Astros in WBC 2017

[Nate Colbert]

WBC not everybody's cup of tea but...

Several articles (including here and here) recently have noted that the Puerto Rico squad will have quite the Astros flavor--new bench coach Alex Cora will be the GM while Carlos Correa will be somewhere in the infield (alongside Francisco Lindor and Javier Baez). George Springer, whose mother is from Puerto Rico, is "expected" (or "might", depending on the article) to play for PR as well. Once (and future?) Astro Carlos Beltran also expected to again be on the PR squad as he was in 2013.

[roadrunner]

I've grown to really enjoy this tournament.  2017 seems like it will be the best yet with the star power that has already committed.  I'm a little annoyed Harper and Trout aren't playing, but there's plenty of US talent to backfill those vacancies.

I imagine Altuve will be the starting 2B for Venezuela.

[Nate Colbert]

I've grown to really enjoy this tournament.

Me too. I especially enjoy following the Samurai Japan squad and (as you noted the other day) it'll be especially cool this time with Otani on the team.

[Nate Colbert]

Aoki "expected" to play for Japan and Team Israel wants Bregman to play for them.

[roadrunner]

Correa, Altuve, and Beltran are all playing.

[Nate Colbert]

Correa, Altuve, and Beltran are all playing.

Gregerson and (previously) Aoki are also now confirmed participants.

Link

[Nate Colbert]

Ex-stro Josh Zeid will suit up for Team Israel.

[MusicMan]

Tags and ESPN separately reporting that Springer will not play in the WBC.

[Tralfaz]

Tags and ESPN separately reporting that Springer will not play in the WBC.

Any injury concerns mentioned?

[MusicMan]

Any injury concerns mentioned?

No, Tags appears to be tweeting at full strength.


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[roadrunner]

Not terribly surprising.  Next offseason will be his first arbitration eligible, so no reason to risk injury...especially when you won't hit free agency until 2021.

[Nate Colbert]

Jon Morosi ‏@jonmorosi  16 minutes ago
Dallas Keuchel (@kidkeuchy) has been throwing since late December. Could be a candidate to replace Max Scherzer in @WBCBaseball.

No fucking way.

[BlownRanger]

Jon Morosi ‏@jonmorosi  16 minutes ago
Dallas Keuchel (@kidkeuchy) has been throwing since late December. Could be a candidate to replace Max Scherzer in @WBCBaseball.

No fucking way.

He can't be serious.

[MusicMan]

He can't be serious.

No, he can't be. And I'll call him Shirley if I want to.

[Matt]

The Korean sports press is already stirring up excitement about the WBC. They expect to do pretty well this time around thanks to all the players in MLB these days.

[Nate Colbert]

Now six Astros playing in WBC as Bregman tweets out he's joining Gregerson on Team USA, Correa and Beltran of course playing for PR plus Altuve (Venezuela) and Aoki (Japan).

Far higher and more significant presence than 2013 when the only 3 Astros major leaguers playing were relievers Rhiner Cruz and Xavier Cedeno and outfielder Fernando Martinez. It also exceeds the 2009 contingent of Roy Oswalt, Carlos Lee, Miguel Tejada and Latroy Hawkins.

[roadrunner]

Regarding Keuchel - if he does pitch it sounds like he would be in the "designated pitcher pool" which means USA can pull him in one of the later rounds to pitch.  So theoretically he may make 1 start.  I don't think it's anything to worry about if you're concerned about him throwing out his arm or something in a 9-game tournament.  It actually sounds like it's pretty much in line with what a Spring Training throwing schedule would be.

[Nate Colbert]

Team Canada roster is shaping up to be...interesting. Russell Martin is "expected" to play shortstop. And a pair of former All-Star pitchers may be taking part. Except those All Star years were quite of few moons ago and they're both retired (and in one case, retired for nearly a decade). Ryan Dempster and Eric Gagne are both "planning" to pitch in WBC.

Dempster fire north of the border.

