Piecing together a couple threads

[Texsox]

You can't compare baseball internationally to basketball. Basketball is truly an international sport now and the talent level is much deeper. Baseball is a North American, Latin American, and Japanese sport.

 

I guess I forgot about all the other great Chinese basketball players

 

So what makes a Cuban player better than a French player in baseball?

[Disco72]

So what makes a Cuban player better than a French player in baseball?

 

The quality of competition makes the player a better "bet," but not necessarily a better player.

[Kenny Hates Prospects]

The quality of competition makes the player a better "bet," but not necessarily a better player.

 

Thank you.

 

I guess I forgot about all the other great Chinese basketball players

 

So what makes a Cuban player better than a French player in baseball?

 

The question you originally asked was...

 

Would we be as excited about Viciedo if he was Brazilian or French?

 

So no, people wouldn't be as excited about players from countries not known for having competitive baseball programs and producing Major League baseball players. That is not to say talented players cannot come from other areas - Jair Jurrjens and Matt Stairs are both from the Netherlands IIRC - but those players have a lot more to prove.

 

Edit: And again, the Chinese basketball example is horrid. Just because the only Chinese NBA players you've ever heard of are Yao Ming and Yi Jinlian does not mean China as a whole takes basketball as a sport lightly. Comparing Chinese basketball to the NBA is like comparing Japanese baseball to MLB. Obviously the difference in talent is huge, and most Americans who can't cut it here could go to those other countries and do very well for themselves, but they still run programs that are competitive with other nations and are still capable of developing some great players. OTOH, talking about baseball in France is like talking about basketball in Antarctica or ice hockey in the Carribean. Horrible comparison.

Edited November 21, 2008 by Kenny Hates Prospects

[GoodAsGould]

A guy who was basted on this board. I remember being at a game in August against the Angels where he was booed off the mound. Also a guy KW didn't want on the post season roster. There were no tears when he was traded for Javy. In fact, he's rarely mentioned on this board as being part of the Javy trade. He helped Contreras out tremendously. Contreras then helped Ramirez out. Hopefully, Ramirez and Contreras can steer this new kid right. There have been some Cuban busts. Maybe there is something to having another player they respect from their country and who know exactly what they are going through to help them along.

 

I dont agree with what most was said in this statement. I think everyone was fine with El Duque coming out of the bp, it was as a starter most were unsatisfied with. Although I marveled at the way he was able to work out of jams and think he won a game vs twins while walking 10 people or something 1 time. But I was definitely very satisfied with him being a long reliever on the post-season roster. Another thing one of the most memorable pictures is him and Contreras smoking a couple of Cuban cigars.

 

The reason nobody shed a tear when he was traded is he probably would have been a starter if he wasnt traded, which just iwasnt a good thing and we got a pitcher with ace stuff in Vazquez.

[Texsox]

Thank you.

 

 

 

The question you originally asked was...

 

 

 

So no, people wouldn't be as excited about players from countries not known for having competitive baseball programs and producing Major League baseball players. That is not to say talented players cannot come from other areas - Jair Jurrjens and Matt Stairs are both from the Netherlands IIRC - but those players have a lot more to prove.

 

Edit: And again, the Chinese basketball example is horrid. Just because the only Chinese NBA players you've ever heard of are Yao Ming and Yi Jinlian does not mean China as a whole takes basketball as a sport lightly. Comparing Chinese basketball to the NBA is like comparing Japanese baseball to MLB. Obviously the difference in talent is huge, and most Americans who can't cut it here could go to those other countries and do very well for themselves, but they still run programs that are competitive with other nations and are still capable of developing some great players. OTOH, talking about baseball in France is like talking about basketball in Antarctica or ice hockey in the Carribean. Horrible comparison.

 

So you are excited about Cuban players because of the quality of play in Cuba? Cool. Thanks.

 

You mentioned France was not considered a baseball country, my analogy then was based on my ignorance that China was to basketball what Cuba is to baseball. I felt that China's basketball was on par with French baseball certainly not as strong as Cuban baseball. Thanks for the correction.

[RockRaines]

Would we be as excited about Viciedo if he was Brazilian or French?

If he played in a good league. Most latino countries have great baseball teams, and the cubans have been b**** slapping other countries teams for years. Now if you were talking soccer, it would be different.

[Kenny Hates Prospects]

So you are excited about Cuban players because of the quality of play in Cuba? Cool. Thanks.

 

You mentioned France was not considered a baseball country, my analogy then was based on my ignorance that China was to basketball what Cuba is to baseball. I felt that China's basketball was on par with French baseball certainly not as strong as Cuban baseball. Thanks for the correction.

I wouldn't say China's basketball is on par with Cuba's baseball, but the idea is that China runs out a team, competes in Asia, and has developed players capable of playing in the NBA. I thought your central point was that there's no difference between a talented player from Country A and a talented player from Country B, which I would disagree with because if Country A has better competition then the player from that country is probably going to be more developed.

 

Of course this I think would apply more to hitters than pitchers, because if you're a pitcher and you throw in the mid to upper-90's and have a nasty offspeed pitch, and if you don't have serious control problems, then it probably doesn't matter where you come from because you're going to get pretty much everybody out regardless. But if you've got two equal hitters in age, body type and swing mechanics, but one has been facing a 70-80mph junkballers in Slabalabastan, and another has been facing AA-MLB level competition in Cuba, then the chances are the Cuban is going to be a much better player with a much better chance of success who will develop much quicker and thus will be worthy of the added excitement.

Edited November 21, 2008 by Kenny Hates Prospects

[YASNY]

The fascination with Cuban players is due to the fact that Hernandez, Contreras and Ramirez have all made positive contributions to the success of the Sox. So there is a correlation, Cuban equals good. Realistically, the country of origin doesn't amount to a hill of beans on a player by player basis. Viciado, or whatever his name is, may very well be a stud. That would be great. However, I think some around here may be looking at things through Cuban colored glasses, if I may butcher an expression to make a point.