Skip to main content

A Quick Look at the WBC

The World Baseball Classic begins tomorrow, when Pool A gets things popping at 4:30AM Eastern. In conjunction this week, and next, with Swing and a Long Drive and The IronPigPen, we're going to glance over our picks for who will advance to the 2nd round of the WBC.

The easiest pick in the bunch, to win their pool is Japan in Pool A. The defending WBC champs easily have the best roster in this bracket. Also, Japan may very well have the best starting pitching duo in the entire Classic. Yu Darvish and Daisuke Matsuzaka are likely to be a knockout 1-2 punch on the mound, especially in Pool A. Most of you should be familiar with "Dice-K", but if you haven't heard of Darvish...you should be watching Japan closely. The 6'5" fireballer is just 22 years old and already is winning awards in Japan. He also has completed back-to-back seasons with both double digit complete games and an ERA under 2. Other major leaguers on Team Japan are Kenji Johjima, Ichiro Suzuki, Kosuke Fukudome and Akinori Iwamura.
My prediction to leave Pool A as the runner up and advance to the 2nd round is Korea. Slugger Tae Kyun Kim of the Korea Baseball Organization is one to watch out for. Korean Chan Ho Park is skipping the Classic, in order to focus on winning that 5th spot in the Phils' starting rotation.


Pool B features Australia, Cuba, Mexico and South Africa. My pick to win out of this group is Cuba. Team Cuba made it to the finals of the inaugural Classic, losing to Japan, and they are expected to have a shot at revenge. Pitcher Pedro Luis Lazo performed well in 2006's Classic, and Cuba is depending on him to shut down the opposition once again. My pick to advance as a runner up will be this bracket's host squad, Mexico.


Oh, say can you see...that Team USA will win Pool C? Matt Stairs and Team Canada is hosting the first round, but they'll have to deal with losing, while USA and Venezuela advance. USA and Venezuela are packed with major leaguers, but the Americans' pitching will ensure the win. Roy Oswalt and Jake Peavy could give Yu and Dice-K a run for the best starting pitching tandem in the WBC.

And lastly, there's Pool D with the Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico, Panama and the Kingdom of the Netherlands. "The DR" is one of the favorites to win it all this year. This squad is strong and could dominate this Pool, but it does have some problems. First, A-Rod is having hip trouble and could miss the Classic. Another potential hindrance to this squad is that it has several outstanding shortstops (Jose Reyes, Hanley Ramirez and Miguel Tejada), but only one of them can play at a time. With these concerns in mind, and knowing which teams my cohorts selected, I will choose Puerto Rico as my Pool D winner, with the Dominicans advancing as the runners up.


We'll reconvene next week for more analysis, when we each pick a winner of the entire WBC. In the meantime, be sure to check out my blogging cohorts' links above. Amanda and Rolf do very good work with their pages.

Comments

Amanda said…
Good stuff, good stuff.

I like the "oh say can you see." All our predictions are the same I think. Haha.

Popular posts from this blog

Justin De Fratus Interview Excerpts- May, 2011

Armed with a 2-0 record, 3 saves and a 2.95 ERA in 15 games this season for the Double A Reading Phillies, Justin De Fratus continues to make strides toward his goal of reaching the Major Leagues. Ranked as a top 10 prospect within the Phillies system last off-season, the 23-year-old De Fratus was in camp with the Phillies during big league spring training. In 3 games with the Phils during the Grapefruit League season, De Fratus allowed 4 earned runs in 4 innings and took a loss. He did strike out an impressive 5 batters in those 4 frames, however. Drafted in the 11th round of the 2007 amateur draft, De Fratus stood out as a force in relief last year for both the High A Clearwater Threshers and the R-Phils. In 49 combined games at the two levels, De Fratus posted a 3-0 record with 21 saves and a 1.94 ERA. De Fratus continued his excellent 2011 by pitching for Team USA in the Pan-American qualifiers held in Puerto Rico, helping the Americans finish with a 9-1 record. He also posted out...

Bubby Rossman's long awaited MLB debut

Eight years after he initially signed a professional contract with the Dodgers and a five-year stretch playing away from affiliated ball, Bubby Rossman became a major leaguer on Wednesday. Added as a substitute for pitcher Kyle Gibson, who is restricted from travel to Canada for the Phillies' series in Toronto, due to his medical inability to be vaccinated from COVID-19, Rossman took the mound for the first time in the majors. Rossman, who was a 22nd round draft selection in 2014 had pitched in 200 professional games before his one-inning outing in the Phillies' 8-2 loss to the Blue Jays. In 27 appearances with Double-A Reading this year, the 30-year-old right-hander has performed well, tallying a 2-2 record with a save, a 3.32 ERA and a .200 batting average against.   The embedded video below features a media session with Rossman from prior to opening day this year, in which the California native discusses his journey through independent baseball and back to affiliated ball w...

Series Preview: Braves at Phillies, August 6-8

The Braves (62-46) travel to Philadelphia to begin a three-game series with the Phillies (49-59) on Monday night at Citizens Bank Park. In the past month, the two clubs have faced each other in two separate series, with the Braves winning all six of the contests. Atlanta’s recent dominance over the Phils is the opposite of how things went last season, when the Phillies handed the Braves six losses toward the end of the 2011 season. Those defeats shut the door on Atlanta’s postseason hopes. Read ahead for notes on the pitching the match ups and additional statistical information on this series. Monday, 7:05 PM. Ben Sheets (3-1, 1.46 ERA) vs. Vance Worley (6-6, 3.63 ERA). In 9 career starts against the Phillies, Sheets has a 3-4 record with a 4.50 ERA. Ty Wigginton is 12-for-36 (.333 avg) with 2 doubles and 2 HR in his career against Sheets. The righty Sheets was the Brewers' 1st round draft pick in 1999. In his last 5 starts, Worley has a 2-1 record with a 4.06 ERA. In 9 home s...