[Nate Colbert]

Haven't seen this report confirmed but if true...really...really...sucks.

Shohei Otani won't pitch in WBC due to ankle injury.

ETA:
Jon Morosi has confirmed the report.

[Reuben]

Haven't seen this report confirmed but if true...really...really...sucks.

Shohei Otani won't pitch in WBC due to ankle injury.

ETA:
Jon Morosi has confirmed the report.

Ah, but will he hit...?

[Nate Colbert]

Ah, but will he hit...?

No hitting either, off the roster completely according to this Kyodo News article posted today.

[Nate Colbert]

Pitchers Kevin Chapman (Canada) and Dayan Diaz (Colombia) also on WBC rosters giving the Astros a total of 8 players in the tourney.

And no, Dallas Keuchel is NOT in the designated pitchers pool for Team USA.

[Nate Colbert]

Jake Kaplan ‏@jakemkaplan  2 hours ago
Aoki leaves for the WBC on Feb. 27-28. The other seven Astros participating leave on or around March 6th.

[Nate Colbert]

No surprise with Lindor on the PR roster: Correa will play 3B.

WBC play kicks off in the wee hours tomorrow with Team Israel vs Korea.

[Col. Sphinx Drummond]

The Korean crowd is great. Cheerleaders at a baseball game.

[geezerdonk]

WBC play kicks off in the wee hours tomorrow with Team Israel vs Korea.

Kosher bulgogi at the club house buffet.

[Col. Sphinx Drummond]

Team Isreal wins 2-1 in the 10th. Josh Zied with the win.

[Nate Colbert]

Cuba vs Japan kicks off in a few hours. While no Otani, the Samurai squad does have other interesting players in OFs Yoshitomo Tsutsugo and Seiya Suzuki plus INF Tetsuto Yamada and pitcher Shintaro Fujinami. The lone MLBer on their roster is Aoki. OF Victor Mesa is one to watch on the much-depleted Cuba squad.

[Nate Colbert]

Aoki, playing CF, went 1-4 with a walk and a double and scored the first run in Samurai's 11-6 win.

ETA:
 
Also had another XBH stolen by the Cuban CF. And Aoki himself made a couple of nice plays out in center.

[Reuben]

Aoki, playing CF, went 1-4 with a walk and a double and scored the first run in Samurai's 11-6 win.

I kinda keep forgetting that Aoki is on the Astros now, but I'm nevertheless interested to see how he does this year - and how much playing time he gets.

[geezerdonk]

Sorry to say that bringing in Aoki, Reddick and Beltran seems to be a vote of no confidence in Marisnick. If he makes the ML roster, I can't see him getting near as much playing time as he had last year.

[Tonywatson]

Sorry to say that bringing in Aoki, Reddick and Beltran seems to be a vote of no confidence in Marisnick. If he makes the ML roster, I can't see him getting near as much playing time as he had last year.

I think it has zero to do with what they think of Marisnick. Marisnick is what he is, defense, speed, and someone to start against LHP. Reddick won't play much against LHP and Aoki slightly more.


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[juliogotay]

I think it has zero to do with what they think of Marisnick. Marisnick is what he is, defense, speed, and someone to start against LHP. Reddick won't play much against LHP and Aoki slightly more.


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Marisnick is working on a swing change that has shown some early promise.

[Nate Colbert]

Aoki hitless this morning in 5 trips (though he did draw a walk) against a fairly lackluster group of Aussie pitchers, though Twins' prospect LHP Lachlan Wells did look impressive.

[MusicMan]

Not a bad lineup for Venezuela today:

2b Altuve
3b Prado
1b M. Cabrera
RF C. Gonzalez
DH V. Martinez
C  Perez
LF Herrera
SS A. Escobar
CF Inciarte

[Col. Sphinx Drummond]

Japhet Amador is a very large man. And he just homered.

[das]

Japhet Amador is a very large man. And he just homered.

Did the Astros give up on him?

[Nate Colbert]

Did the Astros give up on him?

