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 What is the World Baseball Classic? Since baseball was dropped from the Olympics, the International Baseball Federation decided to try and create their own version of the World Cup, where every country years they host a tournament and each country goes for the gold. This is the first WBC since 2017 since Covid delayed the 2021 iteration Nice. Who's Playing? There's 20 teams divided into 4 pools:   are the defending champs and expect Japan and the Dominican Republic to be strong contenders as usualR.D. Mangles posted:POOL A Where to Watch In the USA, FOX/FS1 has the coverage. First game is tonight at 11 EST, Cuba vs Honkbal (Netherlands) https://www.mlb.com/world-baseball-classic/scheduleWBC Schedule[/url] WBC Rosters Fun people to note:  has notable stars such as Yu Darvish, Shohei Ohtani, and of course, Lars NootbarMatt Harvey is playing for Italy (managed by Mike Piazza) Freddie Freeman is eligible for  The Dominican squad is loving loaded Netherlands features Bert Byleven and Andruw Jones as coaches Sydin posted:Good OP, one thing I'd add to the "Fun" section is that if you have no real horse in the race and want to root for an absolute outside shot, it's the Czech Republic team. This is the first time they've made it to the WBC and they're basically a team of amateur beer league guys all holding down day jobs who miraculously ground their way through the qualifiers. Other stuff: WBC will not be played with all the new fangled MLB rules such as pitch clock and the shift ban. Purists rejoice? There is a pitch count in place to protect arms and players health and stuff WBC does uses Zombie Runner rules however Odds  Usual suspects, but the Netherlands have a strong history of over achieving at this event so watch out for them. If the WBC goes chalk, the semis are probably Cuba/Dominican and USA/Japan, which would be really fun. Dominican roster is absolutely stacked, especially in the pitching department, and I expect them to take home their 2nd WBC goal I stole a lot of this from the last WBC thread Nissin Cup Nudist fucked around with this message at 05:43 on Mar 9, 2023 |
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Mar 8, 2023 02:26
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| # ? Apr 27, 2024 16:54 |
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Good OP, one thing I'd add to the "Fun" section is that if you have no real horse in the race and want to root for an absolute outside shot, it's the Czech Republic team. This is the first time they've made it to the WBC and they're basically a team of amateur beer league guys all holding down day jobs who miraculously ground their way through the qualifiers. I am excited to watch some baseball with stakes.
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Mar 8, 2023 02:40
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I'm rooting for upsets
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Mar 8, 2023 02:43
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xposting from spring training thread. Go NL tbh,so sad Albies is out https://twitter.com/lonhig/status/1633270006674001921
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Mar 8, 2023 02:45
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I am ready for the WBC to feed my insomnia.
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Mar 8, 2023 03:09
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(well i was too late with my duplicate thread, so here's all of the dumb things i wrote) The World Baseball Classic is the world cup of baseball, the premier international baseball competition. It also completely rules. This is the first WBC since 2017, because of Covid (it's usually every three years). Here's a quick rundown on the charm of the WBC for aspiring baseball sickos: -Anyone can win a game of baseball. You might look at the rosters of teams like the DR or even the USA and think how the hell can anyone beat them, but it's baseball and even the shittiest loving team you've ever seen wins about a third of their games in MLB and even college teams sometimes beat MLB teams in spring training exhibitions, so anything is possible in a single-elimination tournament. In 2009, the Netherlands knocked out a superstar-laden Dominican Republic team. -The Dutch word for baseball is Honkbal -Pretty much every other country that plays baseball has a way more fun baseball culture than our red-assed anti-celebration goobers. -Middle-aged Guys or even retired players come out of nowhere for their teams, it's always cool to see some like 39 year-old pitcher is still pitching in the Mexican League. -Teams from places where they don't really play baseball are filled with American players with extremely tenuous connections to those