Tagged: Yu Darvish

WBC Power Rankings: Week 2


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1. United States (1)- What’s the reasoning for splitting innings between Derek Jeter and Jimmy Rollins?  I’d personally go with Rollins.  They’re both similar hitters except he adds more speed and a significant upgrade in the field.  Doesn’t seem to be having a negative effect on either though, Rollins is hitting .600 and Jeter is at .400.

2. Japan (4) – Daisuke Matsuzaka is now 4-0 all-time in the WBC, look for 22-year-old Yu Darvish to follow in his footsteps and become the next big Japanese pitcher.

3. Cuba (5) – Six homers in an easy win over South Africa.

4. Venezuela (3) – Not much pitching depth after Carlos Silva, Armando Galarraga, King Felix and K-Rod as shown by Team USA’s 13 runs off their bullpen.

5. Korea (6) – Dangerous team looking to get back to the semi-finals.

6. Puerto Rico (8) – Carlos Delgado (.917 OBP, 1 HR) and Ivan Rodriguez (.545 AVG, 2 HR) are tearing the cover off the ball.

7. Dominican Republic (2) – No comment other than Pedro looks good.

8. Mexico (7) – Hairston Brothers (Scott and Jerry Jr.) were a huge aide in advancing Mexico out of the first round.

9. Canada (9) – Seattle Mariners pitching prospect Phillippe Aumont is absolutely dirty.

10. Netherlands (12) – I’m sure the win means the everything back in Europe but don’t buy into this team.  They are hitting .151 as a group, ranking dead last in the WBC and the Dominicans got 30 base runners as opposed to their 11 in the two games.  They got lucky, very lucky.  A hit here and a hit there mixed in with fewer than the six errors they made and D-R is obviously in Miami instead.

11. Australia (14) – Chris Snelling leads a team much improved from ’06 Classic when they ranked 13th in pitching (6.85 ERA) and dead last in hitting (.113 AVG).

12. Italy (11) – Upset Canada but not much else to show for ’09 Classic.

13. Panama (10) – Never had a chance, two and done without one run to show for it.

14. China (15) – They got their first victory, maybe this is the first stride in the development of Chinese baseball.

15. Taiwan (13) – 7.31 ERA would’ve been helped a bit if Chien-Ming Wang had been available.

16. South Africa (16) – Join Panama as the only countries yet to win a game, haha, country.

Japan Takes WBC Opener 4-0 Over China

         


t1_ichiro.jpgYour boy’s getting big now, my Manny post was up on the front page.

 

How many of you actually woke up at 4:30 EST to watch the World Baseball Classic opener like me?  Well I’m a little nuts and don’t sleep but in case you missed it, Japan opened up with a 4-0 win over China.  They were led by Yu Darvish pitching four shutout innings before being removed because of a 70-pitch limit for first round games as six Japanese pitchers tossed a shutout.  Shuichi Murata had the big bang with a two-run blast in the third inning.  Ichiro Suzuki was 0-5 at the plate though he did have a nice running grab up against the wall.  Despite a quiet day offensively,   Japan overall looked pretty good as they try to defend their title

As for China I am not impressed at all.  One in every six people on this Earth, 1.3 billion, live in China.  Yet despite being successful in athletics, baseball has never quite caught on and they have never produced an MLB player.  They don’t hit for much power and their ace tops out at 83.  I’ve faced kids that throw harder and I play at a Division 3 high school in Massachusetts.  The only thing that seemed moderately impressive was their speed down the baseline but that won’t be winning any ballgames.  I expect them to be two and done.

WBC Power Rankings


2009-world-baseball-classic-logo.jpgAfter taking a few weeks off to write my research paper, I’m back with a look at the World Baseball Classic.  Lets get into it:

 

 

1. United States- Surprisingly their team doesn’t have the most stars in the tournament, but depth and an improved mindset is what should lead Team USA to its first WBC title.

2. Dominican Republic- You know your offense is good when it’s the best in the tournament while missing Albert Pujols, Alfonso Soriano, Miguel Tejada and Vladimer Guerrero.

3. Venezuela- Felix Hernandez will take the ace role from injured pitcher Johan Santana.  Miguel Cabrera, Bobby Abreu, and Magglio Ordonez anchor the offense.

4. Japan- The defending champs will be back with a target on their shoulders.  Player you’ve never heard of to watch out for: starting pitcher Yu Darvish.  Also note that their pitchers are in mid-season form, a huge advantage.

5. Cuba- Electrifying shortstop Yulieski Gourriel and the Cuban national team aim to avenge their 10-6 loss in the championship.

6. Korea- Shin-Soo Choo is the lone major leaguer on a team that advanced to the semifinals in 2006.

7. Mexico- A team with plenty of major league experience that knocked Team USA out of the last Classic.

8. Puerto Rico- Carlos Beltran leads a team of aging stars that would have been title contenders a decade ago.

9. Canada- Eric Bedard was their only legitimate pitcher.  They just won’t have enough arms despite an offense with Justin Morneau, Russell Martin and Jason Bay.

10. Panama- Carlos Lee and Manny Corpas outline a roster built with 15 minor leaguers.

11. Italy- Mike Piazza steps down from catcher to hitting coach.

12. Netherlands- Even Andruw Jones can’t help this team… then again he can barely help his regular teams.

13. Chinese Taipei- Chein-Ming Wang opted not to play, but there still is some unknown talent hidden on the Taiwan roster.

14. Australia- Little to be excited about for the team down under.

15. China- One Billion people and 100 olympic medals but baseball has still yet to catch on.

16. South Africa- Have never produced a MLB player.

 

 

Predictions

First Round

Pool A

  1. Japan
  2. Korea
  3. Chinese Taipei
  4. China

Pool B

  1. Cuba
  2. Mexico
  3. Australia
  4. South Africa

Pool C

  1. United States
  2. Venezuela
  3. Canada
  4. Italy

Pool D

  1. Dominican Republic
  2. Puerto Rico
  3. Panama
  4. Netherlands

 

Round 2

Pool A

  1. Japan
  2. Cuba
  3. Mexico
  4. Korea

Pool B

  1. United States
  2. Venezuela
  3. Dominican Republic
  4. Puerto Rico

 

Semifinals

  1. United States over Japan
  2. Venezuela over Cuba

 

Finals

  1. United States over Venezuela

 

Bronze Medal Game

  1. Japan Over Cuba