Pretty much, although officially he was loaned back to his original Diablos Rojos club in April 2014. That followed his reporting to ST late that year apparently due to an illness involving his pregnant wife (not suggesting a connection, that was just the sequence of events). Went on to hit 41 homers in the Mexican League in 2015 before signing to play in Japan last season with Rakuten. I believe he's still under contract to that club for the upcoming season.

[chuck]

The Mexican team's ninth inning meltdown last night was spectacular.

[Col. Sphinx Drummond]

The Mexican team's ninth inning meltdown last night was spectacular.

I thought Osuna was going to nail it down. El Tri karma transcends all Mexican national sports teams.

[Nate Colbert]

Gregerson 1-2-3 top of 6th but Team USA down to Colombia 2-0 as Jose Quintana has thrown nothing but blanks in his 5+ innings thus far.

[Nate Colbert]

These are some ugly-ass Venezuela unis.

[Nate Colbert]

PR run-ruled VZ in an 11-0 win and the two Carlos' were big parts of it. Correa had a deep fly to straightaway center and defensively had a couple of nice plays at the hot corner. Beltran drew a couple of walks and had the oppo single to drive in Correa (who had swiped 2B ahead of the base hit).

Altuve drew a walk in 3 trips.

[MusicMan]

These are some ugly-ass Venezuela unis.

Understatement


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[Fredia]

USA  is not up on the bandstand with glorious unis. Who designed them? I usually dont buy anything not directly Astro related but I can not imagine there being a big market for sales.

[Nate Colbert]

Venezuelans avoid embarassing loss to Italy, Altuve goes 2-6 scoring 3 runs including eventual game-winner in T10.

Though it wasn't a hard collision, Drew Butera must be feeling pretty bad right now.

[Col. Sphinx Drummond]

The Dominicans can't be stopped.

[Nate Colbert]

Carlos the Elder 3 hits and a walk (he's 4-6 with 3 walks over the 1st 2 games) as PR beats up on MEX. The younger Carlos had a walk and a SF in 5 trips with an errant throw defensively.

[Navin R Johnson]

The Dominicans can't be stopped.

Their lineup is ridiculous.

[roadrunner]

I was lucky to be in attendance last night at the DR/USA game in Miami.  Unreal experience.  It was the loudest game I've been to since Lidge shutting out playoff games in 2005, if not louder.  And this was a different kind of loud.  Constant noise during the game, music, dancing, etc.  When Cruz hit the go-ahead homer you could feel the stadium shaking.

It was a great moment for the WBC.  The top American players need to get over their personal hesitations or whatever it is that keeps them out of this.  Unless they are lucky enough to make a World Series, games with this kind of atmosphere and emotion are exactly why you play the game - even if it means you risk losing 2% of your multi-million dollar life earnings due to some fluke injury.

If you're a baseball fan and haven't checked in to the tournament, I recommend giving it try. 

[Navin R Johnson]

Super jealous RoadRunner!   Footer is there doing radio, she said it was louder than anything she has heard.

Speaking of the WBC, maybe it is just me but why is the WBC so much more interesting this year?  In past WBCs, I'd watch maybe an inning or 5 for the whole tournament.  This year I find myself much more drawn to it.  Baseball friends of mine and folks Im friends with through twitter are also talking much more about it too.

That game last night was about as good as baseball gets.   Has the WBC always been like this and I just wasn't paying attention?

BTW, the DR lineup is absolutely ridiculous.   Even if team USA could get whatever Americans they wanted, not sure they could put up anything better than what the DR is running out there.  Incredible.

Is it just because the Astros are exciting again and they have several players playing?

[Col. Sphinx Drummond]

BTW, the DR lineup is absolutely ridiculous.   Even if team USA could get whatever Americans they wanted, not sure they could put up anything better than what the DR is running out there.  Incredible.

