Come anticipate the World Baseball Classic with me

I think the rules are a little more loosey goosey than just where you were born.

Truthfully, I didn't even know they played baseball in the Netherlands.

Ya there’s a whole euro league. I’m sure they’re about as popular as pro ultimate frisbee leagues are over here… but they exist!

xp
the team has players from not just the netherlands, but also west indian caribbean islands they colonized, like aruba and curacao

Just came up with a potential, very obscure, fantasy team name: Newcombes on de Blok

Oohh I thought that ball was gone

lol, that xander bogaerts hbp was at least 6 inches away from his body

Ya. That’s not gonna survive the challenge.

was able to stay awake long enough to see Netherlands take the lead and then i was out. glad they were able to hang on

https://i.imgur.com/abRAN0G.png

https://www.mlb.com/news/cuba-fan-with-horn-at-world-baseball-classic

He jokes that he’s not only one of the most famous people in Cuba, but the entire world. The crowd at Intercontinental -- mostly baseball fans from Taiwan -- immediately took a liking to Avila. They cheered with him and, in between almost every inning, groups of people went down to take selfies with him.

The players, of course, know him well (again, he’s always there) and he feels like this is a great squad that he could follow all the way to end.

“They’re very good,” Avila said. “One of the best teams ever. Like the 1990s teams.”

those in the US, how are you watching this?

the fox sports website, using an ancient login from the brother of a friend of a friend

the usual free shady streaming options (sp0rtsurg3 etc) didn't have the first game, but maybe they'll catch on as the tournament progresses

adam wainwright is starting game 1 for the US and it could get pretty ugly. however, i was completely wrong about my "15+ total runs in NED vs CUBA" prediction so who knows

It was nice to see Cespedes again!

it warms my heart to see that lars nootbaar has quickly became a national sensation in japan

https://www.reddit.com/r/baseball/comments/11lz47w/lars_tatsuji_nootbaars_signature_pepper_grinder/

LARS NOOTBAAR AND HIS GRIND THE PEPPER CELLY HAVE GONE INTERNATIONAL 🐐🇯🇵 pic.twitter.com/pIJuRCA9Cy

— The Game Day MLB (@TheGameDayMLB) March 8, 2023

on the one hand: yesss
on the other hand: never repeat the word “celly” again ever

heavily otm

all caps celly is unforgivable

wheel/snipe/celly ferda

also

Rik Aalbert Blyleven was born in Zeist, a municipality in Utrecht, Netherlands, the son of Johannes Cornelius and Jannigje Blijleven. His family moved to Melville, Saskatchewan, when Blyleven was two years old before ultimately settling in Garden Grove, California, in 1957 when Blyleven was five years old. One of seven children, his parents anglicized their names to Joe and Jenny, with Rik Aalbert becoming simply "Bert".

apparently if you are eligible for citizenship in a country you can play for that team in the WBC

^untrue, i was flatly rejected by the US squad this year, again

“Celly” is a hockey thing

Also john axford looks like an old wizard what happened

China having a difficult 4th inning

Naturally just as I say that they finally get a third out. Ohtani absolutely nightmarish for them.

woah - Italy just beat Cuba!

wow, 16 walks on the Japan side of the box score in that game with China!

also, just ran across this, maybe it'll divert your attention for a few moments as well:

https://i.imgur.com/dkeR5Um.png

also i see that team USA was defeated by the Giants in their warm-up game yesterday, 5-1.

so is Cuba done, now that they've lost two? or do they still have a sliver of hope going into the game v Panama tonight (which you would think should be win-able)?

i think they're not technically out of it yet but they are pretty much cooked.

First Round: In the First Round, the teams in each pool shall be ranked according to the percentages of games won in the First Round. The two teams with the highest such percentages in each pool shall advance to the Quarterfinal Round. If at the end of pool play in Round One of the Tournament, teams within a pool are tied with an identical winning percentage, the tie shall be broken in the following order of priority:

The team that won the games between the teams tied shall be given the higher position. If three or more teams are tied and one of those teams won its games against all other teams it is tied with, then it will be placed in the higher spot. Similarly, if one of those tied teams lost its games against all other teams it is tied with, then it will be placed in the lowest spot.

...

*persevering air horn in the night*

i like the part of the televised intro when the voice goes "IT'S A NEW DAY IN THE INTERNATIONAL LANDSCAPE!!!"

At 44, he is the second-oldest player in the WBC. He has a mullet, and sometimes, a gold tooth. He throws 75 mph.

He is Kenny Powers, Forrest Gump, Paul Bunyan, Batman and Walter Johnson rolled into one

This is the legend of Shlomo Lipetz

NEW @MLBONFOXhttps://t.co/NzBUPCqE95

— Céspedes Family BBQ (@CespedesBBQ) March 10, 2023

awesome

not a great outing by sandy alcantara

EAT
TAIN

We could watch replays of Ohtani's homer 24/7. #WorldBaseballClassic pic.twitter.com/IOmqVVj4E3

— MLB (@MLB) March 12, 2023

uh, whoops!

https://i.imgur.com/pLoOb3A.png

Cuba and Italy advance

The tiebreaker that decided Pool A was: fewest runs allowed per defensive out recorded.

In other words, divide each team's total runs allowed in pool play by the total number of outs they recorded on defense. The two teams with the lowest numbers advance.

Cuba allowed 15 runs in its four games, and recorded 108 outs, resulting in a ratio of .139 runs allowed/outs recorded. That was the lowest in Pool A.
Italy allowed 17 runs in its four games, and recorded 108 outs, resulting in a ratio of .157 runs allowed/outs recorded. That was the second-lowest in Pool A.

i'm not sure if anyone saw the US game last night but it appears that the team has decided to make saluting each other their "thing" for the WBC. worst

jesus christ

don’t all team record the same number of outs unless they’re the home team and they’re winning in the 9th, which is arbitrary? am i missing something?

yeah, you'd think they'd be pretty similar for each team! i guess extra innings might change things, or if the mercy rule cut things short

craziest is that taiwan ‘finishing last’ means they’ve been relegated and will have to go through qualifiers to make the next WBC

Canada’s starting pitcher Quantrill coughing up 3 runs in over 30 pitches in the 1st inning so far. Did not see this happening.

Buck Showalter has a very difficult voice to listen to

Quantrill loads the bases, manager comes to take him out. What is happening

The pitcher Canada brought in to replace him was brought on during the ad break, the commentary was in the middle of saying “…was about to give it all up to become a farmer.” When he gets the third out to end the half-hour top of the 1st, commenter says, triumphantly, “Not many farmers can run like that.” This is Madbum erasure you know!

Ok Canada had a home run and we missed it cos of the ad break! Sigh.

Freddie Freeman is on his second at bat in the first inning. We’re still in the first - oh wait he actually is out. Unreal how bad this is. An hour for a single inning!

More of the same in the second

It’s so bad. Five pitchers in 1.5 innings!