T1B

The tournament will become reality very soon. It's something I've always thought would be a great idea and would be great viewing during the offseason. This article says the tournament would take place during spring training of next year and hopefully a lot of the star players choose to play. Up to 16 nations could be involved...

http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=2057633

Page 2 on ESPN gave their picks for some of the rosters. The Americans will field a strong team with probably the best pitching but the Dominicans would be a sick team...Soriano, Tejada, Pujols, Ortiz, Guerrero, Sosa and Aramis Ramirez? Yikes! The Puerto Rican and Venezuelan rosters look tough too. I'd like to see what kind of a team the Japanese or the Koreans can put together.

This will be a great tournament...some of these countries will be fielding all-star teams. I'm huge fan of the hockey's World Cup and Olympic tournaments when they get all of their players involved. You get atleast a half dozen countries that can contend for the title. If the Americans could ever put out their best talent in basketball, they should be able to win every tournament...unfortunately, not every superstar wants to represent their country. I think this baseball tournament could be the best international event this side of the men's soccer World Cup.

http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/page2/st ... eld/050511

Nice idea, but it would never work. And Enolc, how many players got injured and put on the dl during spring training alone?

MLB should give the season a 2 week break every 4 years to field the USA all star team for the Olympics. Just a thought.

Since we're in the offseason, I figured I'd bump this thread...

Bonds is supposedly going to play in the World Baseball Classic
http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=2241953

Gets me to thinking who should represent Team USA. Each team has a 27 man roster with minimum of 12 players. I'd be curious to find out if they will use the DH rule because that would effect Bonds' status. I wouldn't want to use Bonds in the field but he's more than capable of being a DH.

Team USA should have plenty of starting pitchers to choose from...it's got to be their strength. They could staff several teams with the starters they've got. Then again, I think with the overall wealth of talent of the Americans, they could field two or three really strong teams. It'll be a difficult process to put a single team together because there will be a lot of talent American players watching the event on TV. I'm curious to find out what the deal is A-Rod...is he able to play for the Dominican team or not.

My initial 27-man roster:
C: Varitek, Pierzynski
1B: Lee, Teixeira
2B: Roberts
SS: Young, Jeter
3B: Rodriguez, Blalock
OF: Bonds, Damon, Edmonds, Sheffield, Giles, Anderson
SP: Carpenter (R), Oswalt (R), Clemens (R), Buehrle (L), Johnson (L), Peavy (R)
RP: Gordon (R), Cordero (R), Ryan (L), Nathan (R), Wagner (L), Lidge (R)

If I left off any of your guys, sue me...it's gonna be a difficult to narrow down a few pool of several hundred guys down to a 27-man roster. Like I said, you can probably field 2 or 3 teams and they'd all be competitive...kind of like Canada with hockey.

FYI, MLB.com's list of foreign born players...
http://mlb.mlb.com/NASApp/mlb/mlb/wbc/a ... t=092905_b

Great wealth of talent for the Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico and Venezuela. Looking forward to this tournament...I hope all of the stars decide to play.

Roger_the_Shrubber wrote:MLB should give the season a 2 week break every 4 years to field the USA all star team for the Olympics. Just a thought.

That's about 1/16th of the season, ain't it?

Shoalzie, Props for the links.

Ya gotta add This guy to start for the U.S.

Is Clemens even interested in this?

the Outfield is their achilles heel.


i realize bonds is back on the growth hormones and beef'd up, but they are probably one of worst OF in the Cup. Looking at some of the other teams lineups, the USA team better hit the ball.

chowd103 wrote:Shoalzie, Props for the links.

Ya gotta add This guy to start for the U.S.

Is Clemens even interested in this?

If he was going to try to play in Olympics, I'd guess he'd give it a go.

As for Willis, he was one of my last "cuts". Another guy that was difficult to leave off was Konerko but he's not as good with the glove as Lee or Teixeira. Maybe you can add him and take out one of the outfielders. There are a lot of options they can go with.

Big question though. Are they going to be held to an IOC type standard for drug testing? I'm guessing no if Baroid is showing interest

Cueball wrote:Big question though. Are they going to be held to an IOC type standard for drug testing? I'm guessing no if Baroid is showing interest

I heard on ESPNEWS they will an Olympic style testing policy. I wonder if Barry is clean now if he's willing to take a drug test to play.

San Pedro de Macoris will win the World Cup.

WHo cares if they test, these guys are years ahead of the testers. and there is no test for growth hormones.