Totally agree. Though Kershaw, Bumgarner, and Trout, could make a difference

[Nate Colbert]

Aoki the star in this morning's game as Japan opens with a win over the Netherlands in round #2 in Tokyo:

"The veteran outfielder reached base four times, scored two runs, played stellar defense and likely would have won the game for Japan in the 10th inning if instant-replay challenges were available."

[Nate Colbert]

DR defeats COL in another terrific game (despite invocation of the extra inning format in the 11th) and advances to round #2 in San Diego.

Colombian closer (and Astros' non-roster invitee) Dayan Diaz tossed a 1-2-3 9th today after pitching a scoreless inning (and picking up a save) yesterday in the game against Canada.

[Nate Colbert]

PR also punches ticket to San Diego with win over Italy. The C+C Connection was in fine form again with Correa punching a 3-run shot, walking twice and scoring twice while Beltran drove him in on RBI double.

[roadrunner]

Super jealous RoadRunner!   Footer is there doing radio, she said it was louder than anything she has heard.

Speaking of the WBC, maybe it is just me but why is the WBC so much more interesting this year?  In past WBCs, I'd watch maybe an inning or 5 for the whole tournament.  This year I find myself much more drawn to it.  Baseball friends of mine and folks Im friends with through twitter are also talking much more about it too.

That game last night was about as good as baseball gets.   Has the WBC always been like this and I just wasn't paying attention?

BTW, the DR lineup is absolutely ridiculous.   Even if team USA could get whatever Americans they wanted, not sure they could put up anything better than what the DR is running out there.  Incredible.

Is it just because the Astros are exciting again and they have several players playing?

 the games this year have been exciting for the most part, which certainly helps.  More than anything I think the explosion of exciting young players who are playing in this tournament (non-American) makes this worth watching.  Really only the US, Canada, and to an extent Japan don't have their best players playing.  Every other country is bringing it, and it's a blast to watch.  This is the best tournament I can remember, and hopefully the momentum builds to 2021.

[Nate Colbert]

Really only the US, Canada, and to an extent Japan don't have their best players playing.

I would add Korea to that list (very few of their MLBers participated). And Cuba of course is in its own special category by not allowing the defectors to play.

[Nate Colbert]

USA joins PR and DR in San Diego with the win over Canada. Bregman finally saw action in the tourney, PHing for Nolan Arenado in the B8 and whiffing. Chapman tossed a scoreless 5th for the Canadians.

[Nate Colbert]

Altuve coming back to Astros camp earlier than anticipated as VEN eliminated as a result of the loss to MEX. Jose did have a couple of singles in the game, but also grounded into a forceout at home with the bases loaded and none out in the 7th and FO'd for the last out of the game with a couple of runners on.

[Navin R Johnson]

Tomorrow night 8PM CST, Dominican vs Puerto Rico in San Diego.  Should be awesome.

[roadrunner]

Altuve coming back to Astros camp earlier than anticipated as VEN eliminated as a result of the loss to MEX. Jose did have a couple of singles in the game, but also grounded into a forceout at home with the bases loaded and none out in the 7th and FO'd for the last out of the game with a couple of runners on.

Not exactly.  Venezuela, Mexico, and Italy all ended up 1-2.  Due to the threeway tiebreaker being runs allowed per defensive inning, Venezuela and Italy are playing a tiebreaker game tonight.  Mexico is out.  And apparently there's a little controversy in that, but I don't feel the need to get into that.

[Nate Colbert]

Not exactly.  Venezuela, Mexico, and Italy all ended up 1-2.  Due to the threeway tiebreaker being runs allowed per defensive inning, Venezuela and Italy are playing a tiebreaker game tonight.  Mexico is out.  And apparently there's a little controversy in that, but I don't feel the need to get into that.

