Taiwan/Australia:
The teams from Taiwan and Australia are already sharpening their skills for the upcoming World Baseball Classic. Chinese Taipei started their exhibition schedule on February 10th against some clubs in Australia. Since Friday February 13th, Australia and Taiwan are locked into a warm-up series, which will last until Thursday, February 19th. Afterwards both teams will travel to Japan, respective Arizona, where they will play additional test games.
Results so far:
Taiwan – Team USA West Australia 2-9
Taiwan – Perth Heat 7-9
Taiwan – Perth Heat 1-1
Australia – Taiwan 1-4
Australia – Taiwan 9-8
Australia – Taiwan 9-3
Australia – Taiwan 4-5
Australia – Taiwan 9-3
Dominican Republic:
After an elbow surgery this offseason, first baseman Albert Pujols couldn’t find insurance for the World Baseball Classic and has to skip the tournament. He would have loved to play, but the risk would be too high without insurance.
And he is not the only player on the Dominican roster, who will skip the WBC. Catcher Miguel Olivo of the Kansas City Royals and starting pitcher Francisco Liriano of the Minnesota Twins are pondering the question, if they should leave Spring Training to join the pool-D team. Olivo would like to secure his starter job in Kansas City. Liriano feels he needs to work on his mechanics. Another player already confirmed his non-participation is second baseman Placido Polanco of the Detroit Tigers. He wants to stay with his employer in Lakeland, Florida.
Third baseman Alex Rodriguez arrived in training camp of the New York Yankees on Tuesday and held another press conference on his doping history. A Sports Illustrated article ten days ago had revealed that the three-time MVP award winner was tested positive in 2003 on Primobolan and Testosterone. He acknowledged a few more details on Tuesday, but nothing substantial.
Japan:
The reigning World Baseball Classic champion Japan opened training camp in Miyazaki, Japan in front of 37.000 fans in attendance and 500 media members in the press box. Stars like Ichiro Suzuki, Daisuke Matsuzaka and Akinori Iwamura are highly motivated to play the WBC, trying to defend their title.
Venezuela:
Outfielder Juan Rivera of the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim withdraw from the WBC, as he believes he needs the whole Spring Training to get ready for the upcoming season. He signed a three-year contract over $12.75 million this winter.
USA:
Left-handed starting pitcher Scott Kazmir is skipping the World Baseball Classic to stay with the Rays in Florida. His club is concerned about the risk of an injury for the fragile southpaw. He had missed last year’s first month of the season due to an elbow strain, but pitched without problems the rest of the year.
Two other pitchers of Team USA are excited to represent their country in the 2009 WBC. Reliever Brad Ziegler, who arrived and impressed at the big league stage last year, knows already that he made the final roster. He was informed by his club manager Bob Geren.
Also on the team and thrilled is Jeremy Guthrie of the Baltimore Orioles. The right-hander, who was in Italy for a clinic in January, was only a non-roster invitee in Spring Training two years ago. Now he could be a starter for Team USA in the Classic.
Mexico:
Second baseman Edgar Gonzalez of the San Diego Padres, brother of first baseman Adrian Gonzalez, is considering skipping the World Baseball Classic, if he is not named as a starter for Team Mexico. He already talked with manager Vinny Castilla about the situation, who will come back to him, if he knows more.
Betting Odds:
The Dominican Republic leads the odds with a 7:5 chance to win the WBC in front of Team USA (8:5), Japan (6:1) and Cuba (8:1).
Puerto Rico:
Starting pitcher Joel Pineiro of the St. Louis Cardinals will not participate in the World Baseball Classic for Puerto Rico. He feels disappointed and heartbroken after being informed that he wouldn’t be part of the three-man rotation in the WBC. He already had purchased tickets for his family and was exited to pitch for his home country in the event. Javier Vazquez (ATL), Jonathan Sanchez (SF) and Ian Snell (PIT) will form the starting rotation instead.
Pingback by Baseball » Blog Archive » Notes: Albert Pujols among Others skipping World Baseball Classic
February 19, 2009 | 1:54 am
[...] ã