World Baseball Classic

[nitetrain8601]

I was wondering if anyone knew the rosters of the teams in the WBC. If anyone does, please post them here.

[maggsmaggs]

Here are the best players possible for each team list (From Baseball America last March):

 

JAPAN

 

C—Kenji Jojima

1B—Nobuhiko Matsunaka

2B—Tadahito Iguchi (White Sox)

3B—Michihiro Ogasawara

SS—Kazuo Matsui (Mets)

LF—Kosuke Fukudome

CF—Hideki Matsui (Yankees)

RF—Ichiro Suzuki (Mariners)

DH—Norihiro Nakamura

SP—Daisuke Matsuzaka

SP—Koji Uehara

SP—Hideo Nomo (Devil Rays)

SP—Tomo Ohka (Nationals)

RP—Shingo Takatsu

Manager: Sadaharu Oh

 

Skinny: Players like Ichiro Suzuki and Hideki Matsui have shown everyone the talent in Japan, and Japanese teams have generally played well in international competition, playing in all four Olympic baseball competitions and winning medal three times. They also won gold in 1984, when baseball was a demonstration sport. They'll be the favorite in this pool and a legitimate threat to make it to the final.

 

KOREA

 

C—Seung-heun Hong

1B—Seung-yeop Lee

2B—Kyung-hwan Ahn

3B—Dong-soo Kim

SS—Sae-wan Hong

LF—Joon-hyuk Yang

CF—Jeong-bum Lee

RF—Jong-soo Shim

DH—Hee-seop Choi (Dodgers)

SP—Jae-weong Seo (Mets)

SP—Chan-ho Park (Rangers)

SP—Myung-hwan Park

SP—Min-tae Chong

RP—Byung-yung Kim (Rockies)

Manager: Jae-park Kim

 

Skinny: Team Korea will be not be as well known to Westerners but could be a threat to Japan—their biggest rival--in this pool, though their talent is probably a notch below the Japanese. Korea has been made great strides internationally in the last 20 years, highlighted by a bronze-medal victory against Japan in the 2000 Olympics.

 

TAIWAN

 

C—Chun-chang Ye

1B—Chia-hsien Hsieh

2B—Chung-yi Huang

3B—Tai-shan Chang

SS—Ching-lung Hu (Dodgers)

LF—Chin-feng Chen (Dodgers)

CF—Chih-yuan Chen

RF—Kan-lin Huang

DH—Cheng-min Peng

SP—Chien-ming Wang (Yankees)

SP—Chi-Hung Cheng (Blue Jays)

SP—Chih-chia Chang

SP—Ming-chieh Hsu

RP— Chin-hui Tsao (Rockies)

Manager: Sheng-ming Hsu

 

Skinny: Taiwan would come to a standstill to watch its team, and interest would easily eclipse the fever pitch from when Taiwan played host to the 2001 World Cup. Still, most fans would recognize their squad will be overmatched because of the relatively small pool of talent to draw from. The goal would be to score a win or two against its big brother, China.

 

CHINA

C—Wang Wei

1B—Chen Qi

2B—Feng Fei

3B—Zhang Wei

SS—Zheng Yu Feng

LF—Lin Xiao Fan

CF—Sun Ling-feng

RF—Yang Guo Gang

DH—Liu Guang Biao

SP—Wang Chao

SP—Wang Nan

SP—Zhang Jian Wang

SP—Su Chang-long

RP—Li Wei Liang

Manager: Li Bin

 

Skinny: China is making a major push in baseball in advance of playing in the 2008 Olympics in Beijing, and Major League Baseball can't ignore the marketing potential of a nation of more than 1.3 billion people. So even though its team isn’t ready for a competition of this stature, China will send a team of the best players from the China Professional Baseball League and hope it spurs further growth in the game.

Edited December 2, 2005 by maggsmaggs

[maggsmaggs]

PUERTO RICO

 

C—Ivan Rodriguez (Tigers)

1B—Carlos Delgado (Marlins)

2B—Jose Vidro (Nationals)

3B—Mike Lowell (Marlins)

SS—Alex Cora (Indians)

LF—Alexis Rios (Blue Jays)

CF—Carlos Beltran (Mets)

RF—Jose Cruz Jr. (Diamondbacks)

DH—Javy Lopez (Orioles)

SP—Javier Vazquez (Diamondbacks)

SP—Joel Pineiro (Mariners)

SP—J.C. Romero (Twins)

SP—Kiko Calero (Athletics)

RP—Roberto Hernandez (Mets)

Manager: Jose Cruz Sr. (Astros)

 

Skinny: Puerto Rico is the epitome of a team with little international baseball history that suddenly becomes a major power. If the Puerto Ricans could trade their catching depth (Javy Lopez, Jorge Posada, the Molina brothers) for more starting pitching, they would be a legitimate title contender, though they'll certainly get out of the first round. They'll be formidable when Vazquez and Pineiro are on the mound and will have to outslug opponents in the other games.