Wow, totally contrary to what the announcers were saying when I flipped the TV off this morning (Venezuela out, Italy vs Mexico in the tiebreaker game). More on the controversy:

The razor-thin margin that decided the tiebreaker is reflective of how three evenly matched these 1-2 teams are. And given the fact that they all lost to Puerto Rico and allowed at least a run per inning in the games against the other two, no team had an obvious case for advancement. Mexico protested that ruling based on how those figures were calculated. The general manager of Team Mexico, Kundy Gutierrez, told reporters after the game that discussions regarding the ruling were taking place between MLB chief baseball officer Joe Torre and senior vice president of baseball operations Kim Ng. The ruling was later confirmed, and Venezuela will play Italy for the Pool D tiebreaker.

ETA:
Further (apologies in advance as I suspect the circle of people interested in this may be close to nil at this point) clarification from the LA Times:

It is heartbreaking to lose out based on a hundredth of a run. It is infuriating to lose out when your team has been told something entirely different in advance, as Mexican team officials insisted they had before Sunday’s game. We all had. On the television network run by MLB, and on the website run by MLB, each promoting the tournament run by MLB, the message was the same: If Mexico wins by two runs, Mexico advances. Mexico won by two. 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.” Mexico has not sued, as far as we know. The Mexicans filed a protest, and lost.

[Navin R Johnson]

Venezuela knocks of Italy 4-3, thanks to a 3 run rally in the top of the ninth.  Altuve didn't start, Odor was at 2nd.   Altuve did get a pinch hit, he flew out to CF.

[Nate Colbert]

Team USA vs VEN Wed. night in San Diego.

[roadrunner]

Dominican Republic
Puerto Rico
USA
Venezuela


Should be a fun pool to watch.

[Navin R Johnson]

For those who haven't seen yet, there is a bit of Bregman Odor controversy brewing.

http://thebiglead.com/2017/03/14/alex-bregman-calls-out-rougned-odor-for-bat-flipping-a-single-shouldnt-have-deleted-it/

[Navin R Johnson]

Odor's bat flip was idiotic, what a fucking dumbass.   

[BudGirl]

We've know for years he's the perfect example of a Texas Ranger.  He represents the team and their fans in the manner they are.

Can't stand him.

I would be interested to know Altuve's thoughts though.

[Nate Colbert]

Aoki hitless with an RBI groundout in Samurai Japan's 8-5 win this morning over Cuba.

[Nate Colbert]

Marisnick is working on a swing change that has shown some early promise.

Eh...not so much. After 2 whiffs today in his first 2 ABs, now has 15 Ks in 35 ABs on the spring.

[Nate Colbert]

PR snapped the Dominican's 11-game winning streak in WBC play last night with Correa going 1-2 with  2 walks and Beltran 1-4.

And Aoki went 1-4 with an RBI as Japan defeated Israel to move into the championship round (along with the Netherlands) in Los Angeles.

[Reuben]

Anyone else see the throw Eddie Rosario made to nail Segura at the plate last night? Holy crap what a play. And in a huge situation, too. Nice catch/tag by Molina as well, I suppose.

[Nate Colbert]

Anyone else see the throw Eddie Rosario made to nail Segura at the plate last night? Holy crap what a play.

Hell yes it was a great play. And I was nearly as entertained by watching the PR club celebrate the play afterwards.

[Reuben]

Hell yes it was a great play. And I was nearly as entertained by watching the PR club celebrate the play afterwards.

When he started to throw home I was idly thinking it was somewhat of a foolish risk, because he had no shot. Wrong. I'm curious why the Twins play him in LF (mostly). He's racked up a lot of Assists the last two years.

[Duman]

This was the other great throw of the night last night.  Check out the 2nd baseman pointing at Yadi before the even makes the tag!

[chuck]

Check out the 2nd baseman pointing at Yadi before the even makes the tag!

That's the coolest thing I've seen in a long time. No-look tag.

[BudGirl]

When he started to throw home I was idly thinking it was somewhat of a foolish risk, because he had no shot. Wrong. I'm curious why the Twins play him in LF (mostly). He's racked up a lot of Assists the last two years.

Did you see Correa knock him down during the celebration?

[Reuben]

Did you see Correa knock him down during the celebration?

No, I didn't see the end. Did he try to tackle him like he did that time with Altuve?

