World Baseball Classic: Korea vs. Taiwan on Friday, A-Rod out

Tomorrow at World Baseball Classic:
On Thursday Japan opened the 2009 World Baseball Classic with a 4-0 shutout against China. A day later Olympic champion Korea gets things going in the tournament, facing Taiwan in Pool A at the Tokyo Dome in Japan. Korea’s manager In-Sik Kim faced some pressure from the Cleveland Indians the past few days, as outfielder Shin-Soo Choo was bothered by a hurting elbow. He will not play in the field, but will be in the game as their designated hitter.

Taiwan will try to stop Choo and the Korean offense with Chen-Chang Lee on the mound. The right-hander signed with the Cleveland Indians organization after allowing just one run in six-plus innings against Cuba in the Olympics, striking out seven. The winner of the Friday matchup will play against Japan on Saturday, the loser versus China.

2009 WBC Schedule for Friday, March 6th:
10.30am CET Korea versus Taiwan (ESPN America, ESPN 2, MLB.tv live)
Complete World Baseball Classic Schedule

Some other notes around the 2009 World Baseball Classic:

Dominican Republic:
Third baseman Alex Rodriguez will not play in the 2009 World Baseball Classic for the Dominican team. A hip specialist in Vail, Colorado diagnosed Rodriguez with a cyst and a torn hip labrum on Wednesday. The cyst was drained and the Yankees hope conventional rehab and rest will eliminate the problem and the slugger doesn’t miss significant time. If surgery is needed in the future, he would be sidelined for about four months. No word on a replacement for Rodriguez on the Dominican roster yet.

World Baseball Classic Ceremony:
Former Dodgers manager and World Baseball Classic ambassador Tommy Lasorda hosted a lighting ceremony at the Empire State Building in New York City on Thursday morning. In honor of the WBC the building will shine in red, green, blue and yellow today. After the conclusion of the tournament on March 24th, the entire crown of the Empire State Building will shine in the colors of the winning country.