But does he know the lyrics to ” Let’s Go to the Mall” or the “Beaver Song”?

“LAKE BUENA VISTA, FLA. - How many national teams can boast having a suitable replacement for an MVP winner?

Had Joey Votto’s knee prevented him from playing in this month’s World Baseball Classic, Atlanta Braves first baseman Freddie Freeman was ready and willing to wear the maple leaf.

“I told the players association to make sure they let the WBC know that both my parents were born in Canada,” Freeman ...

ATTENTION: Taking Richard Beymer’s place in the role of Tony Wyzek tonight, tonight will be Mitch Williams.

As an analyst you make predictions based on what you know. So it is tough to make predictions in this event. I took a lot of heat from Team Puerto Rico because they felt I was making excuses for Team USA losing to them, when I said they didn’t look as ready as Puerto Rico because PR has winter ball. I was not making an excuse for the US! It was a nice way of saying that the US needed ...

Cool! Player could go on the 730 day DL list and be right back at it!

His reasoning: Players get caught up in the magic of the WBC when they get a chance to play in it—or even watch it. So those who play can’t wait to play again. And many who watch think, “I’d like to be a part of that.” And if the next edition were two years away, “maybe there’d be slightly more anticipation,” he said, “because it’s still relatively fresh.”

But by the time the next one rolls around, if it’s a four-year wait, ...

The tournament drew a record 781,429 fans since it began in Asia on March 2, played to huge international television audiences, and Brosnan said it will certainly be back for its fourth running in 2017.

“The Commissioner is 1,000-percent committed,” Brosnan said.

....
Mainstream baseball countries Mexico, Canada, Venezuela and Korea were all knocked out in the first round, but only Mexico will have to qualify for the tournament in 2017.

In that matter, Brosnan promised more teams and more ...

As soon as he’s done fully adjusting his drape cut look, Jim Kaat will make a statement…and then another…and then…

As the Dominican Republic danced through the night, the Dodgers held their breath. They must wait to see if their shortstop can play on opening day.

Hanley Ramirez injured his right thumb in the championship game of the World Baseball Classic on Tuesday, in which the Dominican beat Puerto Rico, 3-0. Ramirez is expected to undergo an MRI exam Wednesday in Arizona, according to ...

That was fun. Is it 2017 yet?

The Dominican Republic is hoping it can ride plantain power to the World Baseball Classic championship.

Owing at least part of their success to closer Fernando Rodney’s mystical “rally plantain” that he keeps tucked in the side of his uniform pants while sitting in the bullpen, the Dominicans advanced to Tuesday night’s title game by beating the Netherlands 4-1 in a WBC semifinal on Monday

...“It’s kind of crazy,” San Diego Padres right-hander Edinson Volquez, who was the winning pitcher ...

8:00 PM- Dominican Republic vs. Puerto Rico

WBC FINALS.

On MLB Network and ESPN Deportes.

He certainly would’ve helped in the Canada/Mexico brawl…

9:00 PM- Dominican Republic vs. Netherlands
Winner faces Puerto Rico in finals.

All games on MLB Network and ESPN Deportes.

9:00 PM- Japan vs. Puerto Rico

Winner to finals.

All games on MLB Network and ESPN Deportes.

Hey…what do you expect from a society that Dockingly waits 3.5 hours for a lameass, bar band version of “In the Midnight Hour”?!

That is the kind way of saying: American fans are boring. And players, too. Because we are. We rationalize it through our willingness to placate those who might react poorly. Those are the people who think the loudest a stadium should get is when the NOISE METER flashes on the Jumbotron. It’s not just the wine-and-cheese crowd, either. The sterilization of American ...

MIAMI—A day after players from the Dominican Republic engaged in some no-holds-barred celebrations at Marlins Park in response to their 3-1 World Baseball Classic victory against Team USA, it became apparent that some American players weren’t overly thrilled with the spectacle.

Well Below Competitive.

Torre, at one point in his postgame news conference, uncharacteristically bristled at a question about whether holding the tournament in the middle of spring training hurts Team USA. The question, he said, would not even have been relevant if the U.S. had gotten a hit with the bases loaded and one out in the eighth, instead of ending up with merely a bases-loaded walk.

In response to a follow-up about this being the third straight WBC disappointment for the U.S., ...

(If Playing You Is Wrong) I Don’t Want to Be Wright (Homer bank’s closed)

Even so, Wright should have known better. After all, while downplaying the idea that he felt any real pain, he admitted that it was enough to wake him up at night for a period of a week or so.

So he had to know he was putting himself at risk by continuing to play, especially since he had virtually the same injury a year ago in spring training. Captain America or not, as Wright was being hailed for his heroics in the ...

Just a seeding game today:

1 PM: Dominican Republic vs. Puerto Rico (Winner faces Netherlands, loser faces Japan)

All games on MLB Network and ESPN Deportes.

7:00 PM- USA vs. Puerto Rico (ELIMINATION GAME)

All games on MLB Network and ESPN Deportes

7:00 PM- USA vs. Dominican Republic (winner advances, loser faces PR in elimination game)

All games on MLB Network and ESPN Deportes.

7:00 PM- Puerto Rico vs. Italy (ELIMINATION GAME)

All games on MLB Network and ESPN Deportes.

Allen Barra: Cream’s Profiles.

My question is: Why does Bud Selig, commissioner of the American major leagues, give a hoot about “the internationalization of the sport?” Does he think this will help produce more talent for American pro teams, the way the increased popularity of basketball in Spain and France has produced top players like Pau Gasol and Tony Parker? Or does he think that the internationalization of the game is going to lead to him, Bud Selig, being elected commissioner of all ...

Hey, Cano. Stop jogging your mouth off!

But when Nick Punto clipped Cano with his slide to end the top of the seventh on a 6-4 forceout, a clearly annoyed Cano turned his head and stared at him rather than jog off the field.

It made for a tense few moments. After what happened with the ugly brawl between Mexico and Canada, we’ve learned things can escalate quickly. Punto defused the situation, however, by popping up off the ground, saying he was sorry and slapping Cano on the butt.

Punto ...

6:00 AM: Japan vs. Netherlands (seeding game)
1:00 PM: Dominican Republic vs. Italy
8:00 PM: USA vs. Puerto Rico

All games on MLB Network and ESPN Deportes.

Honk, Honk.

Despite Joe Torre managing as though the analytical breakthroughs of the last 20 years never happened – bunting three times with a lineup of All-Stars, shrugging off matchup-relief situations, walking a career-long scrub to load the bases with a new reliever coming in and keeping the player who led the major leagues in slugging percentage last year on the bench all game despite struggling for runs over the first seven innings – Team USA turned into Team USA over the final two innings, ...

Or as thebadguyswon put it…“We don’t need the WBC to prove to use that Joe Torre is an idiot.”

Former Major League pitcher and 16-time Gold Glove award winner Jim Kaat called for Sabermetrics to be thrown in the trash can while commentating on MLB Network. Kaat made the quip when the U.S. put runners on first and second in the top of the second inning against Canada in a deciding match between Pool D contestants in the World Baseball Classic. Ryan Braun had doubled and Ben Zobrist had ...