[chuck]

No, I didn't see the end. Did he try to tackle him like he did that time with Altuve?

They jumped to do the mid-air chest bump and Correa plowed him right over.

[Nate Colbert]

USA over VEN 4-2. Gregerson came on in the 9th for the save.

Bregman went 2-3 with a couple of singles. The first was up the middle and one of only three hits given up by Felix Hernandez in his 5 innings of shutout ball. His second hit was of the oppo variety. In his final AB, he worked a walk after being down 0-2.

Altuve had a bunt single to lead off the game but went 0-3 thereafter (including a strikeout against former teammate Pat Neshek, going down swinging on a ball approximately 55 feet off the plate).

[Reuben]

Altuve has a brief but worrying history of pressing in high-profile games - 2015 playoffs, All-Star games, home stretch of batting title or record pushes, now the WBC. If or when the Astros get back to the playoffs it'd sure be nice to see him relax a tad and hit like Jose Altuve.

[juliogotay]

Altuve has a brief but worrying history of pressing in high-profile games - 2015 playoffs, All-Star games, home stretch of batting title or record pushes, now the WBC. If or when the Astros get back to the playoffs it'd sure be nice to see him relax a tad and hit like Jose Altuve.

I recall how frustrating he was in the KC playoff series.

[Reuben]

I recall how frustrating he was in the KC playoff series.

That chase of the strike 3 slider from Neshek last night brought back an unpleasant deja vu type feeling.

[Nate Colbert]

VEN goes down 0-2 in the San Diego round as they lose to DR 3-0. Altuve, playing 3B and batting 6th, went 1-4. He volunteered to play 3B after Odor's various botcheries there the night before. As noted on the broadcast, he last played the position in 2011 (7 games for the Hooks). Odor, back at 2B, picked up his 3rd error in two nights.

[MusicMan]

VEN goes down 0-2 in the San Diego round as they lose to DR 3-0. Altuve, playing 3B and batting 6th, went 1-4. He volunteered to play 3B after Odor's various botcheries there the night before. As noted on the broadcast, he last played the position in 2011 (7 games for the Hooks). Odor, back at 2B, picked up his 3rd error in two nights.

Are you saying Odor's errors have left them without a puncher's chance to advance?


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[WVastro]

I stayed up too late watching USA/PUR. I could tell from the first pitch that Harrison was toast. It would have been interesting to see Bregman PH there. Yes, I'm a homer but I have a hunch he'd at least put the ball in play.

The Carlos's seem to be having a grand time. I think Altuve misses them.

[Nate Colbert]

Mixed bag for Correa in PR's 6-5 win over USA. Reached three times on a couple of hits and a walk while on the defensive side erased an XBH hit with the nice diving stab of a liner down the line. But he also had a pair of base-running blunders, at least one of which may have cost his team a run. Beltran with a pair of hits as well (also narrowly missed a HR in a later AB).

PR moves on to semifinals in LA while VEN has been eliminated. Winner of USA and DR tonight moves on to semifinals as well.

[roadrunner]

Elimination US v DR game will be highly enjoyable tonight.

[Nate Colbert]

Bregman not in starting lineup (again) tonight.

[Nate Colbert]

PR stayed undefeated in WBC play in the meaningless of the two games today, shellacking VEN 13-2. Correa doubled and walked 3 times and is hitting .375/.556/.813 in the 6 games of tourney play thus far. Beltran sat today. Altuve 1-4 with a couple of whiffs.

PR plays the Netherlands on Monday night.

[MusicMan]

Correa doubled and walked 3 times and is hitting .375/.556/.813 in the 6 games of tourney play thus far.

I'll be in my bunk.

[Col. Sphinx Drummond]

Shit. Sloppy play gives the D.R. a 2-0 lead after 1.

[chuck]

I'll be in my bunk.

He's looked every bit like the superstar that some people say he will never be.

[WVastro]

Bregman not in starting lineup (again) tonight.

