Sidney Ponson: The current free agent starting pitcher Sidney Ponson is going to pitch for the Netherlands in the upcoming 2009 World Baseball Classic. The 32-year-old, who last season pitched for the Texas Rangers and the New York Yankees, confirmed this on Thursday according to a Reuters report. The Aruba native is an eleven-year major league veteran with a 90-106 career record and an ERA of 4.95 in 284 games. Last year Ponson started strong with an ERA of 3.88 in nine starts for the Rangers, before an off-the-field incident led to his release. He later joined the Yankees, where he finished the season with an ERA of 5.85 in 16 games (15 starts). He has also played for the Orioles, the Cardinals, Giants and Twins in the past.
Philippe Aumont: One of the best prospects in the Seattle Mariners organization and a first round draft pick in 2007, Philippe Aumont, will not pitch for Team Canada in the WBC 2009. He was named on the provisional roster of the maple leafs last week, but took himself out, as he wants to concentrate on the preparation for the 2009 season. The 20-year-old had elbow problems last year and had a 4-4 record and an ERA of 2.75 in 15 starts for Class A Wisconsin. Apparently his new general manager Jack Zduriencik urged him to skip the Classic. This should be good news for Team Italy, which is an opponent of Canada in Pool C of the WBC. They already miss major league pitchers Ryan Dempster, Jeff Francis and Rich Harden and lose another strong hurler in Aumont.
Mike Lowell: Third baseman Mike Lowell of the Boston Red Sox now is officially ruled out of the 2009 World Baseball Classic. He was named to the provisional roster of Puerto Rico, but cannot participate as he is rehabbing after hip surgery last fall. The chances that he would have been ready to play on the opening day of the WBC already were pretty slim. His father Carl Lowell was an internationally well-known pitcher for Puerto Rico.
Puerto Rico: But there is also some good news for the Puerto Rican team. The manager of the Triple A club Durham Bulls (Tampa Bay Rays) Charlie Montoyo will serve as a coach on the staff of manager Jose Oquendo. Montoyo looks back at 23 years of professional baseball, including a ten-year stint as an infielder for the Brewers, Expos and Phillies organizations. He is entering his 13th year as a manager, working with Durham since 2007. Puerto Rico hosts the Netherlands, the Dominican Republic and Panama from March 7th to 11th in the preliminary round of the 2009 World Baseball Classic.
Carlos Quentin: One of the most promising sluggers in Baseball is questionable for the 2009 World Baseball Classic. Outfielder Carlos Quentin, who missed the last month of the season with a broken wrist, could be vetoed by the Chicago White Sox due to the injury. He is healthy and wants to play for Team USA in the WBC, but would accept every decision made by general manager Ken Williams. He batted .288 (OBP .394/SLG .571) with 36 homeruns, 96 runs scored and 100 RBI in just 130 games for Chicago last season.