places-- I am pretty sure you are eligible for Team Italy if your name ends in a vowel. Players can also switch national affiliation pretty easily. For example, Marcus Stroman, who led the USA in 2017, is now pitching for Puerto Rico. -Extremely Cool Players Not Yet in MLB: While the draft/international signings suck most of the best players from Latin America into the MLB pipeline, the arcane posting systems used in Korea and Japan mean that this is the best place to see some extremely cool players before they make their way to MLB (if they choose to) unless you stay up on KBO/NPB highlights. THE TOURNAMENT The WBC finals have 20 teams in 4 pools of 5 teams. The top two teams from each pool advance to the quarter-finals with single-elimination games to the championship. This is an insane way to actually play baseball, so the strategy of allocating pitchers in elimination games is vital. This is also because this is taking place concurrently with MLB's spring training, so there are limits on pitch counts because if a pitcher blows his arm out in the WBC, MLB teams will freak out and they basically own the tournament. THE TEAMS POOL A  NOTES: -None of these teams have much of a chance of winning. -The Cuban team is a mix of Cuban league players with Major Leaguers. -Italy is managed by Mike Piazza, let's hope he manages it better than that Italian soccer team he ran into the ground. -The Netherlands boasts probably the biggest star of this group, Padres shortstop Xander Bogaerts - POOL B  -Japan is a powerhouse in the WBC. Keep your eye on Roki Sasaki, who threw a perfect game last year in NPB with 19 strikeouts including 13 in a row. He's only 21. Plus the coolest baseball player on the entire planet Shohei Ohtani will be pitching and hitting for Japan. -Korea might not have the flashiest roster but they have traditionally done very well in WBC play. Korea might also have the most fun baseball culture on the planet. -The Czech Republic is a team of actual Czech amateurs who miraculously qualified for the finals and are the sentimental favorites of the tournament. Oh and also Eric Sogard, lmao. POOL C  -The Team USA lineup is genuinely insane, easily the second-best lineup of the tournament. But a bunch of the old-rear end star pitchers opted out and the rotation looks pretty mediocre (still probably better than most teams but then again the average WBC team is made up of AA guys). -Canada has an absolute galaxy of Guys. And Joey Votto. -Today I learned that Vance Worley is still playing for the Kane County Cougars. And also Team GB. Britain also has a guy literally named Scrubb. -41-year-old Oliver Perez is playing for Mexico. Mexico always feels like it should do better in the WBC, there's some good major league talent there. POOL D  -The Dominican Republic team is the favorite because look at their roster. They have a star at virtually every position and an opposing pitcher will somehow have to navigate a lineup consisting of Manny Machado, Rafael Devers, Juan Soto, and Julio Rodriguez. Robinson Cano is there for vibes. Every WBC it is almost impossible to imagine how the Dominican team can lose, but it's single-elimination baseball. -Puerto Rico is also a very strong team, though Yadi Molina is managing it now. The Lindor-Baez infield lost some luster with Javy's down year, but I'm predicting that Javy will have a very strong WBC since he is not playing in depressing Detroit. -Don't sleep on Venezuela! They've got Jose Altuve, Ronald Acuña, Salvy Perez, and even the remains of Miguel Cabrera. Edwin Diaz looms as a trumpeting omen in the 9th. -Team Israel is mainly Jewish American ballplayers, headlined by Joc Pederson. -I've heard of one guy on team Nicaragua: it's Yankees reliever Jonathan Loáisiga. RULES The WBC doesn't have a pitch clock or shift ban like the new rules debuting in MLB this year. I'm not sure if they have the normal or larger bases. Games start tonight with Cuba/Netherlands at 11:00pm Eastern (US). Let's watch some actual competitive baseball! R.D. Mangles fucked around with this message at 03:20 on Mar 8, 2023 |
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Mar 8, 2023 03:15
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Hell yes, thanks for both awesome OPs
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Mar 8, 2023 03:30
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I do kinda feel like calling out of work tomorrow and going to see Panama vs. Netherlands
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Mar 8, 2023 03:44
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Mo gets to meet the mayor
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Mar 8, 2023 03:57
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Should this be the GDT or should that be a different thread?