 

CUBA

 

C—Ariel Pestano

1B—Danny Miranda

2B—Yulieski Gourriel

3B—Michel Enriquez

SS—Eduardo Paret

LF—Frederich Cepeda

CF—Carlos Tabares

RF—Alexei Ramirez

DH—Eriel Sanchez

SP—Norge Vera

SP—Vicyohandri Odelin

SP—Adiel Palma

SP—Danny Betancourt

RP—Pedro Luis Lazo

Manager: Higinio Velez

 

Skinny: Assuming organizers can make it through all the necessary diplomatic hurdles, Cuba could be the most intriguing team in the tournament. People thought the Cubans would take a step back when professionals joined international baseball, but it hasn't really happened—only Ben Sheets has beaten Cuba when it counts. So underestimate this team at your peril, especially if Cuba gets to the win-or-go home stage of competition. Obviously the team would look different if Cuban defectors playing in the U.S.—such as Jose Contreras, Livan Hernandez and Orlando Hernandez—were available, not to mention Cuban-Americans such as Rafael Palmeiro.

 

ITALY

 

C—Carlos A. Patrone

1B—Claudio Liverziani

2B—Francesco Imperiali

3B—Igor Schiavetti

SS—Seth la Fera

LF—Daniel di Pace

CF—Daniele Frignani

RF—Jim Buccheri

DH—Jairo Ramos Gizzi

SP—Jason Simontacchi

SP—David Rollandini

SP---Silvio Censale

SP—Ilo Bartolucci

RP—Juan Carlos Vigna

Manager: Giampiero Faraone

 

Skinny: Italian teams often include oriundos, players who were not born or raised in Italy but who are eligible for Italian citizenship through their ancestry. The most notable player in recent years has been former Cardinals pitcher Jason Simontacchi. There tends to be a high turnover of oriundos, making it difficult to predict what the team will look like next spring. A few of the players who were born and raised in Italy have minor league experience, like Claudio Liverziani, who played in the Mariners system.

 

PANAMA

 

C—Einar Diaz (Cardinals)

1B—Olmedo Saenz (Dodgers)

2B—Jose Macias (Cubs)

3B—Damaso Espino (Royals)

SS—Vicente Garabaldo

LF—Carlos Lee (Brewers)

CF—Ruben Rivera

RF—Fernando Seguignol

DH—Julio Zuleta

SP—Bruce Chen (Orioles)

SP—Roger Deago (Padres)

SP—Ramiro Mendoza (Yankees)

SP—Len Pecota

RP—Mariano Rivera (Yankees)

Manager: Omar Moreno

 

Skinny: Just getting into this tournament is a victory for Panama, which has few milestones in its international baseball history. The highlights have been hosting the Americas Olympic qualifier in 2003 (when Team USA was upset) and winning a silver medal at the 2003 World Cup tournament in Cuba. There's enough talent here to beat Italy, but wins over Puerto Rico or Cuba would be big upsets.

[maggsmaggs]

CANADA

 

C—Pete LaForest (Devil Rays)

1B—Justin Morneau (Twins)

2B—Pete Orr (Braves)

3B—Cory Koskie (Blue Jays)

SS—Danny Klassen (Astros)

LF—Jason Bay (Pirates)

CF—Aaron Guiel (Royals)

RF—Larry Walker (Cardinals)

DH—Matt Stairs (Royals)

SP—Rich Harden (Athletics)

SP—Erik Bedard (Orioles)

SP—Jeff Francis (Rockies)

SP—Ryan Dempster (Cubs)

RP—Eric Gagne (Dodgers)

Manager: Ernie Whitt (Blue Jays)

 

Skinny: While the United States will be a clear favorite in this pool, Canada and Mexico should battle toe-to-toe for the second bid. Team Canada made its first Olympic appearance in 2004 and was disappointed to finish fourth, but the infusion of major league talent makes this team significantly better than the ’04 model. Depth might be a problem, but the starting lineup stacks up against most of the other teams in the tournament.

