2023 World Baseball Classic

wlu_lax6 · Post by **wlu_lax6** » Wed Mar 08, 2023 2:07 pm

Liked this article on the Czechs
https://www.nytimes.com/2023/03/06/spor ... assic.html

MaxWebster · Post by **MaxWebster** » Wed Mar 08, 2023 2:47 pm

ah that was great

there was a cool ~9minute video on the Czech team on mlb.com like 2 weeks ago, i can't find it now but it was very cool and inspiring. Of course talked about them getting rinsed by Spain and then somehow turning it around and qualifying for the WBC.

MaxWebster · Post by **MaxWebster** » Thu Mar 09, 2023 9:18 am

one of the best (if not *the* best) benefits of working from home is definitely these morning/afternoon tournaments.

got to watch Shohei dominate this morning and Italy just blow a late 2-0 lead to Cuba going to the bottom of the 9th...

(rooting against Cuba solely because of the "superfan" honking his horn all damn game long)

mister d · Post by **mister d** » Thu Mar 09, 2023 9:33 am

That's some stamina ; P

MaxWebster · Post by **MaxWebster** » Thu Mar 09, 2023 9:43 am

ok i LOLd

degenerasian · Post by **degenerasian** » Thu Mar 09, 2023 10:56 am

Australia upset Korea! And the Italian major leaguers won in extras!

degenerasian · Post by **degenerasian** » Fri Mar 10, 2023 8:37 am

The Czechs beat China! With Korea being so bad, 2nd place is up for grabs in this group!

MaxWebster · Post by **MaxWebster** » Fri Mar 10, 2023 9:02 am

and this Italy/Taiwan (Chinese Taipai) game is absolutely bonkers. currently 7-7 in the 7th, back and forth all game

wlu_lax6 · Post by **wlu_lax6** » Fri Mar 10, 2023 12:30 pm

Israel beat the Nats yesterday.

sancarlos · Post by **sancarlos** » Fri Mar 10, 2023 3:54 pm

wlu_lax6 · Post by **wlu_lax6** » Sat Mar 11, 2023 11:31 am

sancarlos wrote: ↑Fri Mar 10, 2023 3:54 pm

That is fake Italian. No self-respecting Italian would use a nespresso.

A_B · Post by **A_B** » Sat Mar 11, 2023 1:08 pm

So it’s perfect for this roster?

EnochRoot · Post by **EnochRoot** » Sat Mar 11, 2023 5:52 pm

This Colombia v Mexico is a pretty good game. 5-4 Colombia top 10.

degenerasian · Post by **degenerasian** » Sat Mar 11, 2023 6:17 pm

EnochRoot wrote: ↑Sat Mar 11, 2023 5:52 pm This Colombia v Mexico is a pretty good game. 5-4 Colombia top 10.

Any day the Mexicans lose is a good day.

EnochRoot · Post by **EnochRoot** » Sat Mar 11, 2023 9:21 pm

Mike Trout was always a little overrated. SIT DOWN, SON!

degenerasian · Post by **degenerasian** » Sun Mar 12, 2023 9:10 am

All 5 teams finished 2-2 in Pool A

tiebreaker: runs allowed divided by defensive outs

degenerasian · Post by **degenerasian** » Sun Mar 12, 2023 8:15 pm

Korea will be cheering for Czechs in a high scoring game. If Australia wins they are in. However, the Czechs need to beat Australia tonight to set up a 3 way tiebreak, assuming Korea beats China.

In the 3 way tiebreak, it would be least runs allowed in the games between the 3 teams.

Aus beat Kor 8-7
Kor beat Cze 7-3

So Korea is locked in at 11
Cze cannot allow more than 4 runs in their win.

degenerasian · Post by **degenerasian** » Sun Mar 12, 2023 11:51 pm

Anyone still up?

Americans getting killed.

Aus-Cze 1-1 after 6. This almost ensures that the Koreans are out and whoever wins this will advance.

MaxWebster · Post by **MaxWebster** » Mon Mar 13, 2023 6:16 am

i've probably watched 8 games already

- i think i made it through the 7th last night, i'm sure if it'd been close i'd have propped myself up a little more.

Mexico deserved/s it almost solely for the uniform discrepancy.