So, Barry and the boys will be beef'd up for this competition.

More goodies about the WBC...

Buck Martinez named manager of Team USA
http://mlb.mlb.com/NASApp/mlb/mlb/wbc/a ... t=120505_a

Players that have committed to playing
http://mlb.mlb.com/NASApp/mlb/mlb/wbc/rosters.jsp

Tournament schedule
http://mlb.mlb.com/NASApp/mlb/mlb/wbc/schedule.jsp

Here are the 41 players who committed to play for Team USA:
Barrett, Michael…..C
Mauer, Joe…..C
Schneider, Brian…..C
Varitek, Jason…..C
Lee, Derrek…..1B
Teixeira, Mark…..1B
Biggio, Craig…..2B
Utley, Chase…..2B
Jeter, Derek…..SS
Rollins, Jimmy…..SS
Young, Michael…..SS
Chavez, Eric…..3B
Jones, Chipper…..3B
Wright, David…..3B
Berkman, Lance…..OF
Bonds, Barry…..OF
Crawford, Carl…..OF
Damon, Johnny…..OF
Dunn, Adam…..OF
Pierre, Juan…..OF
Wells, Vernon…..OF
Cordero, Chad…..RP
Fuentes, Brian…..RP
Guardado, Eddie…..RP
Isringhausen, Jason…..RP
Jones, Todd…..RP
Lidge, Brad…..RP
Ryan, B.J.…..RP
Street, Huston…..RP
Wagner, Billy…..RP
Buehrle, Mark…..SP
Clemens, Roger…..SP
Halladay, Roy…..SP
Leiter, Al…..SP
Peavy, Jake…..SP
Pettitte, Andy…..SP
Sabathia, C.C.…..SP
Sheets, Ben…..SP
Smoltz, John…..SP
Willis, Dontrelle…..SP
Zito, Barry…..SP

Based on the guys who committed to play, here's my revised 27-man roster (A-Rod is left off because his status is unknown)...

Catchers: Varitek, Mauer
1st Basemen: Teixeira, Lee
2nd Baseman: Biggio
Shortstops: Young, Jeter, Rollins
3rd Basemen: Chavez, Jones
Outfielders: Bonds, Damon, Berkman, Crawford, Dunn
Starting Pitchers: Clemens, Sheets, Buehrle, Willis, Smoltz, Peavy
Relief Pitchers: Lidge, Cordero, Ryan, Guardado, Street, Wagner

NO Biggio

Adelpiero wrote:NO Biggio

Should they go with Utley instead? Young has played 2B before he moved to short...he could be an option instead. I'm disappointed that Roberts isn't going to play. He'd be the obvious choice.

Any of you jokers making plans to try to catch any games?

I just ordered tixs for the final weekend at Petco Park. Had to by in sets of 3, two semi-fnal games on Saturday and the Final on Sunday. It will be interesting to see how this tourney plays out.

I read something this morning that A-Rod wants to play for the Dominican Republic instead of the USA. This is weak. He was born in NYC and never lived in the DR. Kind of like Mike Piazza wanting to play for Italy because he has a grandfather that was born in Italy. So much for citizenship. The only parallel I can draw to this are guys like Mario Lemieux and Brett Hull. Mario, born and raised in Canada is now an American citizen yet plays for Canada in the Olympics while Hull was born in Canada but plays for team USA. Both of these I'm ok with. But if you're born and raised here, you're American. Way to support your own country, fellas....

atomicdad wrote:Any of you jokers making plans to try to catch any games?

I just ordered tixs for the final weekend at Petco Park. Had to by in sets of 3, two semi-fnal games on Saturday and the Final on Sunday. It will be interesting to see how this tourney plays out.

I'll prolly se you there. Me and the wife and some friends are trying to get together tickets hotel rooms and plane tickets.

No Cuba in the WBC...

http://sportsline.com/mlb/story/9096750

Sounds good Assassin, it looks as if tickets are readily available online at most sanctioned MLB sites. If you want to go in style and throw down some cash check out the Omni. It's right next to the park with a 3rd story pedestrian bridge directly into Petco.

I'll post a call out for anybody that is going in March to see about setting up a troll stop in the Gas Lamp for either Saturday or Sunday.

atomicdad wrote:Sounds good Assassin, it looks as if tickets are readily available online at most sanctioned MLB sites. If you want to go in style and throw down some cash check out the Omni. It's right next to the park with a 3rd story pedestrian bridge directly into Petco.

