Doesn’t make sense internationally when so many players sign with a pro team very early (whether it’s a us one or one in their country).
Japan seems like the end of the road for Mexico, but Mexico didn't get this far without a few upsets of their own.
A single game elimination tournament in baseball means very little for a favored team. Save for 2 or 3 teams that were completely devoid of competitive talent most games are basically a toss up. Mexico has a team full of MLB and AAA level talent, so there's no team they can't beat.
I was going to say the same thing. They might be saying mlb needs to start later to accommodate the wbc not the other way around
Very true if we were dealing with the standard MLB team. However, Japan's numbers seem off the chart so far. They're simply dominating every game they're playing on both sides of the plate. Will be more similar to the college basketball tournament currently underway where any good team could have an off night and get upset in the first couple of rounds... but back in the day of the truly dominant college teams, that rarely happened. And other than college baseball (and the LLWS!), there's very little context for single-elimination baseball tournaments out there... and with the pitching rules being handled the way it has, each game seems to come down to the best overall bullpen vs. the starters. Its a nice change of game to dissect some. With more sample sizes, teams can better figure how to navigate these types of games.
Last night's game was amazing -- Mexico shutting out Puerto Rico after that wild first inning was a great pitching and defensive performance. The USA could field 4-5 teams capable of winning the WBC, whereas probably only the Dominican could field a 2nd team capable of winning.
both Altuve and Tucker have gotten shook up so far. ..part of me wish both teams would get eliminated
The atmosphere has been crazy and this is what baseball needs. We need to attract more fans and the WBC is great for baseball. The players are fully in it and it's fun to watch. Quit whinning.
Altuve beamed and shaken up. Immediately taken out. Fast ball to the hand. Announcer said more on the fingers.
Derosa needs to take Bard out. He's throwing is a hazard out there. Altuve might have a broke hand cause of this ****.
