Batter's Box Interactive Magazine - How's the WBC so far?

Sickness continues to infest the NFH homestead, and as a result I got to watch almost all of two baseball games!

Random thoughts to follow...

I was interested in what the ESPN announcers would say about Alex Rios during the Puerto Rico / Venezuela game. Like a lot of people, I think that he will be a major component of the success of the Jays if he can put it all together this year. Before being lifted for a pinch-hitter, Rios had two at-bats. During the first one, the announcers chatted about something unrelated to Alex Rios, but at least kept track of the balls and strikes. During the second at-bat, they didn't say who he was when he came up, and then proceeded to talk about the following:

- how many great catchers have come from Puerto Rico

- how many Puerto Rican catchers are playing in the major leagues today

- how Carlos Delgado should help the Mets, oh, and did you know he broke in as a catcher? (They didn't mention with what team or the relationship-by-former-team to Rios, who was still batting)

- the weather

The next time they mentioned Rios, it was to say that he was out.

I'm not really complaining -- the Jays are an under-the-radar team in America, and Rios is an under-the-radar player on an under-the-radar team. I was just disappointed not to hear some analysis of his play from someone without any kind of emotional investment in him or deep prior knowledge of him.

I was surprised to see Venezuela take the game so definitively, since the Puerto Rican team had been stomping the competition so far and I was figuring on a Puerto Rico vs. Korea finale.

I was happy to see Chacin make it into the game for Venezuela, and the announcers seemed prepared to talk about him... but then he was lifted after one batter.

Javy Lopez -- he can play first base!

The game ended, and then Sportsnet cut to the USA - Korea match that was in the fourth inning, with Korea ahead 3-1. I thought that could be interesting, so I stuck a disc in the recorder and went to bed. Theo and I had a great time watching it this morning.

My strongest impression of that game was the Korean caps -- they're really quite silly to look at on first glance -- baby blue, mesh-backed, with a very plain white capital K on the front, a lot like a generic little league cap -- but the USA caps were just horrendously overdone by comparison. Those two have inspired me, and I intend to have a comparitive review ready by the end of the week, declaring winners and losers of all of the caps in the WBC. Perhaps I will even buy the winner for myself, since on sunny days I need a cap down there in the camera bay, and wearing an MLB team cap is poor form.

How are you guys enjoying the Classic so far?

Posted by Named For Hank on Tuesday, March 14 2006 @ 01:45 PM EST.

How's the WBC so far? | 73 comments | Create New Account

The following comments are owned by whomever posted them. This site is not responsible for what they say.

subculture - Tuesday, March 14 2006 @ 02:13 PM EST (#142497) #

The classic has become very compelling and interesting for me, partly b/c of the fact that its the only baseball around, partly b/c of the novelty, and partly b/c as a Korean-born Canadian, BOTH of my teams have beaten the US "juggernaut".

I think all of the remaining 8 teams are strong enough to pull out a victory, either with sheer talent and power, or with great pitching and solid fundamental baseball skills.

The tough part is that each matchup is just 1 game, instead of 3/5, 4/7 etc.... which you'd think would favour the US more... although I could be convinced otherwise...

DrJohnEvans - Tuesday, March 14 2006 @ 02:30 PM EST (#142498) #

I bought a Team Canada cap a few weeks ago. The logo's a little cheesy and has a bit of an unpolished feel to it, but so does the team, so that's okay.

I think the Australia cap is one of the better-designed ones out there. It's a little more intricate than just a vaguely stylized "A", but not so busy that it's messy.

eeleye - Tuesday, March 14 2006 @ 02:43 PM EST (#142500) #

I love it.

VBF - Tuesday, March 14 2006 @ 02:57 PM EST (#142501) #

Keep in mind that these logos weren't just created for the WBC. The Baseball Canada logo on the hats has been around for quite a while, iirc. I'm still trying to find a place where I can buy one without needing to use a credit card.

Dayn Perry came out with his power rankings and ranked the Red Sox at number one. Yea, right. Detroit made 10th and the Jays 9th.

Like others, I've been disappointed with Chacin's playing time. Do you stick in Scott Downs to pitch the Saturday against the D-Rays and let Chacin get some practice in?

Jim - TBG - Tuesday, March 14 2006 @ 03:36 PM EST (#142503) #

Meaningful baseball in March is a beautiful thing.

My impression of the Korean uniforms as a whole was "huh, you'd think in a country of 50 million, there'd be ONE graphic designer." Not that you have to go all new-age Olympics, but they do look a little bit last minute.

The caps in general would look better with the flags on the back instead of the rather gaudy WBC logo. But enough of the sartorial commentary.

