A good friend sent the following text:
Ohtani is amazing. But frankly, I’m a little disappointed with Yu.
WBC Quote of the Day
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Category Archives: World Cup
Ohtani Versus Trout
Shohei Ohtani strikes out Mike Trout to end the World Baseball Classic with a 3-2 win for Japan. Congratulations to Japan on the big win and the undefeated exhibition season. It was a perfect way to end the game.
Just My Imanaga-nation
Japan started left-hander Shota Imanaga against a US team with four great power hitters at the top of the lineup. Imanaga gave up a bloop double to Mike Trout, but retired the other three batters easily.
The broadcast noted that Imanaga pitches better against right-handers than lefties. Kudos to manager Hideki Kuriyama for taking advantage of this trait.
When I worked at ESPN, I noticed Tom Glavine owned this type of split. On separate occasions, I asked both Ray Knight and Greg Olson about this (Olson caught Glavine). Both gave the same response, that Glavine threw a dead fish that moved away from right-handers. I then asked each why opposing managers didn’t start more left-handed batters against these pitchers. Again, their responses were the same. The managers did not want to get pilloried in the press by going with a reverse platoon lineup. It looks like the US was not willing to put more lefties at the top of the order against Imanaga, either.
Update: Right hander Trea Turner takes Imanaga deep for a 1-0 US lead in the second inning. In the words of Emily Litella, never mind.
King Kong Versus Godzilla
The WBC semifinal between Mexico and Japan turned out to be a classic struggle of an underdog versus a favorite. Mexico got out to an early lead. Japan kept fighting back. Multiple times they loaded the bases, but fly balls to Randy Arozarena kept them big innings. Japan collected ten hits and seven walks, but only two went for extra bases. Mexico, with nine hits and two walks went four for six with runners in scoring position, Japan just two for seven.
Japan kept scoring in the late innings, however, and the bottom of the ninth saw them down one run with their big bats coming up. Shohei Ohtani doubled leading off the ninth, Masataka Yoshida, who hit a three-run homer earlier, drew a walk. That set up young star Munetaka Murakami, who had not played his best in the series. He hit a ball off the wall in left-center, both runners scored, and Japan goes to the final.
That sets up the final between the two major centers of professional baseball, the United States and Japan, on Tuesday night. It’s New York versus Tokyo, Aaron versus Oh, Trout versus Ohtani, King Kong versus Godzilla.
This should be fun.
Arozarena Rose
Randy Arozarena just robbed a home run at the fence in leftfield for team Mexico against Japan. He got to the fence in plenty of time, leaped perfectly, and brought the ball back from over the fence. His reaction was perfect. He landed, and just stood there with the ball, his arms down, staring in for a good ten seconds as the fans of Mexico went wild. It’s the kind of showing off that everyone can love.
Mexico leads Japan 2-0 in the bottom of the fifth inning as an upset is in the making.
Unusual As
The US beat Venezuela 9-7 Saturday night on a comeback grand slam by Trea Turner. What caught my eye in the game were two unusual feats by Tim Anderson and Luis Arraez.
Arraez hit two home runs in the game. The ball seemed to be flying out of Marlins Park Saturday night, making me wonder if they are using a livelier ball in the tournament. Nonetheless, Arraez is not the type of hitter who produces home runs. In his MLB career, he went deep 14 times in 1413 at bats, just about one very 100 AB. Arraez’s game is to make contact (just 131 K in his career) and find holes. There’s no reason he could not hit home runs if he set his mind to it, and the two home runs make me wonder if he has set his mind to it. That may not be a good idea, as Miami is tough on home runs, but it’s something to look for as the season begins.
The grand slam rally started with a walk by Anderson. The White Sox lead-off hitter drew just 117 walks in his 3129 AB career. In none on and none out situations, Anderson’s OBP goes to up .331 from his career average .316, but it’s due to many more hits, not being more selective at the plate. Anderson took pitches and drew the walk, which started the cascade of events that led to the Turner home run. If he can turn more outs into walks this season, he could become one of the great lead-off hitters in the game.
Home Town Hero
I just turned on the WBC to see Shohei Ohtani hit a pitch down and away to the wall in left centerfield for a two RBI double. The crowd goes wild as Japan takes a 3-0 lead over China in the bottom of the fourth inning.