I'll post a call out for anybody that is going in March to see about setting up a troll stop in the Gas Lamp for either Saturday or Sunday.

sounds good. I know we were looking to stay in old town. Sunday we were gonna go goof around SD. a troll stop sounds like a good idea,

Aight,got my tix. goin to all 3 games.

Assassin, I meant to ask you where your seats are located?
I be sittin in RF lower reserved Sec 133 Row 11

Check out this link for a virtual tour of Petco Park

Petco Park Info

Hit the box for "3D Virtual Tour" and you can get a pretty good idea of where your seats are and what your sitelines will be like.

Updated player list for Team USA...final roster doesn't have to be finalized until just before the tournament. No A-Rod even after he committed to playing...I wonder what's up with that.

http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/worldclas ... id=2294648

Once again, my 27 from that list...

Catchers: Varitek, Mauer
1st Basemen: Teixeira, Lee
2nd Basemen: Utley
3rd Basemen: Ensberg, Jones
Shortstops: Jeter, Young
Outfielders: Bonds, Berkman, Crawford, Damon, Wells
Starting Pitchers: Clemens, Halladay, Hudson, Peavy, Pettitte, Willis
Relief Pitchers: Cordero, Lidge, Nathan, Shields, Street, Timlin, Wagner

No Cards. Good. Save it for Busch.

USA will not do well in this tournament. I call 3rd place.

IndyFrisco wrote:USA will not do well in this tournament. I call 3rd place.

They keep losing big names but they'll contend. I think the Dominicans are the team to beat but I still like Team USA's options in the bullpen. If they can get into the 6th and 7th with the lead, they've got a lot of quality closers to preserve the lead. The starting pitching isn't going to be as good as it could be with some huge names not participating. The same can be said about the position players...still a formidable group though.

atomicdad wrote:Assassin, I meant to ask you where your seats are located?
I be sittin in RF lower reserved Sec 133 Row 11

Check out this link for a virtual tour of Petco Park

Petco Park Info

Hit the box for "3D Virtual Tour" and you can get a pretty good idea of where your seats are and what your sitelines will be like.

My friend purchased them and had sent me an email of where they were. and damned if I didnt delete it. Gimme a couple days and I'll find out where we are sitting.

Cuba's back in the WBC.

http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/worldclas ... id=2299485

This offseason of baseball has been just one huge tease...

Manny wants to be traded, but now wants to stay in Boston.
Tejada wants to be traded, but is willing to stay if the Orioles make some moves.
A-Rod doesn't know what friggin' country to represent...he ends up with Team USA, his home country.
Epstein leaves the Sox...only to rejoin them a couple months later.
And now, Cuba can't play in the WBC...but now they can.

Shoalzie wrote: Manny wants to be traded, but now wants to stay in Boston.
Tejada wants to be traded, but is willing to stay if the Orioles make some moves.
A-Rod doesn't know what friggin' country to represent...he ends up with Team USA, his home country.
Epstein leaves the Sox...only to rejoin them a couple months later.

Fascinating.

Sincerely,
Not NL fan

Bonds says he doesn't want to risk injuryAssociated Press


SAN FRANCISCO -- Barry Bonds pulled out of the World Baseball Classic on Monday, saying he didn't want to risk an injury that could jeopardize perhaps his final season with the San Francisco Giants.

Barry Bonds
Left Field
San Francisco Giants

Profile
2005 SEASON STATISTICS
GM HR RBI R OBP AVG
14 5 10 8 .404 .286


The star slugger had three operations on his troublesome right knee last year and missed most of the 2005 season. Still, he was included on the preliminary United States roster for the inaugural 16-nation tournament, scheduled for March 3-20.

"When my name was first announced for the WBC, my gut reaction was that I wanted to play. After much thought and discussion with my family I have decided to remove myself from the upcoming World Baseball Classic roster," Bonds wrote on his Web site.

"After the announcement I received a lot of criticism as well as concern from fans and my family and friends. The obvious objections were about my health and whether or not I would be ready to play. In the end, I decided that I can't take any chances that might jeopardize my season.

"I don't want to give the impression that the WBC is not important. I know this means a lot to showcasing our sport worldwide, and the patriotism of playing for Team USA would have been a great honor. I feel what is best for me, my family, the Giants, and our fans is that I sit the WBC out."

