World Baseball Classic 2013 MEGA THREAD

[EmpireWF]

Wang shut down Australia over 6 innings. Kuo protected a 4-1 lead in the 8th leading Taipei to an expected W.

Taipei's power hitting SS Lin went 1-3 with an RBI, and a BB.

1B Cheng-Min Peng led their offense going 2-3, 2 R, HR, 2 RBI, BB

No Aussie hitter got on base more than once. Their 1 run came off a Stefan Welch solo shot. He's in the Pirates system (Altoona).

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The Netherlands shut out Korea 5-0.

Braves SS Simmons went 3-5 leading off and scored twice.

Nats OF Bernadina led the team with 2 RBI

ANDRUW JONES went 2 for 4 with a run scored.

Korea's defense was terrible with 4 errors

Former MLBer Jae Wong Seo pitched a successful 0.2 innings :thumbsup:

For NETH, Diegomar Markwell, Orlando Yntema, Leon Boyd and Mark Pawlek combined for the shutout.

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Two-time Defending Champion JAPAN scored 3 clutch runs in the 8th to beat Brazil, 5-3.

Brazil's Oscar Nakaoshi is credited with the blown save

It was a cardiac affair, as injured Japan captain Shinnosuke Abe stepped to the plate as a pinch-hitter with the bases loaded in the eighth inning of a tie game and sent a bullet up the middle that allowed the go-ahead run to score and helped the two-time defending champions stave off upset-minded Brazil, 5-3, in a dramatic opener at Fukuoka's Yafuoku Dome.

http://web.worldbaseballclassic.com/2013/news/article.jsp?ymd=20130301&content_id=42131068

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Cuba plays Brazil tonight

 

[NAHSTE]

Huge win for Nederland. They are for real if the pitching holds up. The lineup around Andruw is solid. Balentin hit 30 bombs in Japan last year, so he's accustomed to hitting these breaking ball heavy repertoires.

That infield is so fun to watch. Bogaerts made a great diving stop to start a double play, and Schoop turned it lightning quick. Didn't think he had a chance.

 

[SuperKevin]

Does Brazil have any solid MLB prospects?

 

[NAHSTE]

Does Brazil have any solid MLB prospects?

Andre Rienzo is the 7th ranked prospect in the White Sox system according to Baseball America, he posted a 13.5 K/9 in AAA last year at age 23. Could be a reliever for them pretty soon.


Leonardo Reginatto, the guy who had the big game vs. Japan, is almost 23 and can't seem to get out of high-A with the Rays system.

I think we are about 5-8 years away from seeing a wave of Brazilian baseball players though, no reason it can't become the next Venezuela.

 

[SuperKevin]

I love looking at the world rankings and seeing countries like Afghanistan on there.

 

[Goober]

Karma may be catching up to traitor Yovani Gallardo. A #groin injury may hold him out of the classic.

 

[Youk]

NETHERLANDS

Nice slide at home plate by Andruw Jones earlier in the game :jonesy:

 

[Goober]

Netherlands scored three runs on one hit.

:dead:

 

[SuperKevin]

I no longer have MLB Network now that I'm at my parents house so I'm not able to watch any of the games

 

[NAHSTE]

Netherlands scored three runs on one hit.

:dead:

Wind was blowing in from left field, looked to be at least 20 MPH, Andrelton had a sure HR that died at the track.

 

[EmpireWF]

For Pool A, Cuba should beat China tomorrow, leading to a game between undefeated Cuba & JAPAN on Wednesday to determine seeding in round 2.

If China upsets Cuba, then Tuesday's China/Brazil game and Wednesday's Cuba/Japan game take on extra importance.

In Pool B, winless teams Australia & Korea play in the morning but Korea's may be essentially eliminated already (a loss to Taipei Tuesday morning boots them). If Australia can manage to win, they'd be in play to advance but they would need a big upset over the Netherlands to do it.

 

[EmpireWF]

Cuba tore China a new one, 12-0, eliminating them. Brazil & China play a meaningless game at 3AM et.

Japan and Cuba play for seeding purposes Wednesday morning.


Earlier today, Korea shut out Australia 6-0. The Aussies return to play the Netherlands tonight at 11:30 et. A Netherlands win forces Korea into a do or die situation in the morning against Taipei.

If Korea beats Taipei in that situation, there's a 3-team tie where TEAM QUALITY BALANCE decides which 2 teams advance (the formula is among head to head games...total runs scored divided by innings played on offense, minus runs allowed divided by innings played on defense).

Whether we can advance or not also depends on how the Netherlands fare against Australia tomorrow," [Korean Manager] Ryu said. "Meanwhile, we will try to score as many runs as possible against Chinese Taipei."

With no current Minor League or Major League players on its roster, Korea is relying heavily on 30-year-old infielder Dae-Ho Lee and 36-year-old first baseman Seung-Yuop Lee. Both players contributed significantly to Korea winning the gold medal in the Beijing Olympics in 2008.

While Dae-Ho Lee went hitless in three at-bats against the Netherlands, Seung-Yuop Lee popped out in his one at-bat as a pinch-hitter Saturday. The Korean batters delivered only four total hits during the game.

http://web.worldbaseballclassic.com/2013/news/article.jsp?ymd=20130303&content_id=42219738

 

[Goober]

I'll take a stab at Team USA's starting lineup for Friday:

SS-Ben Zobrist
DH-Joe Mauer
LF-Ryan Braun
RF-Giancarlo Stanton
3B-David Wright
1B-Mark Teixeira
2B-Brandon Phillips
CF-Adam Jones
C-JP Arencibia

P-RA Dickey

 

[NAHSTE]

NETHERLANDS has advanced. AUSTRALIA is eliminated.

#Xander2Andrelton2Schoop

 

[EmpireWF]

Korea must beat Taipei by at least 6 runs to advance.

If Taipei wins in a few hours, they'll play the Japan/Cuba loser in Game 1 of Round 2 (Nethlands would play the Japan/Cuba winner).

 

[EmpireWF]

Anthony Rizzo with the clutch 2-run double put Italy up by a run in the top of the 9th and Jason Grilli closed it out despite the bases loaded in the bottom.

Italy upset Mexico 6-5.


The DR is up early on Venezuela, 3-0 in the first. Cano doubled in Jose Reyes and Erick Aybar, then Nelson Cruz drive him home.


Tonight, the Netherlands & Cuba open up the 2nd round.

 

[NAHSTE]

Anthony Rizzo with the clutch 2-run double put Italy up by a run in the top of the 9th and Jason Grilli closed it out despite the bases loaded in the bottom.

Italy upset Mexico 6-5.


The DR is up early on Venezuela, 3-0 in the first. Cano doubled in Jose Reyes and Erick Aybar, then Nelson Cruz drive him home.


Tonight, the Netherlands & Cuba open up the 2nd round.

They ruled that a double?

:yao:

 

[Slateman]

Holy shit ... Venezuelan and the Dominican Republic are freaking stacked

 

[NAHSTE]

This game has everything, including GARY THORNE on the call. Jesus this is awesome. Can't believe there are goofs out there who think this tournament is silly.

Netherlands-Cuba is coming up tonight in the first stage of bracket play by the way. Should be a terrific game.

 

[Slateman]

And apparently, both managers are going to try and get every pitcher in the game