One of the runners he drove in was Lars Nootbar. His mother holds Japanese citizenship, and Lars is the first person born outside of Japan to play for the country in the WBC.
The van Boerums are Proud
The Netherlands beat Cuba 4-2 to open the World Baseball Classic.
Going Dutch
Cuba and the Netherlands kick off the 2023 World Baseball Classic tonight at 11 PM EST. The full schedule with TV stations is here.
Classic Confrontations
Here is all you need to know about the teams and schedule for the 2023 World Baseball Classic. I have the March 12 Netherlands vs. Italy marked on my calendar, as I have ancestral roots in both nations. Also hoping for a Taiwan versus Red China match-up in the quarter finals. Pool C is full of Colonies against Great Britain, while Pool B revives the Pacific theater of World War II. Fun for all!
Trout Gets a Ribbing
The Angels place Mike Trout on the illjured list with ribcage inflammation. In addition:
Later in the day, the Angels announced on social media that Trout was named captain for Team USA in next year’s World Baseball Classic.
ESPN.com
That’s great for the WBC, but given that Trout started accruing injuries as he moves past his prime, I’m a bit surprised the Angels don’t object to his participation. They have a lot of money invested in Trout, and he can’t help them win a championship if he is laid up.
Free Cubans
A group of Cuban players working off the island want to represent the country in the next WBC. Cuban baseball is not happy with this:
The president of the Cuban Baseball Federation, Juan Reynaldo Pérez, called a news conference and accused the group of trying to usurp Cuba’s representation in the international competition.
ESPN.com
Anyone who gets denounced by Cuba must be doing something right.
US Champs
Congratulations to Team USA on their 8-0 victory in the World Baseball Classic Championship game.
Both starters in the pitching rematch between the United States and Puerto Rico from their Pool F matchup on March 17 shone in different ways. While Seth Lugo struck out seven Americans through four innings, Marcus Stroman, the eventual WBC MVP, pitched a no-hitter through six innings. Even after Angel Pagan knocked Stroman out of the game with a leadoff single in the seventh, the only other Puerto Rican to record a hit was Yadier Molina.
The blonde ambition of Team Puerto Rico was not enough for them to run the table.
I liked how efficiently Stroman worked last night. If he can carry that into the regular season, we might see some Greg Maddux type sub 100 pitch complete games from the Blue Jays ace.
Putting the O in Stroman
Marcus Stroman walked a batter, but induced a double play to erase that runner. Stroman is throwing a no-hitter, having faced the minimum number of batters through six innings. The US leads Puerto Rico 4-0 as the US is looking good for their first WBC Championship. Stroman threw just 68 pitches so far, and the limit is 95, so he might just finish the game.
All US Final
The United Stats WBC team beat Japan 2-1 Tuesday night to set up an all US final as the States face US territory Puerto Rico. It won’t attract much attention from the rest of the world, but I find it good for the tournament that the US finally rose to a level to make the final, and that a Puerto Rico win might mark a revival of the sport on that island. Puerto Rico is going through tough time economically right now, so their winning streak in this tournament is a nice respite from those worries.
Update: Marcus Stroman is getting some criticism for joining Team USA instead of Puerto Rico. He’ll pitch the championship game for the US.
WBC Criticism
Tom Gatto takes aim at the WBC extra inning rule that decided the 4-3 Puerto Rico win over the Netherlands. In the 11th both teams started with men on first and second, followed by a sacrifice and an intentional walk. The Dutch hit into a double play, while Puerto won on a sacrifice fly (emphasis added):
Formulaic. Inorganic. Ugly.
Team Puerto Rico celebrated because it was an important victory for the island commonwealth. It will now face the winner of Tuesday’s other semifinal between the U.S. and Japan. But the whole ending felt cheap, forced and rushed after 3 1/2 hours of highlight-reel plays and intensity that almost led to a brawl.
Suddenly, the drama was no longer steadily building. No longer was it a true test of wills. The teams had to wrap up this thing — never mind that of the 27 nine-inning games in this tournament, only three have been played in under three hours, which is to say, pace-of-play dictates have been largely ignored.
The game is moving away from the sacrifice, but let’s create a situation where teams are going to use it. Teams are moving away from the intentional walks, but let’s create a situation where teams are going to use it.