 

MEXICO

 

C—Miguel Ojeda (Padres)

1B—Guillermo Velasquez

2B—Jorge Cantu (Devil Rays)

3B—Vinny Castilla (Nationals)

SS—Alfredo Amezaga (Pirates)

LF—Mario Valenzuela

CF—Luis Garcia

RF—Karim Garcia

DH—Erubiel Durazo (Athletics)

SP—Esteban Loiaza (Nationals)

SP—Oliver Perez (Pirates)

SP—Rodrigo Lopez (Orioles)

SP—Elmer Dessens (Dodgers)

RP—Luis Ayala (Nationals)

Manager: Fernando Valenzuela

 

Skinny: Mexico has several options for its team, which likely will be a mélange of Mexican Leaguers, big leaguers and minor leaguers. The team has some upside on the mound, especially if Pirates lefthander Oliver Perez shows his 2004 form. Mexico has had little success on the international stage and is best known for Rigo Beltran’s victory against Team USA in the 2003 Olympic qualifier that eliminated the Americans from the 2004 Olympics.

 

SOUTH AFRICA

 

C—Willem Kemp

1B—Nick Dempsey

2B—Paul Bell

3B—Jonathan Phillips

SS—Brett Willemberg

LF—Jason Jonathan

CF—Jason Cook

RF—Ian Holness

DH—Adrian Langeveldt

SP—Barry Armitage (Royals)

SP—Bruce McCleland (Royals)

SP—Tyrone Lamont (Mariners)

SP—Carl Michaels

RP—Darryn Smith

Manager: Raymond Tew

 

Skinny: South Africa’s greatest moment in international history was its 3-2 victory against the Netherlands in the 2000 Olympics, which kept the Dutch from making the medal round. It was South Africa’s first (and only) win in Olympic history, and the team was barely competitive in February 2004 in a qualifying tournament against Australia. They'll absorb three poundings before bowing from the international stage this time around. Their standout will be Royals minor leaguer Barry Armitage, who is at Double-A Wichita.

 

UNITED STATES

 

C—Jason Varitek (Red Sox)

1B—Todd Helton (Rockies)

2B—Jeff Kent (Dodgers)

3B—Scott Rolen (Cardinals)

SS—Alex Rodriguez (Yankees)

LF—Lance Berkman (Astros)

CF—Jim Edmonds (Cardinals)

RF—Gary Sheffield (Yankees)

DH—Barry Bonds (Giants)

SP—Roger Clemens (Astros)

SP—Mark Prior (Cubs)

SP—Ben Sheets (Brewers)

SP—Mark Mulder (Cardinals)

RP—Billy Wagner (Phillies)

Manager: Bobby Cox (Braves)

 

Skinny: USA Baseball has been one of the major players on the international scene in the last 40 years, as it should be, and is the only nation other than Cuba to win an Olympic gold medal. The United States will be the favorite at the World Baseball Classic, though its biggest advantage--depth--might not be a major factor in this tournament. A team of U.S. reserves would have a good chance at the gold, but it won't be a cakewalk. Players with previous Team USA experience, such as Mulder, Prior and Sheets, could get priority.

[maggsmaggs]

AUSTRALIA

 

C—Dave Nilsson

1B—Justin Huber (Royals)

2B—Trent Durrington (Brewers)

3B—Adam Morrissey (Athletics)

SS—Glenn Williams (Twins)

LF—Chris Snelling (Mariners)

CF—Trent Oeltjen (Twins)

RF—Brett Roneberg

DH—Ben Risinger (Padres)

SP—Chris Oxspring (Padres)

SP—Grant Balfour (Twins)

SP—Travis Blackley (Mariners)

SP—Craig Anderson (Mariners)

RP—Jeff Williams

Manager: John Diebel (Phillies)

 

Skinny: Baseball has grown significantly in Australia in the last 20 years, with a boost coming from the 2000 Olympics in Sydney. A major push to win a medal at home, following a gold medal in the 1999 Intercontinental Cup, resulted in a disappointing seventh-place finish, but the Aussies came back in Athens to win silver after upsetting Japan in the semifinals behind Chris Oxspring and Jeff Williams. They'll struggle to get out of this pool, however.

