MLB Bullets Came So Close

I don’t know how anyone could have watched this weekend’s World Baseball Classic action and not think the tournament is fantastic. But I’m sure there are some people whose minds weren’t changed.

I might as well call this WBC Bullets. There just wasn’t much other news over the weekend. Ian Desmond got hurt.

• Bob Nightengale thinks that for all of the problems of the WBC, the tournament looks here to stay.
• Ken Rosenthal notes that Team Dominican Republic and their fans made for an “electric” game in Miami on Saturday.
• Rosenthal also thinks that baseball could use more of the “passion” and “joy” that the Dominicans bring to the game. He admits it’s a fine line—you don’t want to force anything on American fans. But MLB could encourage fan activity rather than shut them down.
• Team Dominican Republic really celebrated their win.
• Jeff Passan thinks the Dominicans and their win over the US proved the World Baseball Classic is a good thing for baseball.
• Passan also thinks Team Dominican Republic may be unstoppable.
• For all that win over the US meant, the Dominican Republic was almost forced into a tiebreaker game with a loss to Colombia, but a Jose Bautista throw to Welington Castillo at the plate kept Oscar Mercado from scoring the winning run. Phil Rogers notes that the Dominicans realized they got lucky and Colombia knows how close they are.
• John Perrotto notes that Colombia may have lost two games but they won respect. Also, they won a spot in the 2021 WBC and won’t have to qualify.
• Julio Teheran talks about what pitching for Colombia means to him. Also about facing his Braves teammate, Freddie Freeman.
• Jeff Passan writes that even if US fans don’t care about the WBC, the players for Team USA certainly do.
• The US qualified for the second round with a “boring” win over Canada, writes Bob Nightengale.
• Eric Gagne pitched for Team Canada and proved he can still pitch despite being retired for nine years, writes John Perrotto.
• Jonathan Bernhardt thinks that Team USA needs to get “embarrassed” for US players to care about the tournament. Nah. That would just convince Americans the tournament didn’t matter.
• Will Leitch looks at the difficulty the WBC has in getting American fans to care more about the tournament.
• Tom Verducci talks about the possibility of moving the tournament to July.
• Ken Rosenthal thinks that MLB teams perpetuate the idea that the WBC doesn’t matter with moves like pulling Chris Archer after four innings on Saturday.
• Mark Tompkin defends the Rays decision to only allow Archer to pitch four innings.
• Archer wore some pretty sweet stars-and-stripes cleats for his start.
• Team USA first baseman Eric Hosmer talks about what he’s learned from his parents, including his mother who left Cuba when she was nine.
• James Wagner looks at how much the WBC means to Latin players.
• Wagner also writes about how much Venezuelan players love their country, while they take actions to get their families out of a country that they no longer consider safe. Hector Rondon and Miguel Montero are quoted in this article.
• Finally, Wagner talks to Mets players who have discovered their heritage through the WBC. Seth Lugo visited Puerto Rico and met a bunch of cousins for the first time as part of a promotional tour for the WBC.
• Team Israel has shocked everyone but themselves with their success.
• There was an incident when Italy’s Drew Butera ran into the knee of Venezuela’s Salvador Perez, which knocked Perez out of the tournament. Perez thinks he’ll be ready for Opening Day, although the Royals aren’t quite as confident. In an ironic twist, Butera is Perez’s backup on the Royals.
• There was also an incident in the stands between the Mexican fans and the families of Team Puerto Rico. Puerto Rican players were not happy and MLB vowed to beef up security.
• Sung Min Kim explains why South Korea did so poorly at the WBC this time.
• Cliff Corcoran picks his five favorite WBC uniforms.
• Now for a little non-WBC news. Rockies first baseman (or so they insist) Ian Desmond broke his hand on a pitch.
• Indians second baseman Jason Kipnis will miss Opening Day with a strained rotator cuff.
• Blue Jays reliever T.J. House was hit in the head with a comebacker. It was scary, but the good news is that he’s back with the team and says he feels fine, although the Blue Jays are monitoring his condition.
• The Pirates put Jung Ho Kang on the restricted list as he waits to get a visa to return to the US.
• Pedro Alvarez returned to the Orioles on a minor-league deal.
• The Mariners traded switch-pitcher Pat Venditte to the Phillies. Because Jerry DiPoto had “make a trade today” on his reminder list.
• Yankees prospect Clint Frazier finally cut his hair, saying it was a “distraction.”
• Nicolas Stellini adds his voice to those who say that the Yankees grooming policy is stupid. And makes us feel bad for Darnell McDonald, who works in the Cubs front office now. You do have to wonder if they’ll make Bryce Harper cut his hair if he signs there—or if they won’t sign him because they refuse to change the policy.
• C. Trent Rosecrans has an interesting piece where he talks to several front office executives about an important question for rebuilding teams like the Reds: How do you know it’s time to stop sucking?
• Craig Edwards looks at which teams have the most “dead money” on the payroll.
• Anthony Castrovince notes that MLB shortstops are getting taller. I guess we can call it the “tallstop” position now.
• AT&T is close to settling with the Justice Department over the Dodgers channel, but that doesn’t mean that DirecTV will start carrying the channel.
• Finally, check out some terrific Puerto Rico bat flips in the WBC and Javier Baez doing the new “gently set the bat down on the ground” move.

And tomorrow will be a better day than today, Buster. That was a long weekend of baseball.