It was too bad that Japan suffered a bad call against the US. If that had happened against Canada, the black helicopter conspiracy theorists would have been out in force. It would be interesting to see the reaction in the
Japanese press.

DrJohnEvans - Tuesday, March 14 2006 @ 03:37 PM EST (#142504) #

Keep in mind that these logos weren't just created for the WBC.

Yes, both the Baseball Canada and USA Baseball logos have been in use for the national teams for quite some time. All the WBC did was expand the amount of branded merchandise available for purchase. Neither my Spanish nor my Japanese is up to par, so what little research I've done hasn't told me much, but I have a feeling that many of the other team's logos were created for the WBC. That doesn't excuse their mundane nature, though, and it certainly doesn't excuse the English team names on every single team uniform.

VBF - Tuesday, March 14 2006 @ 03:53 PM EST (#142505) #

Hehe, yea. Cuba's have been around too, but I can't stand to watch baseball players wearing red pants. It's like they're playing in pajamas.

I was also a little surprised with Venezuela's unusual maroon coloured uniforms. Any cultural/historical significance about maroon?

subculture - Tuesday, March 14 2006 @ 03:56 PM EST (#142506) #

Yeah that call against the Japanese was terrible, esp. considering the 2b umpire had the better angle and had already made the right call. I think the home plate ump who blew the call isn't going to be leaving the minor leagues anytime soon....

The US is fortunate that they're not 0-2 and eliminated...

Supposedly the 4 national Japanese papers had it on their front page.... calling for international umps next time.

I've actually had this called against me in company league games, where I shifted my weight to my back foot in preparation to tag up, and made sure not to leave the bag until the ball was caught... however the ump just saw the inital motion and assumed I had left the bag early. I could understand a volunteer ump in a company softball league blowing this call, but not a professional umpire in the World Baseball Classic, and especially when he has other umps to rely on.

HoJu - Tuesday, March 14 2006 @ 04:01 PM EST (#142507) #

Venezuela's colours remind me of the Washington Redskins.

Ron - Tuesday, March 14 2006 @ 04:08 PM EST (#142508) #

I actually consider the Jays to be an over the radar team in America. I've been listening to a lot of American radio, browsing sites like foxsports, espn, cnnsi, and reading season preview mags in the supermarket. There's a lot of buzz about the Jays down South.

Heck the Jays have probably recieved more press in the past 4 months in American than the past 4 years combined.

Nick - Tuesday, March 14 2006 @ 08:38 PM EST (#142536) #

The WBC is here to stay. I've had a blast following it. I understand the substantial investment George Steinbrenner has put into his team, but the great games and enthusiasm of the players and fans have made his temper tantrum look even sillier than I initially thought.

I have been surprised by the overwhelmingly positive reception by the US media. I thought it would be dismissed as a gimmick, but I have read mostly positive reviews. Hopefully next time around, ESPN will do a better job covering the games. The US-Korea game last night was shown on a tape delay. That's ridiculous.

While the timing is not exactly convenient for most teams, I still think March is the best time to have it, given that the event is going to be every 4 years after 2009.

Mylegacy - Tuesday, March 14 2006 @ 08:40 PM EST (#142537) #

The Korean uniform p!ssed me off. OK, well a little anyway.

If I was Korean, and PROUD of it, and if I were, I would be...I'd have the word KOREA written, without apologies, in KOREAN!

Let the running dog westerners figure it out! The BEAUTY of this tournament is to see FOREIGN stuff. A Beaver, using a Narwhale tusk as a writing instrument, should have written CANADA on our jerseys in Maple Syrup! (With the French translation in brackets, just below the English, and in a slightly smaller font.)

AND, the jerseys should have been manufactured in China or Malaysia, like everything else here.

Named For Hank - Tuesday, March 14 2006 @ 09:13 PM EST (#142541) #

I think the only teams without their names in "English" on their jerseys are Italy and the Dominican Republic (who are Italia and Dominica respectively).

As someone who almost bought a way cool Alexander Ovechkin Russian club team jersey in Washington last week (where the only English word was "Samsung" in the sponsor logo), I'd have loved to see each jersey in its own language.

Though the Japanese baseball league jerseys are all in English, are they not?

unclejim - Tuesday, March 14 2006 @ 09:59 PM EST (#142544) #

I'm currently down in La enjoying the games live and for me its great baseball.

I think though the USA team has shown its colours and I have severe doubts if they're going to lst much longer in the tournament. All the players for other teams are playing afor pride and passion, but I get a strong sense most of the USA players (but not all) are really treating this as a spring training warm up... If this tournament is going to be a long term success then it will need the players to believe that winning this is a bigger event than winnning the World Series. You ask any english footballer whether they'd sooner win the English League or win the World Cup.. its a no brainer.