(but for real the lineup are kinda shitting themselves and/but more importantly it would have been nice to have some better starting pitchers show. I still don't understand the Kershaw-insurance thing)

wlu_lax6 · Post by **wlu_lax6** » Mon Mar 13, 2023 10:08 am

Okay what a weird (but great) tradition
https://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/358 ... logize-hbp

MaxWebster · Post by **MaxWebster** » Mon Mar 13, 2023 11:10 am

this is awesome.

(...now i'm retro-picturing someone like Dave Stewart after drilling someone having to deliver a gift to the opposing team bus the next morning...)

wlu_lax6 wrote: ↑Mon Mar 13, 2023 10:08 am Okay what a weird (but great) tradition
https://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/358 ... logize-hbp

mister d · Post by **mister d** » Mon Mar 13, 2023 11:44 am

[impossibly high-pitched voice] "Sorry about last night, here's some cake."

degenerasian · Post by **degenerasian** » Mon Mar 13, 2023 1:02 pm

Korea took out their anger of not making the playoffs on China 22-2 after 5 innings. This must be the last time China are in the WBC. They were an original member and kept coming back as the tournament expanded but they've been awful. 2 wins out of 16 in the 5 editions. With real qualification now and new countries emerging, can't see them returning.

Ryan · Post by **Ryan** » Mon Mar 13, 2023 1:06 pm

They should just claim all the players from Ad h h bd at hhfa to k BBC cfjksvv c

MaxWebster · Post by **MaxWebster** » Mon Mar 13, 2023 2:09 pm

pretty sure they have to go through qualifying round next time since they finished last in their pool...?

degenerasian wrote: ↑Mon Mar 13, 2023 1:02 pm Korea took out their anger of not making the playoffs on China 22-2 after 5 innings. This must be the last time China are in the WBC. They were an original member and kept coming back as the tournament expanded but they've been awful. 2 wins out of 16 in the 5 editions. With real qualification now and new countries emerging, can't see them returning.

degenerasian · Post by **degenerasian** » Mon Mar 13, 2023 6:03 pm

Grea Britain just beat Colombia.

Now Group C is a mess.

Grea Britain Beat Colombia
Colombia beat Mexico
Mexico beat the US
The US beat Grea Britain.

There's a Canada win thrown in there. The Canada-US game tonight is massive.

Ryan · Post by **Ryan** » Mon Mar 13, 2023 6:18 pm

It’s up to Treat Turner

EnochRoot · Post by **EnochRoot** » Mon Mar 13, 2023 6:29 pm

My little league uniforms had stitched letters & numbers. What kind of Tory nonsense is this

degenerasian · Post by **degenerasian** » Mon Mar 13, 2023 10:01 pm

American bats woke up

MaxWebster · Post by **MaxWebster** » Tue Mar 14, 2023 7:02 am

i'd like to thank the team, Mitch Bratt, and Ernie Whitt* for that first inning that allowed me to go to sleep at a reasonable hour for the first time in a week.

*i like the Jays now but in the 80s Whitt was unquestionably my most-hated player on that (otherwise awesome/likeable) team and arguably top 3 in the league

Reaper · Post by **Reaper** » Tue Mar 14, 2023 8:50 am

Ryan wrote: ↑Mon Mar 13, 2023 6:18 pm It’s up to Treat Turner

This deserved recognition, at least a nodding head of approval.

mister d · Post by **mister d** » Tue Mar 14, 2023 9:06 am

MaxWebster wrote: ↑Tue Mar 14, 2023 7:02 am*i like the Jays now but in the 80s Whitt was unquestionably my most-hated player on that (otherwise awesome/likeable) team and arguably top 3 in the league

I'd like 5,000 words on this. I just assumed Bell (or, on name/look combo alone, Rance Mulliniks) would be the natural ones to hate from that era.

MaxWebster · Post by **MaxWebster** » Tue Mar 14, 2023 9:52 am

now how could anyone hate Rance Mulliniks, come on now.

George Bell for sure - karate kicking mf (memorable victim: Bruce Kison) - but there was something about Ernie Whitt; I have mellowed considerably through the years

so I'm not sure I can generate the anger memories but as a then-diehard Red Sox fan but one who got most of the Jays games on local tv, that was who I got to see/watch most.