I attended boring, extra-inning games. I remember one where Mike Smithson came in and tossed to first about a million times. I would gladly suffer through those to get the 1986 NLCS Game six.
Japan Takes Control
Japan takes a 5-0 lead over Israel in the bottom of the sixth inning. Yoshitomo Tsutsugo led off the inning with a massive home run for the first score of the game, then a series of hits, misplays, and rundowns lead to four more runs. Japan has the bases loaded with two out, so they may add more runs.
Amazingly, the Japanese crowd is acting like a real home crowd. Usually at games, fans root for both teams. They are going wild when Japan scores, and even booed when one of their players was intentionally walked. From what I understand, that would be a huge departure from protocol.
If Israel loses, they are out of the tournament.
Go Dutch!
The Netherlands eliminated Cuba from the World Baseball Classic. It was a decisive 14-1 win:
Former Major Leaguer Wladimir Balentien homered twice and drove in five runs for the Netherlands, which scored in double-digits the last two games and finished Wednesday’s game in seven innings because of the early-termination rule. Jurickson Profar of the Rangers had three hits, and 36-year-old left-hander Diegomar Markwell allowed one run in six innings
“All I asked was they not take anything for granted and that they just play hard, the way we did against Israel,” Netherlands manager Hensley Meulens said. “We feel great. We’ve played great all tournament. We could actually be 6-0 right now. We feel great about our chances.”
A Japan win over Israel puts the Dutch into the next round, otherwise, the tie-breaker rules go into effect. As of this post, the teams are scoreless in the bottom of the fourth inning.
The Netherlands is one of three teams for which I have an ancestral rooting interest. Italy is gone, so now I’m hoping for a US-Dutch final.
By the way, it was a bad day for Cuba in general.
Mexico and Outs
Sorry, I disagree with this article about Mexico getting the unjustly eliminated in the WBC:
But wait, this postgame interpretation just in from the rules committee: That five-run inning earlier in the week, in which Italy walked off? Mexico did not get an out, so that did not count as an inning. The five runs still counted.
If it would have counted as an inning, Mexico would have advanced. The rule specifies that partial innings count.
“The rule doesn’t specify outs,” Mexico Manager Edgar Gonzalez told reporters after the game. “It specifies partial innings. And if you go to a judge, this is a partial inning.”
Which is of course, not correct. Innings are made up of outs. If a pitcher comes into the third inning, faces eight batters, and all of them score, then is removed from the game, he gave up eight runs in two innings. Often times that will be written as 2+, to indicate he pitched beyond the second inning, but no one fixes his ERA by giving him a partial inning. Mexico is being a bit of a sore loser here.
Of course, if the WBC played by real rules, they would have played two more games to break the tie.
Cinderella in the Making
Team Israel keeps upsetting major opponents at the WBC:
Israel took advantage of timely hits and solid pitching on Sunday to beat Cuba 4-1 and improve to 4-0 in the World Baseball Classic.
Alfredo Despaigne put Cuba up 1-0 with a solo home run in the second inning at Tokyo Dome but Israel tied the game in the fourth on a double by Ryan Lavarnway that scored Ike Davis from first.
Team Israel took a 2-1 lead in the sixth when Zach Borenstein singled to right scoring Ty Kelly from second base. Blake Gailen made it 3-1 with a two-out double to right that scored Nate Freiman.
“We didn’t light up the scoreboard today but we were able to get the timely hits when we needed them,” Borenstein said. “Things are just clicking for us right now.”
Jason Marquis continues to pitch well. I’m amazed that a small subset of American ballplayers is having a better tournament than the actual All-Star team USA.
Opposing Teammates
Royals backup catcher Drew Butera injured Royals teammate and starting catcher Salvador Perez trying to score the winning run in a WBC game between Italy and Venezuela.
Butera told Jesse Sanchez of MLB.com: “I feel really bad. But I thought the ball was going to be in the gap and I was just trying to score. When I saw that I was going to be out by a lot I just stopped. It was unfortunate that I hit him where I did.”
If Butera was evil, he might just be trying to win the starting job full time. 🙂 Luckily, the injury does not appear to be serious, but Perez is out of the WBC.
