Cuba:
Peter C. Bjarkman informed us the past few days about important topics in Cuban Baseball in front of the 2009 World Baseball Classic. The 34-year-old catcher Ariel Pestano announced his upcoming retirement last Wednesday. He will remain with the national team until the IBAF Baseball World Cup in Europe this September. Afterwards he will focus to coach his son, who is a young catching prospect in Cuba. The WBC is going to be his second to last big tournament on the International Baseball stage.
The second major topic at the moment in Cuban Baseball is who will manage the National team at the Classic in March. They don’t have named the skipper yet, although it seems most likely that Antonio Pacheco returns. He served as the manager at the Beijing Olympics last summer. Current league commissioner and 2006 WBC manager Hirginio Velez, Atlanta Olympic skipper Jorge Fuentes and former shortstop German Mesa are also among the candidates.
Carlos Quentin:
Outfielder Carlos Quentin of the Chicago White Sox will skip the World Baseball Classic. The 26-year-old, who produced 36 homeruns and 100 RBI despite missing the last month of the season in 2008, announced his decision at the SoxFest on Friday. He wants to focus on spring training and the preparation for the upcoming season. Although he is fully healthy after breaking his wrist last August, general manager Ken Williams talked him out of the WBC. Quentin would have played for Team USA.
Carlos Ruiz:
In one of our last updates regarding the World Baseball Classic, we talked about the withdrawal of Carlos Ruiz from the Panamanian roster. However just a few days after his announcement, the catcher of the World Series Champion Philadelphia Phillies reconsidered and declared that he now will play for his home country in the ’09 edition of the WBC. He made the decision after speaking with officials of Team Panama. Ruiz also played in the inaugural version of the tournament in 2006.
Carlos Pena:
First baseman Carlos Pena of the Tampa Bay Rays will miss the World Baseball Classic. He announced his withdrawal from the Dominican provisional roster this week, after acknowledging a surgery at the beginning of January. It was a minor procedure to repair a tear in the lower abdominal muscle. He might start slow into spring training, but is expected to be ready for Opening Day. Nevertheless this will mean that the 30-year-old cannot play for the Dominican Republic in March. They now have to hope that Albert Pujols will be ready for the WBC.
Pedro Martinez:
Free agent starting pitcher and three-time Cy Young award winner Pedro Martinez will use the World Baseball Classic to showcase his talent in pursuit of another Major League contract. The 37-year-old was hindered by injuries the past three years, pitching for the New York Mets. According to his agent Fernando Cuza, Martinez already received several offers, but apparently nothing good enough. The pitching staff of the provisional roster of the Dominican Republic also features young guns Francisco Liriano, Edinson Volquez, Fausto Carmona and Ervin Santana among others.
