A last look on the European Teams before the start of the WBC Qualifier

by Ty Eriksen

Just a few more days until an offseason of WBC gets underway, and good news: most games will be viewable, somehow: MLB.tv has published on their schedule the first games, the Regensburg qualifier will be shown in Canada, and both finals will be broadcast on ESPN America…eventually.

All rosters have been released, thanks to Baseball America for the one-stop-shopping: here is the list of players in Regensburg, and here is the list for Jupiter.

Czech Republic

Coach Berglund’s team performed well in Holland, finishing fifth just behind Germany. An upset of  the hosts was the highlight, earning them a spot in the final round.  But the WBCQ format will reward teams that can get up for big moments, and the staff picks up a couple key additions: Alex Sogard (LHP / AA-Hou), Mike Cervanek (INF / AAA-Mia).  The team once thought to be least experienced and an easy opponent is in a position to pull off a couple upsets. The staff had a 3.02 ERA against the final six teams in the Netherlands, and that pitching could get them an early victory and a step closer to the final.

Germany

Early reports of a US-heavy roster turned out false, as the team takes a majority of Germany-born players. Some additions are nice, but German fans expecting to cheer on an imported team that could have competed talent-wise with Canada will have to settle for familiar faces. Adding internationally-beloved slugger Lutz is a spark, but the top hitters from the EC weren’t nominated, Howard and Kotowski unfortunately absent. Anything less than the finals will be a disappointment for the hosts, but with seating for just 4500 instead of the anticipated 10k, maybe organizers don’t expect a strong performance.

Great Britain

The Brits will feature a lineup much stronger than the EC, where they ended up back in the B-Pool.  What some may consider a curse could be a strength: plenty of experience in European Leagues and knowledge of the Czech and German teams. Eight players have significant affiliated ball experience. On Thursday they have the unenviable task of starting against Canada, but with all expectations against them, they can cut loose and play without pressure. Everyone knows how Canada has performed in the WBC in the past, so anything could happen.

France

Over in the States, France is trying to overcome their finish in the bottom half of the EC. Head Coach Stoeckel, who won’t get much time to prep his players, doesn’t appear all too confident of their ability. A hand-full of them will probably be expected to come through clutch, but the experience of the Rouen players in the EuroCup can’t hurt. Its hard to look on the bright side when even the coach is pessimistic, but it’s a big step for French baseball to take the field in the tournament, and you can’t take that away from them.

Spain

Decidedly non-European, Spain will have a long, long, long, long, long list of so-called ‘passport players’. Five play in the Division de Honor, while Eric Gonzales will be the lone Spaniard representing the country. Despite all that, most play in independent leagues (8) or Italy (6).  Spain should be able to put a better product on the field than South Africa or their northern neighbors, and after taking Bronze in Holland and bringing 16 of those players to Jupiter, they’ll be considered a favorite by plenty.

Israel

Probably the most talked about squad. As the link from Spain’s review mentions, Israel GM Peter Kurz has assembled the best team his religion (and the WBC rules) could possibly offer.  A couple former MLB big shots, plenty of currently affiliated minor leaguers, and Brad Ausmus (former MLB-stud and baseball genius) to lead. The staff is considered their weakness, but with 10 arms having thrown in the minors, that must be relative to the rest of the team’s positions. Set at catcher, paired up the middle, and the only outfield in the Qualifiers with 400+ Major League round-trippers (about 400 more than the other teams combined). How many runs will they score a game? They could beat France by 30 if the pitching holds their own. And it’ll be on TV.