World Baseball Classic 2013

[WhiteSox5187]

Kimbrel gives up another hit, this time to Jose Reyes, 3-1 Dominican Republic.

[WhiteSox5187]

Going to the bottom of the 9th, USA is down 3-1.

[WhiteSox5187]

The Dominican Republic moves on, USA has to beat Puerto Rico tomorrow night.

I don't know why exactly you want to have Shane Victorino represent your final out there, Joe Torre has not done a good job of managing this team. But then again it is still spring training and he is treating it like that. The other countries aren't.

[Brian26]

Originally Posted by WhiteSox5187

Craig Kimbrel gave up a leadoff double to Nelson Cruz and Erik Aybar came through with a BIG hit to give the Dominican Republic a 2-1 lead in the 9th. Meanwhile Angel Hernandez is expanding the strike zone so that it incorporates the opposite batter's box.

That strike-call on Aybar I think motivated him.

[cub killer]

Exciting game. That Saturday game seems pretty pointless. Just give the DR the top seed from this group since they went undefeated.

Because of the Saturday game, the Final will be on Tuesday instead of Sunday, the day of the last 2 Finals. Weird scheduling. No need to burn any arms on that seeding game.

[amsteel]

Originally Posted by cub killer

Exciting game. That Saturday game seems pretty pointless. Just give the DR the top seed from this group since they went undefeated.

Because of the Saturday game, the Final will be on Monday instead of Sunday, like the last 2 editions. Weird scheduling. No need to burn any arms on that seeding game.

Final is on Tuesday.

[TomBradley72]

I've really enjoyed this WBC so far- lots of memorable and unique games-

1. Brazil taking an early lead over Japan- until the more experienced Japan comes from behind to win late
2. A pretty shocking come from behind win by the Netherlands over Cuba- with the Cubans very exuberant manager
3. Japan home runs soaring throught the TokyoDome
4. The joy and exuberance of the Dominican Republic team
5. This years complete surprise team- Italy (also my favorite uniforms in the tournament)
6. Team USA's do or die win over Canada- on the edge of having to QUALIFY for the 2017 WBC

I'm a diehard baseball fan (not just an MLB fan)- for me the WBC is better baseball than at least 50% of all MLB regular season baseball- and with the distinctive styles and cultures of each country's team- just a really cool and unique baseball competition.

I do think MLB has to rethink how they make this tournament more accessible on TV and radio- all the US based games during the week should be played in primetime, at a minimum all team USA games should be on MLB radio, and maybe find a way to mix ESPN more- so this tournament gets more exposure. As an earlier poster mentioned- find a way to have the semis on Friday/Saturday- championship should be Sunday night.

[Mr. Jinx]

Originally Posted by TomBradley72

I've really enjoyed this WBC so far- lots of memorable and unique games-

1. Brazil taking an early lead over Japan- until the more experienced Japan comes from behind to win late
2. A pretty shocking come from behind win by the Netherlands over Cuba- with the Cubans very exuberant manager
3. Japan home runs soaring throught the TokyoDome
4. The joy and exuberance of the Dominican Republic team
5. This years complete surprise team- Italy (also my favorite uniforms in the tournament)
6. Team USA's do or die win over Canada- on the edge of having to QUALIFY for the 2017 WBC

I'm a diehard baseball fan (not just an MLB fan)- for me the WBC is better baseball than at least 50% of all MLB regular season baseball- and with the distinctive styles and cultures of each country's team- just a really cool and unique baseball competition.

I do think MLB has to rethink how they make this tournament more accessible on TV and radio- all the US based games during the week should be played in primetime, at a minimum all team USA games should be on MLB radio, and maybe find a way to mix ESPN more- so this tournament gets more exposure. As an earlier poster mentioned- find a way to have the semis on Friday/Saturday- championship should be Sunday night.

I've been a big fan too, but they really need to do something about the rules for playing for a country. The "Italian" team is a joke as half that roster is American anyway.

I also wondered why the Netherlands gets to use players from their territories but there are separate US and Puerto Rican teams? I don't really care on that point, just find it odd.

[amsteel]

Originally Posted by Mr. Jinx

I also wondered why the Netherlands gets to use players from their territories but there are separate US and Puerto Rican teams? I don't really care on that point, just find it odd.

At least until recently, the Dutch Caribbean was just as much a part of the Kingdom as the mainland, obviously the PR-US connection is less strong.

[TomBradley72]

Originally Posted by Mr. Jinx

I've been a big fan too, but they really need to do something about the rules for playing for a country. The "Italian" team is a joke as half that roster is American anyway.

I also wondered why the Netherlands gets to use players from their territories but there are separate US and Puerto Rican teams? I don't really care on that point, just find it odd.

I think they needed to "jump start" some of the countries with a very low level of development of their baseball programs (primarily Europe)- I think right now a player can go back as far as 3 generations to choose USA vs. another country- I would think over time- that would start to change and probably look more like the approach the Olympics take.

[TheVulture]

Originally Posted by amsteel

obviously the PR-US connection is less strong.

No it's not, Puerto Ricans are full US citizens. The difference is Puerto Rico on its own is strong enough to compete and the Netherlands isn't.

[Mr. Jinx]

Originally Posted by TomBradley72

I think they needed to "jump start" some of the countries with a very low level of development of their baseball programs (primarily Europe)- I think right now a player can go back as far as 3 generations to choose USA vs. another country- I would think over time- that would start to change and probably look more like the approach the Olympics take.

Well I hope that we can import athletes from other countries in the same manner for sports that we suck in like soccer, long distance running, and martial arts so that we can be more competitive too.

[DSpivack]

Originally Posted by TheVulture

No it's not, Puerto Ricans are full US citizens. The difference is Puerto Rico on its own is strong enough to compete and the Netherlands isn't.

Well, for whom should players from the ABC islands compete? Officially now, there are four countries in the Kingdom of the Netherlands: Aruba, Curacao, Sint Maarten, and the Netherlands. I see no reason why Aruba should compete separately.

[TomBradley72]

Originally Posted by Mr. Jinx

Well I hope that we can import athletes from other countries in the same manner for sports that we suck in like soccer, long distance running, and martial arts so that we can be more competitive too.

We do.

The U.S. World Cup team is full of players who play overseas- but then play for the U.S. for the Cup.

Immigration FROM the U.S. to other countries is no where near the level of immigration to the U.S. from other countries- so I'm not sure how many 3rd generation Italians, Brazilians, etc. there are that have their original roots in the U.S.

[amsteel]

Originally Posted by TheVulture

No it's not, Puerto Ricans are full US citizens. The difference is Puerto Rico on its own is strong enough to compete and the Netherlands isn't.

Is Puerto Rico a state? Because if it isn't then they're not as closely tied to the US as Aruba, Cucacao, and Sint Maarten are to the KotN.