I wish I could give you more - I don't even remember much now other than I have a few specific mental images of him essentially just being a cardboard cutout redass and mouthing at or yelling towards the Red Sox a bunch of times, maybe even in that Bell-brawl. Possible and likely jealousy at the fact the Jays accelerated past the Red Sox by 1984 so whoever caught my pubescent sports-ire that was that.

remember I was probably 11 or 12 when I came to the conclusion that this guy was a dick, and when you reach that conclusion at that age - it's fairly intractable. There's a non-zero chance it was baseball card related in some way as well.

(e.g. Rick Middleton for a year was my most-hated Bruin - ergo most-hated NHL player - because he was the last card I couldn't get to complete the ~1978/9 set. that's a solid reason i thought.)

mister d wrote: ↑Tue Mar 14, 2023 9:06 am
MaxWebster wrote: ↑Tue Mar 14, 2023 7:02 am*i like the Jays now but in the 80s Whitt was unquestionably my most-hated player on that (otherwise awesome/likeable) team and arguably top 3 in the league
I'd like 5,000 words on this. I just assumed Bell (or, on name/look combo alone, Rance Mulliniks) would be the natural ones to hate from that era.

degenerasian · Post by **degenerasian** » Tue Mar 14, 2023 10:07 am

The AL East was insane in the 80s. 6 different winners in 6 years. SI picked the Indians to win in 87 to complete the series but they sucked like usual.

81 - Yankees
82 - Brewers
83 - Orioles
84 - Tigers
85 - Blue Jays
86 - Red Sox

I agree Ernie Whitt was pretty unlikeable as people preferred Buck Martinez, although he couldn't hit. The fact that Whitt has been the manager of Canada for all 5 installments of the WBC and yet Canada has never advanced past the group stage just means that Canada is putting no effort into this tournament.

Nonlinear FC · Post by **Nonlinear FC** » Tue Mar 14, 2023 10:33 am

That was the absolute peak of my MLB fandom (as a Tigers fan.)

I played so much strat-o-matic I had pretty much the entire league memorized back then.

L-Jam3 · Post by **L-Jam3** » Tue Mar 14, 2023 10:45 am

I loved Harvey's Wallbangers. That '82 Brewers team is among the most iconic teams of my memory that didn't win it all.

MaxWebster · Post by **MaxWebster** » Tue Mar 14, 2023 11:00 am

i'll still insist the '84 Tigers were unquestionably the most dominant one season team of my lifetime. That season was completely over by May.

I don't know why I made it

but I still have a scrapbook I made during the playoffs that year - bunch of newspaper articles from the LCS/WS.

(and funny - i had Statis-Pro Baseball and always took the Tigers - Barbaro Garbey was my not-so-secret weapon)

Nonlinear FC wrote: ↑Tue Mar 14, 2023 10:33 am That was the absolute peak of my MLB fandom (as a Tigers fan.)

I played so much strat-o-matic I had pretty much the entire league memorized back then.

L-Jam3 · Post by **L-Jam3** » Tue Mar 14, 2023 11:21 am

I'll forget the make and model of my first car before I'll forget that the '84 Tigers started off 35 and 5.

Nonlinear FC · Post by **Nonlinear FC** » Tue Mar 14, 2023 11:40 am

L-Jam3 wrote: ↑Tue Mar 14, 2023 11:21 am I'll forget the make and model of my first car before I'll forget that the '84 Tigers started off 35 and 5.

:D

What a time to be a fan of that team. That run was fucking unbelievable.

degenerasian · Post by **degenerasian** » Tue Mar 14, 2023 11:53 am

Nonlinear FC wrote: ↑Tue Mar 14, 2023 11:40 am
L-Jam3 wrote: ↑Tue Mar 14, 2023 11:21 am I'll forget the make and model of my first car before I'll forget that the '84 Tigers started off 35 and 5.
:D

What a time to be a fan of that team. That run was fucking unbelievable.

But it was only that one year. They were pretty much 85-90 wins the rest of the decade. Just shows how good that division was. And the NL East too. The Expos were supposed to win multiple division titles and only won one and only because of the split season.