Another observation is that Buck Martinez appears to be handicaped into having to play all his squad, maybe as part of the 'deal' that they play for the USA team rather than spring training... Michael Young goes something like 3-4 v Japan and is benched for Utley v Korea who commits 2 errors... The only reason to make that change is to give Utley a match.

Regardless, its great to see these games and I have a feeling by the time the semi-finals come around and games become must-win the tension levels are gonna shoot.

Cristian - Tuesday, March 14 2006 @ 10:25 PM EST (#142547) #

You ask any english footballer whether they'd sooner win the English League or win the World Cup.. its a no brainer.

I've heard the World Cup comparison made a few times in regards to the WBC. People forget that the first World Cup was a 13 team affair. The teams didn't have to qualify as it was an invitation-only affair. My point is that the World Cup has evolved over its 75 year history into the current tournament involving more countries than the UN. The WBC should be judged on what it becomes, not what it currently is. On that note, I won't be watching any baseball this June as my attention will be elsewhere.

eeleye - Tuesday, March 14 2006 @ 10:45 PM EST (#142552) #

The thing is, the stands never look very full. And also, do they plan to play every WBC in the US? WIll it ever be played in Europe, or Puerto Rico, etc.

VBF - Tuesday, March 14 2006 @ 10:56 PM EST (#142555) #

The stands not being full for the most part, is a little beyond one's control. Should more than 30,000 people have shown up for the Canada/U.S. game? Absolutely, and I think that game would've sold out at the RC, no brainer. I could see Americans in general not taking to it, but somewhere I would've expected that 50,000 Americans out of 300 million would've bought a ticket.

And I can imagine that alot of the tickets there were given free to various corporations. The ratings prove the contrary--that Americans really did tune in to watch. I guess the first is a trial to many, but they couldn't get an extra 15,000 people?

But even then, if you hold a South Africa/Canada game in Scottsdale, you can't expect them to even sellout a 8,000 seat park. The location is just too 'out there'. I think the best of both worlds would be to hold a round of games at the Dome. Now that makes sense.

zaptom - Tuesday, March 14 2006 @ 11:01 PM EST (#142556) #

Japan defeated Mexico 6-1 and the Dominican Rep. edged Venezuela 2-1 to advance to the final four.

BallGuy - Tuesday, March 14 2006 @ 11:05 PM EST (#142557) #

I couldn't care less about the WBC. It has no meaning for me. I have a lot of difficulty getting behind a newly created tournament (see World Cup of Hockey) that doesn't really stand for anything. It has no tradition or history. I guess you could say I am not emotionally involved the way I am with MLB teams.
Sure baseball on TV in March is great but I'd still rather see some MLB teams getting ready for the season so I can get an inkling of how certain teams are going to make out.

Jim - TBG - Tuesday, March 14 2006 @ 11:23 PM EST (#142559) #

NFH, you're quite right, the Japanese jerseys are in English. Also, the Netherlands jerseys read Nederland.

I think it would be cool if the jerseys were in the language of the country in which the finals take place. So if the next WBC ends in Japan, all the jerseys are in Japanese. That's a whole extra set of merchandise to exploit.

It has no tradition or history.

But as Grandpa Simpson said about the SuperBowl "If we don't support this thing, it might never catch on." For a first time event, the WBC seems to be attracting a decent and growing audience.

Great game tonight, watching ex-Blue Jays starter-turned- closer Miguel Batista dueling ex-Blue Jays closer-turned-starter-turned-closer-turned-starter Kelvim Escobar.

John Northey - Tuesday, March 14 2006 @ 11:26 PM EST (#142560) #

The WBC is a rookie, and like all rookies it has to prove itself the first time, the second time, and a third time before anyone really thinks it is for real. To Bud it is a hot rookie so it'll get a second chance even if it doesn't do great at first (ala Rios). To many others it is like Josh Towers, some potential but one mistake and its gone.

Geoff - Tuesday, March 14 2006 @ 11:43 PM EST (#142561) #

It has no tradition or history.

No tradition or history? C'mon, this isn't like expansion franchises battling it out. These are national teams with a great deal of tradition, history and culture behind them.

The rivalries have history to them. The teams exhibit plenty of tradition. Of course, if you're just looking at the highly paid Americans flubbing around like a bunch of pansies who don't care about the game and show no signs of cohesiveness, no tradition, nothing noteworthy to remember, then yes, I'd say take your blinders off and get a good look at the fuel that's firing just about every other team. Drop the xenophobia and cheer for someone overseas. They have some inspiring teams off this continent and they really do deserve accolades for playing at a high level.