Jones for the WBC
I watched most of the World Baseball Classic (WBC) game between Columbia and the US. Columbia was surprisingly strong, and the US and to fight for a 3-2 victory. Adam Jones had the big bat, driving in two of the US runs, including the winner in the bottom of the tenth. That hit prevented the runners on base to start the inning rule from coming into effect.
There have been a number of surprises from lower ranked teams this WBC. I hope that means baseball is becoming more competitive around the world. That’s the point of the tournament after all. Nice to see it many be working.
One Slam is Enough
Alfredo Despaigne delivered a grand slam in the fifth inning, and that was all Cuba needed to beat Australia 4-3. The Cubans join Japan in advancing to the second round of the 2017 World Baseball Classic. Those two teams take on Israel and the Netherlands the top two advancing to the finals.
Israel Sweeps
Israel wins their pool of the first round of the WBC, beating the Netherlands 4-2 to go undefeated in the first round. The Netherlands had already secured a berth in the second round, but both the Dutch and Koreans are considered very good teams.
But Israel’s 73-year-old manager Jerry Weinstein says he’s not surprised by the early success.
”The only unknown was the caliber of the competition,” Weinstein said. ”We never doubted our ability. Our strengths are that we are a well-balanced team. We can pitch and have pitching depth; we have team speed, team power and can catch the ball. We’re a very close knit group.”
It’s on to Tokyo where Japan (2-0) is likely to advance and Cuba and Australia should fight it out for the second slot. Australia is winning against China this morning, which would set up tonight’s (EST) Cuba-Australia game to determine the second team advancing to the second round.
Starting With an Upset
Israel beats South Korea 2-1 in ten innings in the first game of the 2017 World Baseball Classic:
Israel finally broke through in the top of the 10th. With runners on first and third and two outs, Scott Burcham stepped in against Korea’s Chang-Yong Lim and slapped a two-strike grounder up the middle. Korean second baseman Geonchang Seo made a sliding stop to keep the ball in the infield, but he had no play on any of the runners, allowing the go-ahead run to score.
Jason Marquis pitched three scoreless innings as the home team disappoints the crowd. Marquis pitched very poorly when he tried to make a comeback in 2015, so it wasn’t as if there an ace on the mound. Both teams failed to deliver throughout the game with runners in scoring position, so an odd hit here or there could have made a huge difference in the outcome.
Selectivity at the plate paid off for team Israel, as they drew nine walks to Korea’s four. One of them drove in a run, and the other put the winning run in scoring position. Israel has a quick turnaround, as they play at 10 PM EST Monday night against Chinese Taipei.
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Baseball in the Morning
I just woke up and turned on the World Baseball Classic. Israel and South Korea are tied at one after five innings. Israel scored on a bases loaded walk in the second, while Geonchang Seo singled in the tying run in the bottom of the fifth.
Bagels and Kimchi for Breakfast
Israel and South Korea kick off the 2017 World Baseball Classic at 4:30 AM EST tomorrow, March 6. MLB.com rounds up all the pools with game times and favorites. I’ll be rooting for one of my ancestral homes, Italy, the Netherlands, or team USA.
WBC Odds
Via Bovada.lv, Here are the latest odds for winning the World Baseball Classic:
Odds to win the World Baseball Classic 2017
United States 2/1
Dominican Republic 5/2
Japan 3/1
Venezuela 9/1
Puerto Rico 10/1
South Korea 10/1
Cuba 18/1
Mexico 25/1
Netherlands 25/1
Canada 66/1
Chinese Taipei 80/1
Australia 150/1
China 150/1
Colombia 150/1
Italy 150/1
Israel 200/1
I’m looking forward to second round games between the two Chinas.
It will be interesting to see how fast China can build a powerhouse. With an extremely large population, and a government that can grab talented athletes at a young age and train them, it’s possible that in ten years China could field the best team in the world.
Stanton to WBC
Giancarlo Stanton will play for team USA in the upcoming World Baseball Classic. I like this idea. Stanton played just 193 games the last two seasons combined. Getting competitive at bats in spring training should be good for him.
Scherzer Under Stress
Max Scherzer explains that he won’t pitch in the World Baseball Classic (WBC) due to a stress fracture.
— Max Scherzer (@Max_Scherzer) January 9, 2017