 

DOMINICAN REPUBLIC

 

C—Miguel Olivo (Mariners)

1B—Albert Pujols (Cardinals)

2B—Alfonso Soriano (Rangers)

3B—Aramis Ramirez (Cubs)

SS— Miguel Tejada (Orioles)

LF—Manny Ramirez (Red Sox)

CF—Jose Guillen (Nationals)

RF—Vladimir Guerrero (Angels)

DH—David Ortiz (Red Sox)

SP—Pedro Martinez (Mets)

SP—Bartolo Colon (Angels)

SP—Odalis Perez (Dodgers)

SP—Daniel Cabrera (Orioles)

RP—Francisco Cordero (Rangers)

Manager: Felipe Alou (Giants)

 

Skinny: Though they're thin at catcher, the Dominicans match up with Team USA as well as anyone. Like Puerto Rico and Venezuela, the Dominican has never made a splash on the international scene before now because of disorganized national baseball federations. That all changes with this tournament, where the talent comes out. Anyone want to bet against Pedro in one game for all the marbles?

 

NETHERLANDS

 

C—Chairon Isenia

1B—Randall Simon (Devil Rays)

2B—Evert Jan t'Hoen

3B—Vince Rooi (Nationals)

SS—Raily Legito

LF—Eugene Kingsale

CF—Andruw Jones (Braves)

RF—Rikkert Faneyte

DH—Sharnol Adriana

SP—Sydney Ponson (Orioles)

SP—Calvin Maduro

SP—Alexander Smit (Twins)

SP—Rob Cordemans

RP—Ferenc Jongejan

Manager: Robert Eenhoorn

 

Skinny: The national team usually has a complement of players from Holland’s protectorates in the West Indies. Braves outfielder Andruw Jones (of Curacao) and former Orioles hurler Calvin Maduro (of Aruba) would certainly help the Dutch squad. But baseball's preeminent European power will find the going tough in this competition, with a win against Australia serving as a major victory.

 

VENEZUELA

 

C—Ramon Hernandez (Padres)

1B—Edgardo Alfonzo (Giants)

2B—Cesar Izturis (Dodgers)

3B—Carlos Guillen (Tigers)

SS—Omar Vizquel (Giants)

LF—Melvin Mora (Orioles)

CF—Bob Abreu (Phillies)

RF—Miguel Cabrera (Marlins)

DH—Magglio Ordonez (Tigers)

SP—Johan Santana (Twins)

SP—Carlos Zambrano (Cubs)

SP—Freddy Garcia (White Sox)

SP—Kelvim Escobar (Angels)

RP—Francisco Rodriguez (Angels)

Manager: Ozzie Guillen, White Sox

 

Skinny: If you're looking for a darkhorse pick to win it all, check out this lineup, which is strong at almost every position, and a pitching staff that will have few rivals. Yet another nation with virtually no international baseball resume--zero Olympic appearances with this kind of talent?--Venezuela will set off national fervor in this tournament. Will Ozzie Guillen pitch Johan Santana in the finals or semifinals? And will he make up with Magglio Ordonez before the tournament?

[nitetrain8601]

If 3 of the final 4 teams don't involve the U.S., Venezuela, and the Dominican Republic...something will have gone horribly wrong with the world.  Like Gagne with an 8 inning save or something like that.

 

Japan, Korea, and Mexico could possibly compete with them, but come on...Pujols, Tejada, Pedro, and Ortiz on the same team?  Texiera, Bonds, Clemens and Prior?    Santana, Abreu and Ordonez? 

 

Small Notes - ARod won't compete with the U.S...probably Puerto Rico

 

I think A-Rod has to play for the U.S. He made a big thing about wanting to play for DR or whatever, but Selig said he's going to play where he's placed which will be USA.

[Balta1701]

If 3 of the final 4 teams don't involve the U.S., Venezuela, and the Dominican Republic...something will have gone horribly wrong with the world. Like Gagne with an 8 inning save or something like that.

 

Japan, Korea, and Mexico could possibly compete with them, but come on...Pujols, Tejada, Pedro, and Ortiz on the same team? Texiera, Bonds, Clemens and Prior? Santana, Abreu and Ordonez?

 

Small Notes - ARod won't compete with the U.S...probably The dominican Along with Pujols and Ortiz.

 

Izturis is likely out until the AS break next year, so no 2b for him.

 

If you ask me...the Dominican looks unstoppable. ARod, Tejada, Manny Ramirez, Ortiz, Tejada, Aramis Ramirez, AND Vlad the Impaler in the same lineup? Along with Pedro and Bartolo as starting ptichers? Wow wow wow. Aside from Olivo, the weak spots in that lineup hit 30+ home runs per year, and the weak spots in the rotation still win 10-15 games.

 

I'd watch that just to see that lineup hit. It'd be like an all star team every game. How the Hell do you even pitch to that lineup? Hitting 1st, Jose Guillen, 2nd, Arod. 3rd, Ortiz. 4th, Manny. 5th, Tejada. 6th, Vlad. 7th, ARam. 8th, Soriano. And Miguel Olivo batting for the Pitcher. WOW. The 2nd through 8th hitters could all hit above .300 with 30-50 home runs in a full season. Shuffle them around as you wish. And give them Pedro and Bartolo starting games.