Bonds, 41, has 708 home runs, third on the career list behind Babe Ruth (714) and Hank Aaron (755). But he is still searching for his first World Series ring.

"As it is every season, my main goal and main focus is for our team to win a championship. I need to be in the best physical shape for the 2006 season -- in what could possibly be my last season," Bonds wrote.

"I owe it to the Giants organization, my teammates, and most of all to the fans of San Francisco to give 100 percent this season. I assure you, my decision was not an easy one, but based on my circumstances, I had to put my health and my team first. I wish Team USA the best of luck and even though I won't be in the dugout with them, I'll be definitely be cheering them on to bring our country a WBC title."

The U.S. still has several big-name stars on its initial roster, including Alex Rodriguez, Roger Clemens, Derek Jeter and Ken Griffey Jr.






Who will be the next to pull out due to fear of injury??

More like fear of Olympic-style drug testing

Toddowen wrote:Maybe he got word that he wasn't going to bat clean-up.

Well, at least A-Rod is playing for Team USA and he can be the run-producer in the middle of the lineup.

Ben Sheets, Eric Chavez, and Luis Gonzalez joins the list of possible players that could play for Team USA. I can definitely see Sheets making the team considering he has Olympic experience. The final 27 doesn't get announced until just before the tournament starts...which is a little more than a month away.

http://mlb.mlb.com/NASApp/mlb/news/arti ... p&c_id=mlb

Fuck it. Bonds was hurt all of last season. So the guy doesnt want to risk injury in an exhibition tournament. Big freakin deal.

Toddowen wrote:It might be better for this World Cup to succeed if the USA gets punked by Italy or some country with a baseball program in its early stages. More power to them if they do beat the USA, and a boost to their becoming an established baseball power. It wouldn't hurt my own sense of national pride in the least.

I am looking forward to seeing that first weekend of games in the Far East. China vs. Taiwan should be very interesting. And what a great look this will be at the Japanese team. I'll probably be working when the USA and Latin American teams play, but I will be listening. Those should be good games.

Heck...There all going to be good. Lots of newly discovered talent this March.

Damn that means that those of us who own Televisions will have to watch the games. The horrah.

Toddowen wrote:

SunCoastSooner wrote:
Damn that means that those of us who own Televisions will have to watch the games. The horrah.

Of course I'd rather be able to watch the game. But those of us who work late shift jobs Mon-Fri will still get to hear every pitch.

Imagine your choices....you either sit in your boring little cubicle and listen to Bob Cigar doing "on the road again' three times every eight hours, or you can hear the play by play of the Classic.

Team USA doesn't play until the middle of the week, too, I believe. There would be no way that I'd get to follow the live action if it wasn't for XM.

I'll take Sirius everytime I am given the option, and have.

Toddowen wrote:

SunCoastSooner wrote:

Toddowen wrote:
Of course I'd rather be able to watch the game. But those of us who work late shift jobs Mon-Fri will still get to hear every pitch.

Imagine your choices....you either sit in your boring little cubicle and listen to Bob Cigar doing "on the road again' three times every eight hours, or you can hear the play by play of the Classic.

Team USA doesn't play until the middle of the week, too, I believe. There would be no way that I'd get to follow the live action if it wasn't for XM.

I'll take Sirius everytime I am given the option, and have.

I thought that might be your reason for objecting.

Now that you've made your bed, you'll have to sleep in it...without the superiour XM programming.

Good night, now.

Superiour... maybe music wise but other than baseball XM has nothing even remotly interesting in its sports or news programing. If I want to listen to music I have a 40 disc cd changer and over 400 albums. Now if I want to hear a football , basketball, the news, or anything else I find interesting I have the correct sysytem in my house and car.

If you can't tell by the screen name I am more worried about who has the Big 12 contracts and they are all with Sirius. And I have caught a number of Big Ten basketball and football games on Sirius so I don't think they are exclusive to XM.

Tickets on sale Saturday for the semis and finals at Petco.
May have to check this out.

Mikey wrote:Tickets on sale Saturday for the semis and finals at Petco.
May have to check this out.

I was just checking the WBC website and it's saying they're not on sale yet (nother post edit....I found the tickets for sale. Only limited view seating left.) They have the pool semifinals on sale. Was thinking about checking out the Pool winners at Anaheim on 3/12.

The Dominican team is loaded....I can't see how they get beat.


Edit: Venezuela is stacked too! Damn....I hope these guys put in some effort in these games. You could see some awesome baseball being played if they take it seriously.