injury. Out several weeks.

I feel bad for him, but you have to question the judgment of leaving spring training when you are on the brink of the bigs, to play for a country that you kinda sorta are connected to.

Hope those games were worth your shot at the Show.

[Frayed Knot]

Of course guys can and do get hurt in regular ST games as well, so Nimmo just as easily could have pulled his hammy chasing a fly ball in Pt St Lucie as he did while playing the OF for Italy.

[Centerfield]

Sure, but if I'm the organization I view it differently if a kid gets hurt while hustling to make the team, versus getting while playing in an exhibition tournament. And I give deference to the actual foreign players who face pressure back home to represent. But guys like Lugo and Nimmo? I just shake my head.

In the end it probably won't make a difference. If the talent is there eventually he'll be in the bigs. But it just boggles my mind that a minor leaguer on the cusp would have anything else on his mind.

I will now stop my old man rant.

[Frayed Knot]

I dunno, I can't see the teams holding it against players because, once every four years, a couple of guys do a portion of ST off campus, so to speak.
If anything, guys like Nimmo & Lugo probably gave the team extra looks this past week (even if only on TV although they likely also have scouts on site) while not taking playing time from other guys in camp. There was even an article in one of the papers (maybe Saturday) about how Lugo's stellar outing for Puerto Rico helped out his case for maybe making the rotation.




On to other more important WBC news: Christian Yelich's mom, interviewed from the stands a few minutes ago ... thumbs up!! It helps that she looked no more than maybe five years older than him.





oe: and as if on cue, newly signed (to the tune of $70 million) Ian Desmond gets hit by a pitch in Rockies camp today and is out with a broken hand

[Fman99]

I'm warming to these games. They're on in prime time and the fans give a hoot. It doesn't have all the lazy nonchalance of spring training baseball.

[G-Fafif]

While certain players are still distasteful based on ongoing associations (i.e. Molina, every 2015 Royal), I like that I don't have anything against any of these temporary teams. Even the opponents of those I'm rooting for seem admirable in the WBC context.

It helps to have Jeter uninvolved.

[Frayed Knot]

Team Israel's streak is about to end as they're on the short end of a 10-2 thumping from the Netherlands in the 8th inning of their second game of the 2nd round.


And they're not happy in Mexico. Though three teams from that group -- Mexico, Venezuela, and Italy -- all finished the opening round with a 1-2 record, Mexico has been eliminated on the basis of most runs allowed per inning but they don't like how the math was done. Their biggest problem goes back to their opening game when they allowed 5 runs in the 9th inning to Italy because not only did they lose the game but, since all those runs occurred without Mexico recording an out, the runs got added to the total but not the inning. That kicked up their RA/inning figure just enough to where it'll be Italy & Venezuela in a one-game playoff (later today) to determine who, along with undefeated Puerto Rico, will advance from that group.
No word whether anyone in the Trump administration was involved in the decision.

Edited March 13, 2017 by Guest

[Lefty Specialist]

Saw that 'start the inning with runners on first & second' rule in the DR/Colombia game. I hated it in the abstract, but hated it even more seeing it in action. It's a mind-bogglingly stupid idea. After a tight, hard-fought game, they give up 6 runs in an inning. Absurd.

[Frayed Knot]

Sure, although I can understand why they want to use it in a short tournament such as this when you're dealing with not only pitching limits but also a strict schedule and sometimes international travel between rounds.

It's come up twice so far in this tourney and in both cases the visiting team scored multiple runs in the top half of the inning while the home team got shut-out in the bottom half trying to match.

[Guest Mets Willets Point]

Hup, honkbal!

[Edgy MD]

Frayed Knot wrote: Sure, although I can understand why they want to use it in a short tournament such as this when you're dealing with not only pitching limits but also a strict schedule and sometimes international travel between rounds. It's come up twice so far in this tourney and in both cases the visiting team scored multiple runs in the top half of the inning while the home team got shut-out in the bottom half trying to match.

Which sort of makes sense. If you're in an extra inning tie, and the first two batters reach base, your instinct is going to be to try and make perfect pitches to achieve a shutout inning, and if trying to be too cute risks the big inning, so be it. You're playing with your back against the wall. You've got to stop those baserunners from scoring. Hold the runners, pitch for strikeouts, play the infield in as soon as a runner gets to third.

In the bottom of the inning, with several runs home, the visiting team is not particularly worried about the baserunners, and will just pitch to get outs.

I think the home team has to adopt a difficult new mindset, taking the field in the top half of the inning concentrating on outs also, not worrying too much about the runners, knowing that they will have the same automatic rally-starter in the bottom of the inning and a damn good chance to get even.

[Guest Mets Willets Point]

Just realized that the remaining USA games and the championship round are in California and will be late starts in the Eastern Time Zone. Not good for my 9 y.o. who is inordinately excited about this tournament.