Outside The Confines: It’s all worth it

Tonight and tomorrow are the final two games of the 2023 World Baseball Classic. Japan takes on Mexico tonight for the right to face Team USA in the finals tomorrow. A lot of the WBC news is handled in WBC Tonight, but there is some of it here.

• Another WBC injury happened on Saturday night when Jose Altuve was hit in the thumb with a pitch from Daniel Bard. Altuve will undergo surgery soon and the Astros will have a timetable on his return then.
• Bard says he feels terrible about the whole thing and had trouble sleeping after the game.
• R.J. Anderson has some options for replacing Altuve in the meantime. Except one of his suggestions is to sign José Iglesias and Iglesias signed with the Marlins a week ago. But otherwise . . .
• Trea Turner did something last night in Team USA’s 14-2 win over Cuba that only Ken Griffey Jr. had done before. Turner hit two home runs in one WBC game for Team USA. Junior was at the game as the Team USA hitting coach.
• David Adler explains who Roki Sasaki is, the 21-year-old Japanese phenom who will start tonight against Mexico. If you don’t already know who Sasaki is, you’ll want to learn. He’s coming to MLB one day. Not soon, but eventually.
• Shohei Ohtani says he is only available to pitch in relief in a possible WBC final.
• Over one million fans attended games of the first round of the WBC, shattering the old record of a little over 500k last time.
• Henry Palatella has nine of the most-thrilling moments in WBC history. Trea Turner’s grand slam is included.
• Here are the best celebrations in this year’s WBC.
• Unfortunately, a Japanese high school tournament has banned the Lars Nootbaar “pepper-grinder” celebration. The Nootbaar pepper-grinder move has been a bit of a sensation in Japan since the tournament started.
• There were protesters of the Cuban government at loanDepot park in Miami before and during the game last night.
• Jon Heyman writes that despite the the injury risk, the World Baseball Classic is worth it. He writes that the WBC has turned baseball into a “happening.”
• One of the last-remaining free agents signed as Jurickson Profar agreed to a one-year deal with the Rockies.
• In non-WBC injury news, Mets outfielder Brandon Nimmo has a sprained knee and is on a “week-to-week” basis.
• R.J. Anderson has three reasons for optimism for the Mets despite a tough week with injuries.
• The Nationals’ top pitching prospect Cade Cavalli needs Tommy John surgery. Brittany Ghiroli has more information and how this will impact the Nats rebuild. (The Athletic sub. req.)
• Angels owner Arte Moreno held his first media availability in years. (The Athletic sub. req.) Sam Blum hasa complete transcript.
• And Sam Blum responds to what Moreno said. (The Athletic sub. req.)
• MLB Players Association head Tony Clark spoke about the rules changes for 2023. He feels that their adoption could have been smoother had the players had more input.
• David Aldridge loves the pitch clock. (The Athletic sub. req.)
• Diamond Sports, the owner of the Bally Sports regional sports networks. claimed in a hearing that they were forced into bankruptcy by not having the streaming rights to games. Didn’t they know they didn’t have streaming rights when they bought the team?
• Will Leitch has the top questions for the NL East this year and the top questions for the AL Central.
• One player from each MLB team who has made a big impression in Spring Training.
• Thomas Harrigan has 11 players most likely to improve this year.
• Hannah Keyser checks in on the Mariners’ Cal Raleigh on how his life has changed since his playoff-clinching walk-off home run last year.
• Mike DiGiovanna talks about what is keeping Brusdar Graterol from being the Dodgers’ closer.
• Nationals minor leaguer Darren Baker hit a grand slam against the Astros, the team managed by his father.
• And finally, players and umpires aren’t the only ones having to adjust to the pitch clock. Chad Jennings looks at how the jobs of broadcasters have changed now that they have less dead time to fill. (The Athletic sub. req.)

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