You could watch a ton of 'prospects' from every major league team battle it out in spring training where every successful player is met with, 'it's only spring training, he won't make it this year and these games don't matter.' and every regular mailing it in is met with 'it's only spring training, he'll be there when it counts', SO THAT you can get an inkling of what the regular season is going to look like.

Hey, it's only spring training, take another crack at trashing this tournament that sprang up in the middle of the most boring competition of the year.

Rob - Tuesday, March 14 2006 @ 11:59 PM EST (#142562) #

Great game tonight, watching ex-Blue Jays starter-turned- closer Miguel Batista dueling ex-Blue Jays closer-turned-starter-turned-closer-turned-starter Kelvim Escobar.

Don't forget a Very Special Appearance by Alberto Castillo!

laketrout - Wednesday, March 15 2006 @ 08:09 AM EST (#142567) #

Maybe Buck Martinez is having strings pulled in the background on who he can play and when (why is Al Leiter playing?). But I can think of one out-of-work manager who would have been a better fit for a veteran laden team - Cito Gaston. I doubt he was asked as he's now stuck with a stigma of having been out of the game too long. Plus the main reason Buck was selected is that he's an ESPN announcer and the games are being broadcast on ESPN.

John Northey - Wednesday, March 15 2006 @ 08:17 AM EST (#142568) #

Laketrout, great point. Cito would've been perfect for running the US team. A guy who has earned some players respect (if not the media) by winning two World Series and having been a former player. Known for taking underachievers and making them win, he would have been 100 times better than Buck. Buck just made no sense to be the manager of team USA outside of his ESPN connection. I guess they thought he'd be a great spokesman and that any idiot could run a team this deep (although having Leiter on the team does make one wonder).

eeleye - Wednesday, March 15 2006 @ 09:29 AM EST (#142570) #

Okay, so this is what happens for USA to be elimintated. Basically, assuming they win vs. Mexico, which they probably will, though not guaranteed from the previous 2-0 victory, today, if Japan beats Korea by a score of 6-5 or any score under that, then each team will be 2-1, except USA will have let up 10 runs, and Japan and Korea 9 or less....I personally was hoping DOminican and states were eliminated because I wanna see some non-powerhouse country win. I hope now someone can handl Dominican. Maybe Puerto Rico takes Cuba today and then Dominican this weekend? Puerto Rico vs. Korea final, how cool would that be?

John Northey - Wednesday, March 15 2006 @ 09:47 AM EST (#142571) #

So the US could be eliminated a lot easier than in the first round. Should be interesting to see. I wonder if any team will ever consider Buck seriously as manager after this mess. Losing to Canada and South Korea, almost eliminated in the first round and now on edge in round 2. Unless the States suddenly does a charge (and makes round 3) and plays everyone like they did South Africa I know I'd never give Buck the time of day when it comes to a position like manager.

huckamaniac - Wednesday, March 15 2006 @ 10:16 AM EST (#142574) #

Honestly, I don't like that they had a second round robin after the teams advance out of their pool. They should have just gone with single elimination instead. I'm also not a fan of having teams advance based on the fewest runs allowed (why not run differential?). I also had a problem with the announcing of Canada's games. Rick Sutcliffe was basically saying at points that U.S. had won when they put up 6 runs against Canada. I wouldn't expect announcer to give the victory to a team down 2 runs in the world series (or any other game, regardless of their talent) so I don't why he felt it appropriate in that case. He also pretty much said the US was going to advance after the first 2 runs Mexico scored against Canada (ultimately, he was right in this case). I would have liked it if they talked more about teams other than the United States and more about the players and teams I know less about.
I've enjoyed the watching the games between the Latin American Teams in Puerto Rico......there seems to be an excitment and intensity that is missing from some of the other games. Last night I forgot that I was actually watching what is the equivalent of Spring Training!

huckamaniac - Wednesday, March 15 2006 @ 10:22 AM EST (#142575) #

Ooops, I forgot to post this before, but Ball Guy, The World Cup of Hockey isn't really a new tournament. It's a renamed and modified version of the Canada Cup (although it has definitely lost some of its lusted with the Olympics).

Geoff - Wednesday, March 15 2006 @ 10:53 AM EST (#142577) #

I never hear this point made but if Canada beat the U.S. by more than two runs, they would have had a bigger cushion against Mexico.

And what would be different if everything was based on run differential? We beat the US by X runs, we cannot allow more than X runs to Mexico. The difference is only that if it was run differential, we could get away with losing by X runs to Mexico, regardless of how many they scored.

