MLB Bullets Brings You The World

Just for the record, I’m writing this before the first pitch of the first game of the World Baseball Classic but you’re reading it after the South Korea/Israel game is over. You can post spoilers if you want.

For those of you who don’t like the WBC, there is lots of Spring Training news here. But the big story today is the start of the WBC, so . . .

• David Schoenfield brings you a short preview of “What to watch for” in the now-underway WBC.
• John Smoltz talks with Joe Brescia about the WBC, Team USA and pitching in the game today.
• Martin Rogers recounts the difficult process that put Team Israel together.
• Eddie Matz calls Team Israel “The Jamaican Bobsled Team” of the WBC and tells about their unofficial mascot—The Mensch on the Bench.
• Team South Korea has some concerns about their offense.
• Jerry Crasnick talks with three pitchers, Eric Gagne, Ryan Dempster and Bruce Chen, who came out of retirement to pitch in the WBC.
• Team USA pitcher Michael Fulmer may miss the tournament with a sprained ankle.
• Team USA third baseman Matt Carpenter is definitely going to miss the tournament with a bad back. Josh Harrison is taking his place on the team.
• Alex Kolodziej ranks all 16 WBC caps. I have the 2013 Netherlands cap, but it’s brown-on-orange rather than the orange-on-brown shown here. The interlocking “NL” on the cap has also put on weight over the past four years.
• In honor of the WBC, Joe Posnanski puts together an all-star team with only one player from each country and invites you to do the same.
• Not exactly WBC-related, but Posnanski also talks with Mark Teahen, who is going to be playing in Italy this summer, three years after retiring. Just remember — Lenny Randle is an Italian-baseball legend.
• OK WBC-haters, on to the rest of the news. The Red Sox and David Price got good news in that he will not need surgery on his elbow. Dr. James Andrews also termed Price’s elbow “very unique.” Price could still miss the start of the season, however.
• Nationals pitcher Stephen Strasburg is going to only pitch out of the stretch in hopes that it will minimize his chances of injury.
• Angels closer Huston Street will miss 3-4 weeks with a lat strain.
• Pirates third baseman Jung Ho Kang was given a suspended sentence for his third DUI in South Korea.
• John Perrotto reports that the Pirates were taken by surprise by Kang’s off-the-field issues.
• The White Sox gave third baseman Brett Lawrie his outright release and the Rays are considering signing him.
• Jonah Keri thinks the Rays have a chance to be a surprise contender in 2017.
• Commissioner Rob Manfred tells Maury Brown that MLB will consider shortening commercial breaks to speed up the game. He does add that it’s not as easy as just ordering it, however. (h/t Hardball Talk) Before you think this is a great idea, MLB would probably make up the revenue by putting ads on the uniforms, so the Cubs could end up with a uniform like this. (Actually, I like that one except for the huge Carlsberg logo that dominates the Copenhagen badge.)
• Howard Bryant talks to former commissioner Bud Selig, who defends his time in office, but also says the media are not the enemy (and this coming from a man who used to call and harangue writers who wrote something he didn’t like) and that Marvin Miller belongs in the Hall of Fame.
• There is a report that Jeffrey Loria still intends to sell the Marlins, although he does not have a buyer lined up at this time.
• Jeff Passan has a terrific piece on how Statcast is going to change the way we watch and understand baseball in the years to come. And the not-so-distant future.
• Anthony Castrovince examines alternatives to the five-man rotation.
• Ken Rosenthal, Joe Girardi (and I) can’t believe that Girardi has been managing the Yankees for ten years now. Rosenthal also talks to Girardi about the challenges facing the Yankees this summer, working with young players and Girardi’s contract situation.
• Billy Witz writes about the Yankees hair policy over the years and whether Clint Frazier will have to cut his hair soon.
• Ben Lindbergh previews the Rangers and wonders if the club will continue to outperform their metrics this season. (In English, “Will the Rangers still be lucky?”)
• A few seasons ago, Rangers Jurickson Profar and Joey Gallo were two of the top prospects in baseball. Now Jerry Crasnick writes that time may be running out for the two to establish themselves in the majors.
• Bob Nightengale reports on how Dexter Fowler ended up signing with the Cardinals and the role that Ozzie Smith played in bringing him to St. Louis.
• Jon Heyman notes that with no current extension talks happening, all four big Royals free agents could leave Kansas City at the end of the season.
• New Royals pitcher Jason Hammel keeps getting mistaken for former Royals pitcher Luke Hochevar.
• David Roth profiles David Wright and says despite all the injuries, Wright won’t give up.
• Michael Klopman has an appreciation of one-dimensional sluggers.
• Matt Snyder has an opinion on who should bat leadoff for all 30 teams. He doesn’t like Kyle Schwarber batting leadoff for the Cubs.
• Giants coach Jose Alguacil was hit in the face with a foul ball and needed surgery to repair his nose.
• Claire McNear continues her Taylor Swift conspiracy theory and reveals who Swift has decided will win the World Series in 2017.
• Mets ace Noah Syndergaard will make an appearance as an extra on the upcoming season of Game of Thrones.
• And finally, Dodgers outfielder Yasiel Puig hit his first home run of the spring and demonstrated that his bat-flipping skills are in midseason form.

And tomorrow will be a better day than today, Buster.