It is one of the most curious cases in regards of withdrawals from the 2013 World Baseball Classic. Basically Russell Martin is no longer on Team Canada’s roster because the coaching staffs of the Pittsburgh Pirates and of Canada don’t want him at short. Therefore the catcher announced on Sunday that he no longer want to play. The 30-year-old is considered one of the best catchers in the game and left the New York Yankees this winter to join the Pirates. His Canadian teammates are not happy about this decision.
Justin Morneau on MLB.com:
“Obviously, we’re going to miss him, but we’re going to have somebody there who wants to be there and is going to be honored to put the jersey on and be a part of it. Whoever’s there will have to find a way to get it done.”
While Martin might be athletic enough to play at short he never played there during his MLB career. Now it is expected that Chris Robinson will receive the majority of playing time behind the plate. John Suomi was added to the roster to replace Martin. Meanwhile Joey Votto seems to be on track to join Canada for their first-round appearance in Phoenix, Arizona. The fact that his Cincinnati Reds are holding training camp as well in Arizona doesn’t hurt either.
Meanwhile Australia is finishing up preparations for their first-round opener on Saturday. They defeated an University All Star team in Taiwan by a score of 3-0. Stefan Welch hit a two-run homerun. Dushan Ruzic received the start. During the weekend the Aussies had lost twice to Japan during a two-game exhibition series in Osaka. Australia will face the Netherlands, Chinese Taipei and Korea in Taichung during the first round.