I might regret saying this but I REALLY  Bregman could be getting more ab's right now. I'd hate to suggest that the US team play to "get people in" but WTF is he on this roster...? The only silver lining I can get is that being around all the talent on that team has a positive effect on him.

 I'd rather he see MLB-ish pitching this month on a regular basis.

[Nate Colbert]

Gregerson the save, US the win.

USA vs Japan on Tuesday night.

5 of the 8 Astros (Correa, Beltran, Aoki, Gregerson and Bregman) made it to the semi-finals*.


*6 of 9 if you include shortstop Stijn van der Meer (34th-rounder last year out of Lamar U) who's on the Netherlands team. And yes with Andrelton Simmons, Xander Bogaerts, Didi Gregorius and Jonathan Schoop on the Dutch roster he hasn't seen a whole lotta playing time.

[Nate Colbert]

I might regret saying this but I REALLY  Bregman could be getting more ab's right now.

AJ agrees with you.

[roadrunner]

Correa flashing his stick, glove, and arm tonight.

[Nate Colbert]

Stijn van der Meer sighting in the top of the 11th: managed to get the sac bunt down in the PH appearance to advance runners to 2nd and 3rd.

[Nate Colbert]

PR to the finals Wednesday night.

Correa HR (his 3rd in WBC play), infield hit, walk, groundout, GIDP in his 5 plate appearances. Also at least one fine defensive play and scored the winning run on a sac fly in the B11 after extra inning rules put into effect.

Beltran 2-4 on the night.

[chuck]

Stijn van der Meer sighting in the top of the 11th: managed to get the sac bunt down in the PH appearance to advance runners to 2nd and 3rd.

He's a pretty good honkballer, let's face it.

[Col. Sphinx Drummond]

I wonder whatever happened to Jan Baldee?

[MusicMan]

The best remark I saw on this "put runners on first and second in the 11th" bullshit:

EVERYONE will bunt, and then get an intentional walk. It's like the old "N R S T L E" in Wheel of Fortune.

If you're going to make the game a farce, then skip straight to bases loaded with one out, and leave out the boring part of the farce.

[WVastro]

USA/JPN just started. No Bregman... maybe he'll be allowed to pinch run tonight!

[Nate Colbert]

USA/JPN just started. No Bregman... maybe he'll be allowed to pinch run tonight!

He's the Stijn van der Meer of the USA squad!

[Nate Colbert]

John Manuel of Baseball America:

John Manuel‏ @johnmanuelba  2 minutes ago
Good grief, if US wins this game, Bregman HAS to play 3B in title game. Arenado seems lost & defeated.

[Reuben]

John Manuel of Baseball America:

John Manuel‏ @johnmanuelba  2 minutes ago
Good grief, if US wins this game, Bregman HAS to play 3B in title game. Arenado seems lost & defeated.

I agree. Arenado's ABs have been brutal.

[Nate Colbert]

Gregerson on for the 9th.

ETA:
Picks up his 3rd save of the tourney as the USA advances to play PR in championship game tomorrow night. In his 4 innings of WBC work, the only baserunner allowed by Gregerson came on a walk.

Aoki grounded out in his 1st 2 ABs before drawing walks off Andrew Miller and Mark Melancon in his final two plate appearances.

[astrosfan76]

Bregman to jump back in the ST lineup on Friday after his stint not playing in the WBC.  Hinch had this to say:

"He's ready to go," Hinch said. "There's only so much you can do. The timing at the plate is really the only issue. He's taken his groundballs, he's getting his running in, he's getting his workouts.

"He showed up to spring ready to go, game ready. I think (with) the timing at the plate, you take a few weeks off of at-bats, 90 (mph) looks like 95, 95 looks like 100. So he'll need as many at-bats as we can give him."

Naturally, he'll face Syndergaard on Friday.

[Nate Colbert]

Bob Nightengale @BNightengale 37 minutes ago
Team USA expected to have same lineup with exception of Jonathan LuCroy starting at catcher instead of Buster Posey.

