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Maybe, but it's close. Venezuela's lineup is stacked: Magglio, Abreu, Miguel Cabrera, Carlo Guillen, Mora. On any given day that lineup could beat anyone; unfortunately, their pitching has looked like crap.
I'm pretty sure that the TV spots were set in advance. Instead of Italy/Venezuela, they probably expected that to be Canada versus Venezuela or USA. And DR/Netherlands was probably thought to be DR/Puerto Rico versus Panama/Netherlands. I can see why they'd opt for the former.
And DR/Netherlands looks more interesting now due to how they got there. If DR had won the first game and lost to PR and then the Dutch had beaten Panama in their second game, you'd have the same matchup, but it would look significantly less compelling.
I'm hoping for at least 1 unexpected team to make the next round. But I do expect Netherlands to get pounded.
That said, it still is a ton better than the Round Robin format, which, as I said before, only works in the LLWS.
By the way, starting pitchers (with annotations when needed):
Italy (Adam Ottavino) vs. Venezuela (Enrique Gonzalez)
Ottavino is a Cardinals farmhand born in Brooklyn. Enrique Gonzalez played 4 games for the Padres last year.
Dominican Republic (Ubaldo Jimenez) vs. Netherlands (Tommy Stuifbergen)
Stuifbergen played 7 games for the GCL Twins in 2007 but missed 2008 with a injury.
Haven't found the match-up for Cuba/Aussie yet.
Forza Azzuri!
Maybe they should change the format like this:
Game 1: A vs. B
Game 2: C vs. D
Game 3: Game 1 winner vs. Game 2 winner, winning team advances
Game 4: Game 1 loser vs. Game 2 loser, losing team eliminated
Game 5: Game 3 loser vs. Game 4 winner.
If Game 5 is not a rematch of Game 1 or 2 with the opposite result* of the first game:
Game 6: Game 3 winner vs. Game 5 winner to determine 1st and 2nd
If Game 5 is a rematch of Game 1 or 2 with the opposite result* of the first game:
Game 6: Replay of Game 5, winner is 2nd place team. Game 3 winner is 1st place team.
That's fairer, but then Game 5 is not necessarily an elimination game, and the Game 3 winner may have a long wait in between games (which is not great with trying to get pitchers work during Spring Training). Just a thought.
(Opposite result = Each team has won 1 game and lost 1 game. Scoring is not counted.)
I fully expect him to get shelled, that being said.
This can be at least partially helped by having the second round games (winner game #1 versus winner game #2 and loser game #1 versus loser #2) be a double header with the same ticket. That way, people can buy a ticket and see their team in a crucial game (either an elimination game or one that determines advancement). If they want, they can set the order of the games based on TV once the matchups are established, but fans would know that all the teams are involved in that session.
It doesn't solve the problem with "game 5" in the series.
I'm not a big fan of how they have scheduled the games this time with having games at the same site on different days. It doesn't really make any sense that the Netherlands played yesterday, but the Dominican Rep played 2 days ago. Seems to give the DR an advantage. Both the Netherlands-PR game and the DR-Panama games should have been the same day (even if you want to sell different tickets to each)
I bought tickets to yesterday's game at Hiram Bithorn Stadium a couple of months ago. I was expecting to see the PR-Dominican Republic matchup since, of course, DR would easily beat Netherlands :(
Hey, that PR-Netherlands game was still well worth the price of whatever you paid for tickets.
Can't complain, really. It was a great game, especially during the last two innings! Let me tell you, though, the mood in the crowd from innings 4 to 8 was very, very subdued when PR just kept blowing opportunities to score.
There are several problems:
Economics: These countries are poor compared to the US of A (esp. the DR). Even the Blue Jays have trouble keeping up money-wise, and they are in Canada, which is far closer to the United States in economy than, say, Mexico. Puerto Rico wouldn't be as much a problem since it uses the US dollar though.
Politics: Do you honestly think that a MLB team in, say, Venezuela, could happen with the current government there? Me neither.
Foreign Culture differences: There is a vast difference between an American living in Canada and an American living in Mexico or the Dominican Republic. Never mind the language differences and different standards of living (see: Montezuma's Revenge), just think about the cultural differences. Go read about the experiences of Gaijin in Japan for examples.
Would crowds go for primarily-American teams: Even in the highly-diverse MLB of today, most teams are primarily American. Would a team in Mexico or Puerto Rico get as much support as the All-Puerto Rican or All-Mexican WBC Teams get? I don't know, I'm guessing it'd depend on the quality of the team. But I seem to remember the Expo Crowds in San Juan decreasing in attendance as the Novelty wore off.
My dislike of the Italian team has nothing to do with ringers, and everything to do with revenge for yesterday, as well as memories of the streets of Toronto after the last World Cup. I am a small, petty man.
Great going Canada. You ruined the Skydome's attendance!
If he loses this game he'd best not set foot in Caracas again.
It's not the tournament that is important so much as the status. Many countries will only fund baseball programs (including building and maintaining fields) if it is a Olympic Sport. This is actually true for all sports, but since Baseball is rather expensive, funding is more needed than, say, Squash.
Oh, and Mets Fans: K-Rod has said he wants to go 2 innings if Venezuela has the lead going into the 8th.
Nope, that's it. 3IP, 1H, 0R, 1BB, 3K. Can't say I expected that.
Welcome to Baseball Heaven.
Neem me aan het balspel,
Neem me met de menigte;
Koop me één of andere pinda's en Cracker Jack,
Ik geef niet als ik nooit terugkeer.
Laat me wortel schieten, wortel, wortel voor het huisteam,
Als zij don' t wint, it' S.A. schande.
Voor it' s één, twee, drie stakingen, u is uit,
bij het oude balspel.
Translated back:
Take me to the ball game,
Take me with the mob;
Buy me one or other pinda' s and, I do not give to cracker jacket if I return never. Let me carrot shoot, carrot, carrot for the house team,
if they don' t wins, it'S a disgrace.
For it' s one, two, three strikes, you are from, at the old ball game.
Awesome.
By the way: Who else thinks that having games in Miami is just asking for a rain delay?
(I'm following on Gameday)
You didn't hear it from me though.
I'm not even here.
This is looking more like an upset with each inning.
Any chance they could send up Albert Pujols disguised as Juan Brito?
Hope for an error, I guess.
It's pretty awesome they've still got a realistic chance of making it at this point.
Use Weapon:
Alright, Kingsale--STEAL SECOND!
Schoop-a-BLOOP SINGLE!
Wow.
COME HOME, PEDRO!
I hope this game stays 0-0 for like 20 innings. Wouldn't that be awesome?
And yet Bly is STILL not in the Hall of Fame. Netherlands wins the title, does it punch his ticket?
It'd be more awesome because that would mean 7 innings of no runs scoring despite having men on 2nd and 1st and no outs to start each inning.
The Dam
The Dam-Man
The Dammer
The Beaver
The Finger
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