Friday, March 03, 2006

Baseball! Yeah, baseball!


The World Baseball Classic, which hasn't exactly gotten a warm reaction here in the U.S., started last night with two teams from Asia duking it out.

There have been many complaints about the WBC, mainly due to its poor timing, but still, (somewhat) meaningful baseball in March! We're excited. Who's with us?

There are some pretty good players on different squads and we're rooting to see a bench clearing brawl between the U.S. and Cuba -- which won't likely improve our relationship with Fidel et al. (American and Cuba are in different pools, so we're not even sure they'll have the chance to play, but just imagine The Rocket intentionally throwing at a Cuban player. The Bay of Pigs ain't shit compared to the turmoil that would follow!)

Certain teams' rosters just look loaded. Let's take a look at some notables:

Team U.S.A. - The stars and stripes are a longshot to win this thing, but with an infield of Jeter, A-Rod, Derrek Lee and Michael Young, they could be tough. Oh, and former MVP Chipper Jones and current slugger Mark Teixeira are reserves. Powerful. Pitching is a bit of a weakness, but they do have Clemens, Jake Peavy, and Dontrelle as starters and pick your favorite closer and he's probably on the squad. (See the complete roster here).

Team Venezuela - They say pitching wins championships, but do they win world championships? Um, maybe. Venezuela will be throwing Carlos Zambrano (and Victor), Johan Santana, and F-Rod out of the 'pen. Their outfield is more stacked than Pam Anderson, with Bobby Abreu, Miguel Cabrera and Magglio Ordonez. They play baseball good in Venezuela. (See the complete roster here).

Team Dominican Republic - Beltre at third, Soriano at second, Tejada at short, Pujols/Big Papi at first. Yikes! (They also have Manny in the outfield, but big names Vlad Guerrero and Pedro dropped out). These guys are gonna fuck some shit up. (See the complete roster here.)

Let's say Team Dominican in six. Wait a sec...

In other news: Sources say that the NFL is consulting NHL commissioner Gary Bettman to deal with the free agency problem.

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