Yes, ESPN has been very good about featuring announcers that are a little conceited, who will talk all game about the American team no matter who's playing. I'm hearing a lot of "The United States should not need to play better baseball. It should cruise through these games." conceited b.s. -- story.

If anything is killing this tournament, it's listening to the American whining that their team is not measuring up to other teams.

And it's looking like Buck has watched any chance at managing in the majors become vaporized. Or maybe the Royals will give him a chance. And maybe next WBC, Team USA will decide to send the Royals to represent them instead of the billion-dollar All-Star team.

Mike T - Wednesday, March 15 2006 @ 12:35 PM EST (#142586) #

While getting my daily fix of Blue Jay articles I came across one that I thought was worth posting, in case some of you missed it :D

http://www.torontosun.com/Sports/Baseball/2006/03/15/1489041-sun.html

eeleye - Wednesday, March 15 2006 @ 12:48 PM EST (#142588) #

Oh that article was so bittersweet. It made me a bit sad at the end when he was at a loss for words - does this imply he kind of is at odds with JP Riccardi?

Gerry - Wednesday, March 15 2006 @ 01:08 PM EST (#142589) #

When I got to the bottom of the story and saw the last line, I realized I had not noted who wrote it. I assumed it was Bob Elliott and amazingly I was right. You can't have an Elliott story without a shot at JP.

Ken Kosowan - Wednesday, March 15 2006 @ 03:33 PM EST (#142596) #

Ken Rosenthal continues to show his feelings about the Jays' infield defence in today's column on FOX Sports.

http://msn.foxsports.com/mlb/story/5412672

Snickers, he says?

Here's the question however.... Can the Jays compete this year with what many in the media consider to be a, "shoddy" infield defence?

Personally, I don't feel that Adams and Hill are liabilities. Glaus has been injured of late, but from looking at his stats, he doesn't seem to be the lump of coal he's being made into.

Ryan Day - Wednesday, March 15 2006 @ 04:23 PM EST (#142598) #

Rosenthal also opens his column with the observation that it didn't seem to make sense for the Dodgers to sign Rafael Furcal when they already had Cesar Izturis, so go figure.

Okay, sure - Aaron Hill won't be as good as Orlando Hudson. Duh. And yes, there will be balls to get past him that will make the fans wish O-Dog was still in town.

But then, there are also going to be balls that go past him at the plate that Orlando would have struck out on. There are going to be balls flying to the gaps for doubles that Orlando would have popped up.

I think the net improvement will work out in the Jays' favour, even if there are a few growing pains.

zaptom - Wednesday, March 15 2006 @ 04:40 PM EST (#142599) #

Since this a 'Notes from Nowhere' thread...

I just got a brand new baseball glove just in time for spring. It's a Worth WS130, nice and black with a closed pocket, and at 13", I can play IF and OF with it. I quite like it.

Now heres my problem. Whats the best way to break it in. I did some googling and I found alot of conflicting infomation. Such as:

- Submerge it bucket of water for 4 minutes (absurd!)
- Bake it in the oven (... right...)
- Just leave it in the back of the car for a while (I'm not that lazy)
- Lube it up with Vaseline, shaving cream, mink oil, saddle soap. (What if my glove has sensitive skin, or needs some Aloe Vera!)

It seems that only the glove makers suggest using their own brand of glove conditioner. Alas, Worth is the only company that doesnt mention anything at all.

So before I roast/drown/lubricate my glove, I think I'll ask for your advice. So far, I'm wearing it a lot and pounding it with a ball. Whuddya think I should do next? Thanks guys.

Greg - Wednesday, March 15 2006 @ 07:02 PM EST (#142607) #

The one draw-back thus far has been to sour me on Chase Utley, formerly one of my favourite young players

That premature bat-flip against Canada had me denouncing him as a human being for about an hour and a half...

And I'm not one to go back on my immediate, irrational emotional responses to sporting events

Greg - Wednesday, March 15 2006 @ 07:07 PM EST (#142608) #

My brother got a new glove last spring, and he tried out moisturizing cream, sticking a softball in there and winding it up tight and then microwaving it....not sure how long.

He seemed to be happy with the results

Although I would never do that

I always just bought used gloves...same model too! I've had the same blue Lloyd Moseby autorgraphed glove through 3 lives so far

huckamaniac - Thursday, March 16 2006 @ 10:45 AM EST (#142625) #

I'm not sure of the name of it but there's a cream you can buy that's mad to be used on baseball gloves and worked well on mine a few years ago.

VBF - Thursday, March 16 2006 @ 10:53 AM EST (#142626) #

Did anybody notice that after a controversial call in yesterday's Cuba game that the Cuban manager required a translator to translate his complaint (which was likely riddled with profanity) to the umpire? Didn't it seem a little silly?