[Reuben]

Two ABs in and Arenado looks like fucking dogshit, again. He's got all the restraint of Alfonso Soriano up there, just flailing away at slider after slider after slider, as they get further and further outside and deeper and deeper in the dirt.

[Reuben]

Two ABs in and Arenado looks like fucking dogshit, again. He's got all the restraint of Alfonso Soriano up there, just flailing away at slider after slider after slider, as they get further and further outside and deeper and deeper in the dirt.

Tries to sac bunt (remember, he's the cleanup hitter) with runners on 1st and 2nd and no outs in the 5th; runner is forced at 3rd.

[Nate Colbert]

It took 'em 4 tries but the US finally wins a WBC.

Like most of the rest of the PR lineup, Beltran + Correa were blanked.

[das]

It took 'em 4 tries but the US finally wins a WBC.

Like most of the rest of the PR lineup, Beltran + Correa were blanked.

Good for them.  That was fun and all but when do they get back into ST games?  Bregman especially.  Hopefully by Saturday at the latest.

It will be interesting to see how the MLB WBC participants fare against the rest of the MLB players that are into the last 10 days of ST so are getting very close to gameday ready.

[Jacksonian]

Good for them.  That was fun and all but when do they get back into ST games?  Bregman especially.  Hopefully by Saturday at the latest.

It will be interesting to see how the MLB WBC participants fare against the rest of the MLB players that are into the last 10 days of ST so are getting very close to gameday ready.

Considering how little Bregman played and Hinch's obvious irritation I wouldn't be surprised if in the future there are expectations of guaranteed playing time.

[roadrunner]

Good for them.  That was fun and all but when do they get back into ST games?  Bregman especially.  Hopefully by Saturday at the latest.

It will be interesting to see how the MLB WBC participants fare against the rest of the MLB players that are into the last 10 days of ST so are getting very close to gameday ready.

I loved the WBC and at the same time was annoyed that Bregman didn't get more playing time.  When the US fields a roster like they did, the manager should be rotating guys in and out - and I'm not just saying that so guys can get reps before the season starts.  First of all, it's fun for the fans to see all of these different stars play together.  I was excited to see Bregman, and also guys like Murphy and Goldschmidt who barely got any playing time.  Secondly, is it really that much of a difference between Hosmer/Goldschmidt, Kinsler/Murphy, Crawford/Bregman, Arenado/Bregman, or any of those guys than Josh Harrison?   These guys are all really really good at baseball.  And if the guys are in a slump (Arenado), sub them out for one of the really really good players on the bench.  It's simple.

I worry that despite the success of this tournament that US guys are going to be hesitant to commit next time because they don't want to risk riding the pine for 2-3 weeks.  I always thought the "disruption of season preparation" was overblown but now guys will definitely use that as an excuse.

All of that said, I think the preparation stuff is still overblown.  Bregman will go back to WPB and get 1.5 weeks of playing time before the season.  I think he'll be fine but I'm sure if he starts out in a slump everyone will blame Leyland.

Great tournament.  Can't wait for the next one.

[Reuben]

Hosmer did very well, but playing him over Goldschmidt made very little sense to me. Hosmer is a fine player, but Goldschmidt is a Top 5 or 10 player in all of baseball. Even Murphy arguably should have been playing 1B before Hosmer.

Frankly I thought Gregerson was an odd choice for Closer over Miller, but maybe Miller was delayed in ramping up for the season, I dunno. He did look rusty the 1 or 2 times I saw him, while you can't argue with Luke's results.

[astrosfan76]

Good for them.  That was fun and all but when do they get back into ST games?  Bregman especially.  Hopefully by Saturday at the latest.

It will be interesting to see how the MLB WBC participants fare against the rest of the MLB players that are into the last 10 days of ST so are getting very close to gameday ready.

Bregman to jump back in the ST lineup on Friday after his stint not playing in the WBC.  Hinch had this to say:

Naturally, he'll face Syndergaard on Friday.