[Balta1701]

I think A-Rod has to play for the U.S. He made a big thing about wanting to play for DR or whatever, but Selig said he's going to play where he's placed which will be USA.

Sorry, kinda cut that last post off 1/2 way through.

 

Last I heard ARod wants to play for his "Home" country, and that's the DR. And I've heard nothign that says Selig won't let him. His heritage is DR, even though he was born in NY.

[TheBlackSox8]

........... but come on...Pujols, Tejada, Pedro, and Ortiz on the same team?................

 

Small Notes - ARod won't compete with the U.S...probably The dominican Along with Pujols and Ortiz.

 

 

I'd watch that just to see that lineup hit.  It'd be like an all star team every game.  How the Hell do you even pitch to that lineup?  Hitting 1st, Jose Guillen, 2nd, Arod.  3rd, Ortiz.  4th, Manny.  5th, Tejada.  6th, Vlad.  7th, ARam.  8th, Soriano.  And Miguel Olivo batting for the Pitcher.  WOW.  The 2nd through 8th hitters could all hit above .300 with 30-50 home runs in a full season.  Shuffle them around as you wish.  And give them Pedro and Bartolo starting games.

Where is Pujols in your lineup??

Edited December 3, 2005 by TheBlackSox8

[Balta1701]

Where is Pujols in your lineup??

Ok, so I've been drinking. Give me a break, I'm a geologist, it's half our profession. The best post-steroids hitter in baseball absolutely hits either 3rd or 4th. I hit Ortiz behind Pujols on that team. Go ahead, find a way to pitch to that.

[SoxFanForever]

I think the American team could muster some better starting pitching than Mark Mulder and Mark Prior personally.

[bschmaranz]

I think the American team could muster some better starting pitching than Mark Mulder and Mark Prior personally.

 

Totally agree with that, but like it said, they'll probably give preference to them due to the fact that they've performed in international games like this (Olympics). I'd love to see Buehrle on that team though. Well, if it doesn't kill his arm before the season.

[SoxFan562004]

as a baseball fan the World Classic does intrigue me, but it absolutely spooks me about the pitchers espically, here's a no brainer, the possible White Sox pitchers.

 

If any of our starters pitch in this thing that's going to be a hell of a lot of innings over the last year.

 

this is supposed to start in what, March? So basically FG would have to get crankin' up around late January early February to be in shape for this.

 

Is there any talk of letting the teams put some sort of constraints on pitchers? I know a lot of players are going to want to take part to represent their countries.

[JoshPR]

PUERTO RICO

 

C—Ivan Rodriguez (Tigers)

1B—Carlos Delgado (Marlins)

2B—Jose Vidro (Nationals)

3B—Mike Lowell (Marlins)

SS—Alex Cora (Indians)

LF—Alexis Rios (Blue Jays)

CF—Carlos Beltran (Mets)

RF—Jose Cruz Jr. (Diamondbacks)

DH—Javy Lopez (Orioles)

SP—Javier Vazquez (Diamondbacks)

SP—Joel Pineiro (Mariners)

SP—J.C. Romero (Twins)

SP—Kiko Calero (Athletics)

RP—Roberto Hernandez (Mets)

Manager: Jose Cruz Sr. (Astros)

 

Skinny: Puerto Rico is the epitome of a team with little international baseball history that suddenly becomes a major power. If the Puerto Ricans could trade their catching depth (Javy Lopez, Jorge Posada, the Molina brothers) for more starting pitching, they would be a legitimate title contender, though they'll certainly get out of the first round. They'll be formidable when Vazquez and Pineiro are on the mound and will have to outslug opponents in the other games.

 

 

Jose Cruz Sr. Ain't the Manager for the Puertorican team. It's gonna be cardinal Coach Jose Oquendo. Joey Cora was the leading candidate but the Sox denied the permission. Another thing is that Livan Hernandez is gonna pitch for Puerto Rico as he lives here and has properties and stuff

Edited December 4, 2005 by JoshPR

[greasywheels121]

A-Rod ain't playing.

 

http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=2260948

[GoSox05]

Its like one team looks unbeatble and than you look at the next team and than they look unbeatble.

 

 

If Cuba plays im intrested to see what they can do. There kinda of a mystery team.

[iWiN4PreP]

Good luck to the white sox in the classic.