I think it's become apparant that WBC officials need to look at hiring international umpires for this competition. There's been quite a bit of controversy around umpiring already with the Japan/U.S. game and I'm sure there's professoinal umpires out there that can speak both Spanish and English which would probably make communication alot easier for both sides.

Geoff - Thursday, March 16 2006 @ 12:04 PM EST (#142639) #

But if you get umpires that speak Spanish and English to help both teams, what will you be doing for Korea and Japan? You think team America will stand for umpires who can speak some Korean or Japanese but aren't the BEST umpires available? Or even a fluent Japanese umpire with a poor command of English? Has it happened?

And even if you have a major league umpire who can speak Spanish, will he be fluent enough to understand the Spanish of Ozzie Guillen or the dialects of any of the other Carribean teams?

Heading into this tournament, I was curious how they would handle these issues, and I haven't found out much. Who was umpiring the last Korea vs. Japan game, played in Anaheim? HP: Travis Reininger. 1B: Chris Guccione. 2B: Ed Hickox. 3B: Carlos Rey. And the one before, played in Tokyo? HP: Brian Knight. 1B: Adrian Johnson. 2B: Minggao Chen. 3B: Liang-Kuei Shieh.

For whatever reason, it seems Americans are calling the shots and the games are played on their soil. Has there been any news whether this will change for upcoming WBCs?

Andrew K - Thursday, March 16 2006 @ 12:12 PM EST (#142641) #

This being a notes from nowhere thread, I guess it's the right place for nonspecific posts (right?)

I hear that the Jays have scheduled a press conference for 1pm, with no subject announced. I believe that this is confirmed.

Totally unsubstantiated rumours think it might be something to do with the latest BB poll... which would be the best news of the offseason.

Geoff - Thursday, March 16 2006 @ 12:15 PM EST (#142642) #

it's been brought up in this thread: http://www.battersbox.ca/article.php?story=20060311111812509#112comments

Andrew K - Thursday, March 16 2006 @ 12:23 PM EST (#142644) #

I really really wish someone would make it clear where nonspecific items are supposed to go. It would be so simple, and it kills the site when nobody knows where to post their items of news.

Please?

</rant>

Named For Hank - Thursday, March 16 2006 @ 12:30 PM EST (#142646) #

The most recent Notes From Nowhere thread is the appropriate place.

Andrew K - Thursday, March 16 2006 @ 12:32 PM EST (#142648) #

The most recent Notes From Nowhere thread is the appropriate place.

Thanks.

Geoff - Thursday, March 16 2006 @ 12:33 PM EST (#142649) #

You had the right idea, I believe, to post in a notes-from-nowhere thread. And it would help if new notes were posted in the newest NfN thread. But you can check the Hot Topics in the blue box in the left column to see if recent news is being mentioned.

GregH - Thursday, March 16 2006 @ 12:56 PM EST (#142653) #

According to Jays site, Doc's contract extended to 2010, $40M.

Named For Hank - Thursday, March 16 2006 @ 01:08 PM EST (#142656) #

There's a Halladay thread up now.

eeleye - Thursday, March 16 2006 @ 01:39 PM EST (#142666) #

FYI: a poll on espn.com asked (to mostly american people), if USA is eliminated from round 2 of the World Baseball classic, will you lose interest? And the results are approximately: 50/50.

Geoff - Thursday, March 16 2006 @ 01:44 PM EST (#142669) #

Of the 50% who would say they wouldn't lose interest, I wonder how many of them care whether the U.S. was in the tournament at all?

Cristian - Thursday, March 16 2006 @ 02:01 PM EST (#142672) #

In my best Kent Brockman voice:

Of course, this is just a website poll which is not legally binding, unless proposition 304 passes. And we all pray it will.

smcs - Thursday, March 16 2006 @ 08:35 PM EST (#142729) #

I am currently watching the world baseball classic game between USA and Mexico and laughing at the sheer stupidity of it all. The only way Mexico can go through is with a 3-0 or 4-0 win in 13 or more innings. I have no clue how that works, but, somehow, it does. All the scenarios to get Japan through to the next round are equally stupid.

But the real funny thing, when Mexico hit that foul pole (I figured this out before the commentators), they should have argued that it did not hit the foul pole so that they can stay alive.

But what is even funnier is that the umpires screwed up the call...AGAIN. If this game ends up in such a way that that homerun allows the USA to go through instead of Japan, it can happen, it will make another instance where the US is helped by shoddy umpiring. This only adds fuel to the fire for international umpires.

