Come anticipate the World Baseball Classic with me

--former Boston GM Theo Epstein, on the prospect of seeing one of his pitchers compete in the WBC in March (Boston Herald)

http://sports.yahoo.com/top/news;_ylt=AlGEe33IJPRH9NqpcSgRtNMRvLYF?slug=ap-classic-cuba&prov=ap&type=lgns

thanks, ofac.

With injuries a primary concern for many players and major league teams, the WBC has implemented strict pitch counts for each round of the event, which will run from March 3-20.

Pitchers can not pitch more than 65 pitches in the opening round, 80 in the second round and 95 in the semifinals and finals. Both managers and the umpire will be informed if the pitcher is within 20 of the limit at the start of the inning, although he will be allowed to surpass the limit to complete an at-bat.

There are also limits to how often a pitcher can pitch. If a pitcher throws at least 50 pitches, he must take the next four days off and one day off if he has thrown at least 30 pitches or thrown on consecutive days.

There are no restrictions on position players. However, no more than 14 players from one major league organization - or 10 on an active roster - will be allowed to participate.

The WBC also finalized the parameters for a mercy rule, which figures to be invoked in the earlier rounds, when powerhouses like the United States and the Dominican Republic face lesser countries like South Africa and Italy. Games will be called if one team is ahead by 10 runs after seven innings or by 15 after five.

The designated hitter rule will be used and winning and losing pitchers will be determined much like the All-Star Game, when the number of innings pitched will not be a factor. All players will be tested under the Olympic drug policy although a positive test for the WBC will not count under MLB's new steroid policy.

The teams in the World Baseball Classic will be divided into four pools and feature round-robin play in each of the first two rounds.

The top two teams from each pool advance to the second-round, where the same format will be used to determine who advances to the single-elimination semifinals and finals, which will be held at Petco Park in San Diego from March 18-20. Ties will be decided by head-to-head record in each round.

Japan will host the opening round in Pool A, which also includes Korea, China and Chinese Taipei, from March 3-6.

The top two finishers will travel to the United States for the second round to face the qualifiers from Pool B, which includes Team USA, beginning March 13.

Pool B also consists of Canada, Mexico and South Africa and will play in Arizona.

Puerto Rico will host Pool C, which also includes teams from the Netherlands, Panama and Cuba.

Pool D will be occupied by Australia, the Dominican Republic, Italy and Venezuela and play in Florida.

The WBC will be held again in 2009 and every four years thereafter.

Joe Sheehan on the WBC rules:

[The pitch limits] look reasonable and conservative, the prudent thing to do. They’re not. Those numbers are each about two weeks ahead of where pitchers typically are in March, and even considering that those intending to compete in this thing have been planning on getting that kind of work, the numbers make me uncomfortable. You can’t find any examples of pitchers going 65 pitches before March 10, or 80 before March 20, in the last ten years. Pitchers just aren’t brought along that quickly.

What I don’t understand is why this isn’t more of an issue. The entire reason we have a six-week spring training is so that pitchers can ramp up from playing catch to throwing major-league innings. If not for the delicate nature of pitchers, you’d need about a week of workouts and maybe another week of games to get ready for the season. Yet now, because it’s convenient for MLB and its coffers, pitchers are going to be asked to do things they haven’t done in years, shift their schedule and be ready to throw competitive innings in early March. I think it’s a terrible idea, I have all along, and I will not be surprised to see more and more pitchers either beg off or have their teams do it for them as the season approaches.

Dominican Republic 11/10
U.S.A. 11/8
Venezuela 8/1
Japan 10/1
Puerto Rico 12/1
Cuba 16/1
Chinese Taipei 28/1
Korea 33/1
Mexico 50/1
Panama 66/1
Canada 66/1
Holland 200/1
Australia 500/1
Italy 500/1
South Africa 500/1
China 500/1

http://www.worldbaseballclassic.com/2006/schedule/index.jsp?sid=wbc

I smell an NYC FAP for March 18 or 20, right? Just a little premature to nail down.

Anyone watch the Caribbean Series? In the trad place for names on the back of unis, The Dominicans had VERIZON and Puerto Rico had MCS (?). One small step closer to Nascar.

the ad for this last night was horrible though using clemens to represent the us seems about what we deserve.

(I never watch soccer)

C'mon, 'projections and stats' are your ...projection! She just thinks it'll affect the regular season, ie injuries, wins and losses. I wanna see how the WBC plays out, but I never watch the Olympics myself. Around here we certainly treat the reg season as the"actual ballgames" too.

Starters (4): Roger Clemens, Jake Peavy, Dontrelle Willis and C.C. Sabathia.

Relievers (10): Chad Cordero, Brian Fuentes, Todd Jones, Brad Lidge, Joe Nathan, Scot Shields, Street, Mike Timlin, Billy Wagner and Dan Wheeler.

Catchers (3): Michael Barrett, Brian Schneider and Jason Varitek.

Infielders (7): Derek Jeter, Chipper Jones, Derrek Lee, Alex Rodriguez, Mark Teixeira, Chase Utley and Michael Young.

Outfielders (6): Johnny Damon, Jeff Francoeur, Ken Griffey Jr., Matt Holliday, Vernon Wells and Randy Winn.

“I will make them see that they won’t beat Japan for the next 30 years,” said Ichiro Suzuki in an interview after the first day of Japanese World Baseball Classic practice yesterday.

After the Japanese team’s practice at the Fukuoka Yahoo Dome yesterday, Ichiro said, “Not only will we win, but also we’ll make Japanese baseball fans feel that they saw a truly great game. I want to make [Korea and Taiwan] see that they will not be able to beat Japan in next 30 years.”

Ichiro: Korea Smells Like Garlic
Ichiro’s provocative remark is nothing new. Back in 1997, Ichiro, a member of the Orix Blue Wave at the time, visited Korea for friendly baseball games against Korean pro teams. When asked what his first impression of Korea was, he replied, “It smells like garlic.”

Ichiro’s remark angered many Korean players. Pitcher Sohn Min-han (Lotte) said, “Hearing what he said, I want to make him eat his own words by beating the Japanese team.”

“I have been called five times to play on the national team, and from 2000 Sydney Olympics through the 2002 Busan Asian games, the Korea national team has never been defeated by Japan,” said the team’s slugger Lee Byeong-gyu (LG). “We have many world-class ballplayers on the Korea national team; we won’t be easy to beat,” Lee added confidently.

The World Baseball Classic preliminary round match between Korea and Japan will be held on March 5 at the Tokyo Dome.

Can you see that I am not afraid?

I bet this quote was 100000X more vicious (and entertaining) in the original Korean.