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Mar 8, 2023 04:04
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GoutPatrol posted:I do kinda feel like calling out of work tomorrow and going to see Panama vs. Netherlands I will be at Netherlands Italy on Sunday night with 2 expatbros if you wanna join
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Mar 8, 2023 04:13
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Popete posted:Should this be the GDT or should that be a different thread? I mean maybe there will be tons of traffic and I'm wrong but I feel like separating out a N/V and GDT for the WBC is a bit much and it can all fit cleanly here.
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Mar 8, 2023 04:16
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Sydin posted:I mean maybe there will be tons of traffic and I'm wrong but I feel like separating out a N/V and GDT for the WBC is a bit much and it can all fit cleanly here. Whoops I just created a GDT thread, I felt like I didn't want to mess up the nice effort people put into this thread with my terrible GDT posts. https://forums.somethingawful.com/showthread.php?threadid=4026492 In my haste I even forgot to come up with a clever title...
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Mar 8, 2023 04:17
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america.jpg
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Mar 8, 2023 04:38
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I hope in like 20 years this becomes an insanely big deal
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Mar 8, 2023 04:42
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Death Vomit Wizard posted:I will be at Netherlands Italy on Sunday night with 2 expatbros if you wanna join Tomorrow is the only day that works because I have a large hole in my teaching schedule (8-11 and then 4-5) and the game starts at 12 so I can get there, watch a game, and get back. the perfect crime and Sunday is all baby day all the time and while taking a one year old to the park would be a new and interesting experience my wife would want to murder me
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Mar 8, 2023 04:48
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It's here!
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Mar 8, 2023 05:02
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The one announcer guy is extremely Australian
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Mar 8, 2023 05:04
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oh poo poo cespedes is on the roster
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Mar 8, 2023 05:07
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I guess I can’t watch this in Canada then  e: Nevermind! its on sportsnet / sportsnet now streaming LonesomeCrowdedWest fucked around with this message at 05:17 on Mar 8, 2023 |
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Mar 8, 2023 05:08
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Ah the sound of fog horns in the air
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Mar 8, 2023 05:09
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baseball!!!
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Mar 8, 2023 05:10
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Ok this fog horn is already annoying Edit: lol it's not a fog horn it's a Vuvuzela and the guy is right behind home plate with a Cuban flag
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Mar 8, 2023 05:11
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back to back walks not great Dutchman
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Mar 8, 2023 05:12
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netherland hats are sick
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Mar 8, 2023 05:12
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Blok getting squeezed like crazy.
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Mar 8, 2023 05:13
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the white sox are here surprised abreu isn't playing
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Mar 8, 2023 05:13
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NOT A HORSE RELATED INJURY
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Mar 8, 2023 05:15
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Can't throw a fastball for a strike, feels like Cuba is gonna launch one of these hanging curveballs soon.
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Mar 8, 2023 05:17
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Gets out of it in Cubs-esque fashion
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Mar 8, 2023 05:21
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what a brutal GIDP for Cuba De Blok has 0 command, probably would have walked in a run
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Mar 8, 2023 05:21
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Fred gonna rip the Cuba player's masks off and reveal they're the Chicago Cubs Scoobie Doo style.
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Mar 8, 2023 05:22
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doubble play
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Mar 8, 2023 05:22
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cant spell Cuba without Cub
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Mar 8, 2023 05:23
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Wait Jurickson Profar still isn't signed??
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Mar 8, 2023 05:24
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Popete posted:cant spell Cuba without Cub lol gently caress
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Mar 8, 2023 05:25
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who's honkin
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Mar 8, 2023 05:26
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i no longer have any patience for normal baseball, put a pitch clock on this pitcher! clock his rear end!!!!
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Mar 8, 2023 05:30
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I thought Sir Didi was way older than 33 for some reason
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Mar 8, 2023 05:34
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| # ? Apr 27, 2024 16:54 |
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i googled de blok and he played for a honkbal team called "Mr. Cocker"
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Mar 8, 2023 05:38
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