Here is a list of all the possible scenarios for the USA, Japan and Mexico to advance by:

U.S. advances to semifinals with:
� A win over Mexico
� A tie with Mexico
� A 1-0 loss to Mexico
� A 2-0 or 2-1 loss to Mexico, with the United States having played 8 2/3 innings or more on defense
� A 3-1 or 3-2 loss to Mexico, with the United States having played 12 1/3 innings or more on defense

Japan advances to semifinals with:
� A Mexico win over the United States by a score of 2-0 or 2-1, at any point before a second out is recorded in the bottom of the ninth inning
� A Mexico win over the United States, in which Mexico scores three or more runs in a game ending at any point before a third out is recorded in the bottom of the 12th inning
� A Mexico win over the United States, in which Mexico scores three or more runs and the United States scores one or more runs in a game ending at any point before an out is recorded in the bottom of the 13th inning
� A Mexico win over the United States, in which Mexico scores 4 or more runs and the United States scores 1 or more runs in a game ending at any point

Mexico advances to semifinals with:
� A 3-0 or 4-0 win over the United States, with Mexico having played 13 innings or more on defense

Geoff - Thursday, March 16 2006 @ 10:26 PM EST (#142734) #

Vernon Wells coming to bat shortly with the weight of Team USA on his shoulders...this tournament is great.

Geoff - Thursday, March 16 2006 @ 10:30 PM EST (#142735) #

First pitch and done. Vernon hits into double play and USA is eliminated. Japan and Korea advance.

Ben - Thursday, March 16 2006 @ 10:39 PM EST (#142736) #

Why is he swinging at the first pitch? I dont understand it. Brand new pitcher, barely warmed up because of an injury change with pressure on him as well and you dont give him a chance to throw strikes? ugh, its just too frustrating. Better than Teixeira who was oh-for-the-tournament.

Named For Hank - Thursday, March 16 2006 @ 11:28 PM EST (#142737) #

I am a very happy man -- Japan vs. Korea was so damned good that I want to see another rematch!

Brian W - Thursday, March 16 2006 @ 11:40 PM EST (#142740) #

I'm thinking Bob Davidson isn't going to be umpiring in the majors any time soon. According to the article at TSN.ca he was the ump who blew the call today and the one in the US vs. Japan game. It's nice to see the US out and I too am looking forward to another Japan vs. Korea game.

Named For Hank - Thursday, March 16 2006 @ 11:53 PM EST (#142742) #

Isn't Davidson one of the umpires that are the reason MLB umps are not working at the WBC?

I thought that it was a union thing -- the MLB umpires said they'd do the WBC only if Davidson and a few others were re-instated. MLB declined, so the WBC got minor league umpires, including Davidson.

Geoff - Friday, March 17 2006 @ 12:05 AM EST (#142744) #

The ESPN broadcasters were saying in tonight's game that the MLB umps declined signing on because they wouldn't be paid enough. This might not be accurate, but that was the claim they made.

They also focussed on Davidson a few times for being 'the guy in the center of the storm' in each controversial play and pondered when someone would investigate a guy who is consistently in that position.

Appeared to me that he also blew a foul ball call in the top of the ninth.

eeleye - Friday, March 17 2006 @ 01:10 AM EST (#142748) #

I'm so glad because Japan deserved to advance and the US didn't. There is justice in the world. Japan and Korea should be great....hope one of them can beat Dominican. You think they can?

Geoff - Friday, March 17 2006 @ 02:07 PM EST (#142785) #

Those funny folks at mlb.com have been running this ad, and it's been irking me for a while:

eeleye - Friday, March 17 2006 @ 02:15 PM EST (#142789) #

I don't get what's so funny about that pic?

Geoff - Friday, March 17 2006 @ 02:36 PM EST (#142793) #

What bothered me was that Gagne was pictured.

I also thought that they had Ruben Sierra pictured for Venezuela, but I've figured that's just an old pick of Juan Rivera instead. And I thought that was a Cuba flag in front of Beltran, but now I realize that Cuba is red triangle, blue stripes while Puerto Rico is the opposite.

Gagne still bothers me, but it's not as ridiculous ad as I earlier imagined.

Geoff - Friday, March 17 2006 @ 02:42 PM EST (#142794) #

Still leaves me to wonder, of all the people to choose off Team Venezuela, why Juan Rivera? Not Miguel Cabrera or Victor Martinez or Johan Santana or Carlos Zambrano or even the photogenic Gustavo Chacin? Is there some marketing appeal that Juan Rivera has that Bobby Abreu doesn't?

BallGuy - Friday, March 17 2006 @ 10:27 PM EST (#142846) #

I have been busy so it has taken me a few days to get back to the site but Geoff to suggest that I am xenophobic because I don't like the WBC and prefer MLB is a little much. Please. I think your use of that word is more than a little off the mark.
Maybe the baseball is exciting. I never said it wasn't. Maybe there are rivalries between countries. I never said there weren't. What I don't like about the WBC is that it lacks tradition which it does, here. It smells of a marketing plan disguised as nationalism. I can't get into that. Sure, I am jaded and cynical and a bit of a curmudgeon but that's how I feel.
Plus I'll be plenty pissed if one of the Jays' players gets hurt playing in this thing and misses time during the regular season.

smcs - Friday, March 17 2006 @ 11:12 PM EST (#142848) #

Umm... I'm pretty sure Juan Rivera never played for Florida.
That makes me pretty sure that it is Miguel Cabrera.

Geoff - Saturday, March 18 2006 @ 12:06 AM EST (#142851) #

You're right, throwing out a xenophobic label because you don't respect or identify with the excitement and involvement of fans for teams other than Canada and USA is quite harsh.

I was jumping to some conclusions and I apologize if for no other reason than that I don't think I got my point across.

I wanted to argue your claim that lack of tradition was a reason not to respect the tournament. Yes, there is an artifice to jumbling players who are from (or have only some remote relation to) a particular country. But some of these groups that get called Team Japan, Team Venezuela, etc. really do have a common bond, beyond being born in the same country. Team Italy, Team USA, not so much. And I say the bond is the tradition of how baseball is played in their home countries. You can see the culture reflected in the teams. If you watched them. If you weren't too jaded to watch them play.

This is no more of an excuse to make money than the Olympics. They'll tell you the tournament is meant to sell the game to people. Teams like Cuba, they are coming to play to earn respect (and bring along all sorts of political issues when they take the field, but I guess you don't like that either). There are teams of players, with a scattering of, or chock full of, non-MLB players and MLB players alike, who are focussed on winning. For pride, for fans, maybe for endorsement deals, maybe for a shot to play in MLB, and to be a winner. Plenty have no shot at endorsement deals, but they are focussed on team play and winning. What else could you possibly want out of a baseball tournament?

I wouldn't argue with you so strongly if you didn't seem to be such a strong-willed curmudgeon. And I'd be just as pissed if any Jays were injured. But would you ban players from competing in winter ball? How much would you guard them from possible injury? Hire somebody to carry their groceries? Tell them how they must prepare for each workout? Tell them how to play during the regular season? Players get injured all the time playing baseball.

Do you rag on hockey players for participating in the Olympics, or basketball players? I presume your displeasure comes back to this being a 'new' tournament that doesn't carry credibility. The sport of baseball needs credibility and that's what this tournament is about. They've been kicked out of the Olympics. There are plenty of folks wagging their fingers about steroids. The sport needs to climb out and show itself off for what's good. And you blame them for money-grabbing. The nationalism isn't a disguise for taking money from the public. It's a common trait of players to motivate them to play and compete and show off the sport.

Some guys won't have any nationalism that will motivate them to compete. But Carlos Delgado does. Johan Santana does. Ichiro Suziki does. Jose Contreras, no. Livan Hernandez, guess not. There is that sticky issue of nationalism and politics with Cuba. But it's all real. Not fake. No smoke or mirrors. Real competitive baseball. The weak have been weeded out fairly and the best teams are playing.

The interruption to MLB baseball does exist, but it's not terrible and the interest in the game makes it more than worth it. Plus, they could probably market this to death and make a billion dollars next time 'round.

Geoff - Saturday, March 18 2006 @ 12:07 AM EST (#142852) #

I thought that was a Yankees logo on the helmet. Oh well, at least I got it right that Gagne was pictured for Team Canada.

That is our flag on the left, right? The one with the maple leaf?

Geoff - Saturday, March 18 2006 @ 12:08 AM EST (#142853) #

Next, someone's going to tell me that's Paul Quantrill when he was with the Dodgers.

smcs - Saturday, March 18 2006 @ 01:25 AM EST (#142856) #

Well, it looks more like a marlin to me and it would make more sense to have Miguel Cabrera instead of Juan Rivera.

truefan - Tuesday, March 21 2006 @ 02:59 PM EST (#143163) #

Earlier in this thread, folks noted (correctly) that at the centre of most if not all of the bad umpiring calls in the WBC was Bob Davidson.

Did it occur to anyone else that the umpire -- who made the classic bad call of the 1992 World Series, where the triple play was ruined because the umpire didn't see Kelly Gruber tag Deion Sanders' heel -- was Bob Davidson!

Named For Hank - Tuesday, March 21 2006 @ 04:14 PM EST (#143166) #

Oh my... this can you've opened appears to be filled with worms!

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